Recently, an early morning TV newscast reported that Bush said he was no longer going to listen to any adverse accounts about his war in Iraq. He went on to announce that God has chosen him to bring victory in Iraq. The White House must have quickly squelched these bizarre remarks because they were not repeated elsewhere in the mainstream media.
Bush inadvertently exposed his own high degree of ineptitude. This 'head in the sand' approach to running his war will only lead to inevitable failure. A leader must have a clear view in order to effectively run a country, a corporation or even a hotdog stand. It brings to mind Hitler's last days of running the defense of Berlin from his bunker as he moved around legions that had already been eliminated by the Russians.
Bush's remarks were also reminiscent of Hitler's often expressed conviction that he was chosen by God to be the New Deliverer of Germany from the evil of 'International Jewry' and founder of a new social order for the world. He firmly believed that he was certain to attain this goal as long as he followed the dictates of the inner voice that had guided and protected him in the past. He liked to remind his followers that a turning point in his life came in 1919 when he received a supernatural vision, which commanded him to save Germany. He likened himself to Jesus. He said, "In driving out the Jews, I remind myself of Jesus in the temple." "What Christ began," he declared, he, Hitler, "would complete."
Bush's admission of hearing God's voice should be a great concern for Congress and the American public. Theologians, sociologists and psychiatrists say religiosity is a common theme of the hallucinations and delusions of psychotics.
For example, Deanna Laney said the Lord sent her signs to use rocks to beat to death her two young sons and severely maim her toddler. And, the night before Dena Schlosser murdered and severed the arms of her 10-month-old baby, she told her husband she wanted to give her children to God.
In a study of 56 Michigan mothers referred for psychiatric evaluations from 1974-1976 after killing their children found nearly a fourth of them experienced religious delusions, said study co-author Dr. Catherine Lewis, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut Health Center. She said nearly all the women were Christian and many attended fundamentalist churches, but cautioned against assumptions. "What isn't clear is what's causing what," she said. "Is the church causing people to develop these feelings or are people with these feelings more likely to gravitate toward a fundamentalist church?"
Dr. Orin Bolstad testified that mass murderer Kip Kinkel killed his parents and opened fire on fellow students (killing two and injuring 25) under the influence of hallucinatory voices. His malady started with a loud authoritarian voice saying, 'You need to kill everyone, everyone in the world'. Bolstad said that it was clear to him that Kip suffered from a psychotic disorder with major paranoid symptoms, potentially some form of early onset schizophrenia.
Male serial killers fall into various "types" such as : (1) visionaries, who hear voices, receive godly commands and have a higher allegiance; (2) missionaries, who are evangelical about cleaning up society and target objects of discrimination; (3) gain killers, for which killing is part of an advancement of career; and (4) power seekers, where the dominant impulse is to have full control over life or death. There can be, of course, "mixed" types.
Bush's experiencing God's voice in his head is a matter of considerable worry and should not be sloughed-off. His mental stability is definitely in question especially in light of his many aberrant policies and actions. His presidency has been and continues to be devastating to America and the rest of the world.
