Megalomania

I'm not a shrink. I stole these definitions from t'internut. I dare say that reproducing them in whole or in part is an offence (most things are, these days) so please feel free to come and arrest me. I'm not hard to find.

1. A psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence.

2. A type of delusion in which the afflicted person considers himself or herself possessed of greatness.

3. Morbid verbalized overevaluation of oneself or of some aspect of oneself.

It is a mental disorder. Here are the symptoms : http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/m/megalomania/symptoms.htm

Check out the symptoms against certain people in the public eye. I suggest that many pop stars, such as Bono, Geldof et al suffer from it. I don't really give a toss. I can ignore them, as I can ignore most people I disagree with strongly or otherwise don't like. I suggest that star footballers can suffer too. I think I could be a megalomaniac, given a bit of encouragement, and the correct amount of money. I could be quite good at it.

George III was bonkers, that's why they called him Mad King George. Many of our rulers have been, if not at first, then towards the end. It may be that the pressures of the job drive them over the edge - I can understand that. George, bless him, was treated by forcibly restraining him or applying caustic poultices. A bit drastic.

Section 141 of the Mental Health Act of 1983 states that an MP will be removed from office if detained under the Act for a period of six months. Good idea.

Under the revised Act of 2007, parliamentarians tried, unsuccessfully, to get rid of this bit. I wonder why?

Under the yet-again-to-be-revised act of 2009, it is recommended by the Royal College of Pshrinks that subsections 2 - 7 of section 141 are to be deleted. I am pretty sure they haven't been yet.

Here is the real bollocks: the RCP recommend the removal because it is discriminatory. There is a disparity between a physical disability, such as blindness, having one arm or one leg (or, as in Hitler's case, one testicle), and having a mental incapacity, such as being a roaring nutter.

There are some quite capable people with quite serious physical disabilities. The disabilities are not usually their fault. Someone with one arm could probably type at least as well as I. Professor Stephen Hawking, quite severely disabled, does a pretty fine job.

However, I suggest that someone with a mental disorder should not be running the country, nor should be involved in any way with the running of it. There are plenty of jobs going for mentally deranged people, such as writing science fiction novels, or journalism, just to pick a couple of examples.

I suggest that most of the oligarchy are suffering from this condition. I suggest that some men in white coats are required.

Would it not be sensible for a Pshrink to regularly review the chaps in charge with a view to finding signs of hubris, megalomania or one of the other very many illnesses that really should preclude them from having any say in how the country is run?

Comments more than welcome, even just a simple "for" or "against".

Or "oink", "wibble" or similar. Just so we know who you are.