Mis-Diagnosis?

Ambivalence exists in my profession of mental health (doctor heal thy self) about the use of diagnosis. On one hand (to recycle a phrase used by PP at the SDWC), rendering a diagnosis allows everyone on a treatment team to have the same reference point for a client's symptomatology (avoiding jokes about government profiling to a patient whose chart reads: paranoid schizophrenic with psychotic features can be important information, trust me.)

On the other hand there are concerns that the person eventually evolves into the diagnosis given to them, in terms of how others see them and how they come to see themselves. One treats someone who is said to be depressed as if they were depressed, and the person who is told they are depressed begins to act that way. This can be a serious problem and is one that I believe is analogous to some of my friends who have been "diagnosed" or who have been given and taken on the label of "Conservative."

Conservatives traditionally have believed in our infinite ability to do great things when unencumbered by any form of government. Conservatives have held that one's creativity, ingenuity, and hard work should be fairly rewarded in the greatest contest of them all, the marketplace. And Conservatives believe that people at their very essence are good and will do the right thing without being required to do so. These positions I learned in my high school civics class (thanks Mr. Nelson), and have been positively reaffirmed after carefully watching some of the people who I admire most (yeah, that would be you Joel, Troy, Steve, Judy, Terry, Mark, Tom, Julie, Nelson, Jim, Scott, George, Jan, etc.)

In recent years, though, a vocal minority of those who believe that government must intervene to protect us from ourselves, dictate to us what is morally right and wrong, and stipulate what and how one ought to believe, have been told that they are and have come to believe they are Conservatives.

In the process they have been temporarily successful in displacing traditional Conservative principles with their own. Specifically, these self-proclaimed Conservatives have attempted to convince us that the most pressing challenges facing our country, communities, and families include: denying a marriage license to couples of the same gender, insisting on a constitutional amendment to ban the burning of the flag, ensuring, if not insisting, that our children pray in school, and guaranteeing that the ten commandments be permanently displayed in an Alabama courthouse.

I am encouraged though. I am more convinced than ever that people recognize that the label “Conservative” doesn't fit those who are demanding that government prescribe and proscribe more in our lives. There are several who are been speaking up and offering a "second opinion" to the original diagnosis. (As perhaps is best evidenced in several different blogs.) And at the risk of getting dramatic (I would like to thank the members of the academy, my parents, family, agent...), I am proud to stand with those trying to clarify what is and isn't a Conservative.

I will also continue to work with anyone (Conservative and Liberal, Republican and Democrat) who is working to advance the agenda of better educational opportunities for our children, promoting economic growth to enhance opportunities for everyone, and limiting the involvement of government in our lives and the amount they take out of our paychecks. (I mean, can’t we all just get along?)

PS Might I offer a suggestion to my friends who passionately believe in what I see as contradictory to traditional Conservative principles? Respectfully, they might consider referring to themselves as “Moralists,” which I believe would be a more accurate description. (It is just an idea.) Is there anything worse than getting the wrong diagnosis or label? Get a focus group together, see how they react, and then meet us all in the marketplace of ideas.