Post-Traumatic Presidency
That’s more or less what we’re looking at, like it or not. As a Marine wag not a long time ago in Ramadi, America isn’t at war. The Marine Corps is at war. America is at the mall. But the fact is that war has deeply injured the nation, deepened divides, doing damage on both sides of the aisle, and it has spread confusion and anger.
You go to war, things get broken. Bodies, lives and nations. That is what happens. The question is, what do you do with that? The war is not over and still has to be fought. The nation may be damaged, but must continue on. No matter who is elected, it will be a post-traumatic stress presidency.
Now the Republicans are getting ready to nominate a man who endured torture during years in a North Vietnamese prison. Expect the Democrat nominee, or more likely his or her surrogates, to make PTSD a campaign issue. The crazy, suicidal, homicidal tripwire vet has been a favorite figure of the anti-war left for a long time. Here’s one. Here’s another. Fringe cases. Don’t worry, it will make it into the mainstream. Suicidal, rage-filled John McCain, unsuitable for president. It’s already there, just below the surface of the temperament questions. Here the question is raised by someone whose commentary I usually enjoy and often agree with: A disparagement of two men who have given their nation superlative service in war and afterward.
The fact is, traumatic experiences are part of maturation. Extreme traumatic experiences are part of the common human experience. They were once something leaders were expected to have endured and grown from, if they were going to be leaders worthy of respect. It is only in the very recent past that humans in comfortable First World societies have managed to put trauma at arm’s length, and for political purposes, stigmatize it. Trauma is not limited to war. It happens in cities and suburban neighborhoods. It happens on highways and in hospitals. It happens in homes. It happens in the halls of power.
Traumatic experiences teach you things about yourself and about others. They teach you how to make hard decisions in unforgiving situations. They both reveal character and offer quick, dirty instruction in the matter. They reveal who you can rely on and who you can’t. They teach you what is important in life. So many lessons, most of them merciless, though so often teaching the value of life and of mercy. While traumatic experiences may leave you feeling alienated in a world that rejects old warriors as detritus, and mocks their experience, traumatic experiences do not separate you from life. They make you that much more a part of it.
Now we have a candidate who has been in heavy combat, having been shot down and beaten on capture, and endured years of torture and captivity. Throughout, he demonstrated himself to be a man of tremendous strength and character. And on his return continued to serve his nation, rising as a highly respected, level-headed senator.
Does he suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder? Not visibly. Does he have any symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome? Probably. Are those occasional outbursts part of it? Maybe. That puts him in the same category as hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of Americans who have experienced combat and perhaps captivity in war, and have gone on, despite the popular slurs, to live productive, stable, sometimes superlative lives. John F. Kennedy, for example. We all know — may be don’t even know that we know — men who endured combat from moderate to unimagineably intense, and went on with their lives. They’ve lived quietly among us, successful professionals and family men, who survived beatings and starvation as prisoners of the Japanese, the horrible combat of the Bulge and Iwo Jima, the jungles of Vietnam, now the deserts, mud-hut villages and labyrithine cities of Iraq, and the mountains of Afghanistan. And they have continued on. Not without having to deal with stress and trauma.
But if you haven’t experienced stress and trauma in your life, then what kind of life have you lived? Would you care to be led by someone who hasn’t?
As we enter the post-traumatic stress presidency. Robert Bateman, himself a PTSD author, has an excellent reading list that, in addition to pointing to a lot of books, is a great and enlightening read itself, as a good reading list should be. Small Wars Journal.
Prior re PTSD:
UPDATES:
The superlative Vodkapundit pours it straight.
Presidents who experienced combat, captivity and traumatic experiences?
George Washington seems a good place to start. His force overwhelmed, captured by the French, released in disgrace. Later survived the Monongahela. These were only the first of many defeats and traumatic experiences for the man who led American forces through eight hard years of war, including the winter at Valley Forge where a quarter of his force died of disease and exposure. His temper and emotional displays seem to be unrelated. May well have seen more heads cleaved, bodies splattered than all other United States presidents combined. I’m sorry, I forgot about Grant, lately enjoying an improved image as president for his efforts to protect and advance black Americans during Reconstruction. He was known for his even temper … most of the time. You’ll see below.
Andrew Jackson, starved and beaten by the British. Bad temper.
Theodore Roosevelt. San Juan Hill. Not a cakewalk. Temper.
Harry Truman, saw brief but some heavy combat in World War I, known for his temper and salty language.
Here we go. New York Times with a fun read on presidential tempers, inspired by McCain, mentions all of the above presidents, as well as others who never heard a shot fired in anger. Notably a red-faced, yelling Bill Clinton. Theoretically that puts this temper nonsense to bed. But not before we get to Jimmy Carter. No combat, but getting awfully cranky in his old age.
