This is part 2 of the post "Dennis Rodman and Celebrity Apprentice."
Read part 1.
Dennis Rodman and The Myth of Individualism
Donald Trump likes Dennis Rodman, Trump said. Dennis Rodman, Trump said, is a good guy. So that's why Donald Trump gave Dennis Rodman the chance to prove himself in episode 5 by making him project manager. The lesson Trump would like us to learn is the one in which American individualism proves itself once more: in America, individuals have a chance to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, get to work, and earn a golden ticket. It's a matter of making the right choices, stepping up to challenges. If someone (Rodman) doesn't earn that golden ticket, doesn't make the right choice, then so be it. You're fired!
The problem with the myth of American Individualism is that it treats all people as though they were rational, free agents entirely responsible for their destinies. All on equal footing, in terms of the capacity to make choice, work hard, and "achieve the American dream."
Yet Dennis Rodman was clearly suffering. From the beginning of the series, he was drinking impulsively, behaving erratically, and alterating between isolation and gregariousness, sadness and dizzying joy. The consenus in the boardroom was that he has a drinking problem. What kind of chance, then, was Trump giving Rodman? What could Rodman prove in such a state? All that Trump showed is that for the most part, there is no middle ground in the corporate world: you perform or you don't. You perform at the level expected of all employees, or you don't (the anemic Americans with Disabilities Act notwithstanding). Too bad for you if you are struggling with an emotional illness; perhaps if you had cancer, you're colleagues and employer would understand.
A lot of people see alcoholism as something that the individual could've or should've prevented. But as Joan Rivers hinted when she identified his behavior as, at times, "exuberant," Dennis Rodman may have another disease: Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder and addiction often go hand in hand. Alcohol and/or drugs are sometimes used in an attempt to self-medicate; and too, alcohol and drug abuse can unmask a heretofore latent mental illness. It is tricky (and grossly unfair) to diagnose anyone by what one sees on a few hours of television. So let me say that I am merely pointing out parallels in Rodman's behavior to Bipolar Disorder; nothing is certain and, at best, I am an amateur sleuth who is making a guess.
What Bipolar Disorder Is
Bipolar Disorder is marked by extreme moods that alternate between the polar opposites of mania and depression. Symptoms of mania can include euphoria and an extreme feeling of being "high," distractiblity, extreme irritability, and provactive or aggressive behavior, among others. Symptoms of depression include sadness and/or anxiety, fatigue, feeling slow and weak, loss of interest and pleasure in activities once enjoyed, sleeping too much or being unable to sleep, and more.
Rather than mania, a person may experience "hypermania," a sub-manic mood that does include exuberance, fast speech, and extremely high self-esteem. However, persons experiencing hypomania are still thinking rationally and coherently. Those in a manic episode are not.
Like other severe, persistant mental disorders,
[m]anic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live. It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it; an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide. --Kay Redfield Jamison, An Unquiet Mind.
A Call to Empathy
After last night's Celebrity Apprentice, I felt sad for Dennis Rodman, but was heartened to see that most others in the boardroom supported him. Even though Donald Trump admitted to some sadness, too, he did give Rodman an upbraiding: "I gave you every last opportunity," he said, and repeated.
When the loaded terms "choice" and "opportunity" arise in a political and economic context (or a show that mimics that context), I get angry. There are millions of people whose rationality and ability to set and achieve goals has been compromised, sometimes wrecked, by severe mental illness. Mental illness is illness and, as such, has real physiological bases. But because the signs and symptoms of mental illness show up in behavior and mood, many people mistake those signs and symptoms for defects of personality or character, as does this person (just so you know, people with schizophrenia are generally not able to function enough to become "whack-jobs...with fame and fortune"). Not for nothing, signs and symptoms also show up in cognition--the ability to learn, interact, form and retrieve memories--but these are less noticeable to the average person, and so aren't generally remarked upon.
I'm painting with a wide brush here. But let me pull back a little and say that not all poeople severe, persistent mental illness are doomed. Some people can recover functioning with medication, therapy, and a supportive environment (which is largely missing in America). Some people can't. And some people can function well overall, but still experience periods of instability.
And too, my point isn't that capitalism is bad--I'm not a sophisticated (or simplistic) enough political thinker to conclude that. But I am against any ideology that brings with it no flowering of the promise for benefits for all, while somehow landing us in this me-centric, greed-gorged culture of things and more things and status and power and jeans.
Empathy is not difficult to achieve. But it's lack shows a failure of imagination, a certain willful ignorance. And it also shows a failure of character--a true failure of character. Sometimes genetics, circumstance, and luck bringall the things our mothers and fathers wish for when they kiss our newborn heads. And sometimes genetics, circumstance, and luck bring the wreck and devestation of severe illness.
Why the ants? --I'm not sure. I'm not sure, but I think I love that ants play no boardroom politics, have no prejudices, make no suicide pacts. Have none of the greed, sadness, or malice that their fiery, fiercely elegant movements would imply.
Comments
No.
How about people taking respnisbility for themselves.
I am so tired of what has become so common in the States and elsewhere.
Everyone has an illness, everything else is to blame...alcoholism and drug abuse are "diseases"...
NONSENSE.
They are a choice.
Findings are being found of the route cause of what most depreession and bipolar disorder are, signs of the brain to cope with finding themselves and dealing with otherwise personal, emotional, stress and growth.
Yes there are those with severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia, however, many of those with bi polar disorder need to get a backbone, and make solid steps for mental change and growth.
Balance will be reached in this way, and habit will form.
Educate yourself....
It is clear you do not personally know anyone who suffers from this disease. It is not an exact science when getting treatment. Please don't give opinions when you are not educated enough to do so.
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