Here, by the way, is a list of all presidents who served, by rank, and the nature of their service.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 3:07 pm on Friday, February 8, 2008
11 Responses to “Post-Traumatic Presidency”
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February 8th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Great. Yet another opportunity for fools and idiots to take the knowledge they’ve gleaned from years of Hollywood movies and apply it to real life.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
[...] by Stephen Green on 08 Feb 2008 at 02:07 pm Jules Crittenden has an must-read post on the “post traumatic presidency.” Read the whole thing, please, but here’s a snippet to let you follow along with our [...]
February 8th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden replies, and I respond back. Bookmark: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers [...]
February 8th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden » Post-Traumatic Presidency [...]
February 8th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
That is a great post.
February 8th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Very insightful post Jules. You make some great points that are not often, if ever, heard.
I wonder if population has contributed to modern societies pushing away those who have lived the hard life. In older days there was hardly anyone who wasn’t effected in some way by war. Nowadays the warriors constitute a much smaller percentage of the population… much easier to shunt away, and hence to label them ‘different’.
February 8th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
PTSD is a bummer, but it doesn’t make you crazy. Just different. I think (imho) Dr. van der Volk, who has done decades of research on PTSD in children is the best one to read.
He has said at one time or another that heart disease in middle age will turn out to be related to early PTSD.
There’s a mnemonic for quickly assessing chronic PTSD: S.N.A.P.
S is the universal marker for the various kinds of this disorder. It stands for “startle” — People with PTSD have an extremely exaggerated startle response. NEVER scare them or touch them unexpectedly: they jump. I mean, sky high. And it takes a long time to calm down.
N is for numbing. People with chronic PTSD learned a long time ago to numb out, or dissociate. It’s the primary escape from uncomfortable situations and they’re often not aware that they’re not “there” because it’s so habitual a defense.
A can be for anger, or reactive aggression that is more than would be called for. Easily aggravated because one’s “shell’ is so brittle.
P is for persisting. Emotional base lines that normal people return to quickly are much slower for the PTSD sufferer. That’s why emotional crises do them more physical harm. The HPA axis is the endocrine system seems to get set on a feedback loop. Sometimes sleeping for awhile (when possible) helps things return to normal…or at least what is normal for those with PTSD.
Generally speaking, they have higher heart rates and the rate is much slower to return to base rate after exercising.
Needless to say, there are many more signs and symptoms in the constellation than these four. But they are the easiest to check when diagnosing someone.
Today, I heard about a little boy who was found alive after a tornado in which his mother died. I’m sure he’ll be taken good care of, but no one will think to have his PTSD treated.
Best book on childhood (and later) PTSD for us lay folk: “Too Scared to Cry” by Lenore Terr, MD. She does an interesting profile of Stephen King and the etiology of *his* PTSD and how his ongoing attempts to resolve it are scattered through his creative work.
February 8th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Oh, btw, about Stephen King: his initial reaction to the horror, at four, of seeing hsi best friend cut to pieces by a train, was to become mute. Interesting that he ended up as a writer…he was scared to death and by gosh, you’re gonna share it with him.
I never, ever read Mr. King…except for his interesting book on how to write.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
“But if you haven’t experienced stress and trauma in your life, then what kind of life have you lived? Would you care to be led by someone who hasn’t?”
Exactly! You know, that’s a BIG deal to me, and I’ve said so many times. It’s like they say, that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. We know McCain has the fortitude to withstand the extreme pressures in the job. Not to flog a dead horse, but that’s one thing that I always thought about with Romney. The whole charmed life thing. If you’ve come face to face with your own mortality or overcome another extreme traumatic life event, you get a certain inner strength, confidence, serenity. There’s nothing incongruent about having that inner strength combined with a legendary sharp tongue.
I don’t think McCain’s got PTSD–he’s had a successful post-war life. He’s just like that, just like millions of other people. He may be a pill sometimes, but I don’t think it’s an indication of weakness or “issues.” Besides, weren’t we all cheering John Bolton because he’s hardcore and sometimes almost too blunt, too?
February 10th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Jules, I’ve figured for a long time that this was what the media had in mind. They write admiring articles about McCain and have for years. Once he gets the nomination all of that will stop. Comparisons to crazed Vietnam veterans ala Rambo will at first be hinted at and then openly published.
And of course, unlike 2004, once again it will not be cool to have been a Vietnam vet.
I just hope, but not very optimistically, that the public is smarter than that.
Gary
March 8th, 2008 at 5:50 am
[...] to see who can get him angry? If they really want intense, traumatic military service to be a disqualifier for office, I’d suggest the entire press corps show up at the next event in Ho Chi Minh [...]