State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind [Hardcover]

Bryant Welch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312373066 | ISBN-13: 978-0312373061 | Publication Date: June 10, 2008 | Edition: First Edition

Finally, the answer to the many questions that have been preying on the minds of millions of Americans has arrived. Why are Americans so vulnerable to divisive political tactics? Why did Americans get dragged into such an unwise war in Iraq? Why do fundamentalist religious groups, Fox News, and right-wing radio still play such influential roles in America’s political landscape? And why are long-accepted rational scientific ideas like evolution under siege? These questions hold America’s future in the balance. Ultimately, they are questions about the American mind.  Psychologist-attorney Dr. Bryant Welch has the answers.

If America is going to change the mind-set that led us to war in Iraq and left us unable to confront our serious national problems, this book is vitally important. Drawing on his unique experience both as a clinical psychologist and a Washington, D.C., political figure with the American Psychological Association, Dr. Welch shows how the long-term effects of sophisticated new forms of political manipulation have not only led to our debacle in Iraq but are also currently undercutting America’s ability to address its very serious problems. In the 1944 movie Gaslight, a husband drives his wife to the brink of insanity by playing games with her sense of reality. Just as in the movie, America’s most recent political “gaslighters,” such as George W. Bush, Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and many religious leaders, have generated and exploited confusion in the minds of countless Americans.

Gaslighters prey on their victim’s vulnerability to paranoia, sexual perplexity, and envy to undermine the mind’s ability to function rationally. Welch examines why millions of Americans, in response to such assaults, subconsciously and dangerously create their own simplistic reality, even if it is completely different from the more complex reality of the world.

Most important, State of Confusion explains how and why Americans must act now to fight back against this harmful manipulation before it’s too late. Dr. Welch’s exploration of the American mind is both fascinating and frightening, and State of Confusion is a must-read for everyone who cares about the future of this great country.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is one of those few books that is a virtual Rosetta stone to understanding how so many Americans are living in an alternative reality." --BuzzFlash

“Bryant Welch makes a fascinating and compelling case that right-wing politics has subverted our democracy by infecting us with a form of national political neurosis. This book unmasks the politics of fear---the deeper chords touched by campaigns that appeal to the dark side.” --Robert Shrum, senior strategist of the Gore and Kerry presidential campaigns and author of No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner

“Bryant Welch was born to write this vitally important and highly readable investigation of how a cadre of ethically challenged political operatives and their religious and journalistic allies have gradually distorted and disabled the minds of ordinary Americans—and have all but crippled the once-extraordinary mind of America. It is not too late for us to reclaim our identity, but we will succeed only if we take to heart the lessons so lucidly laid bare by the remarkable work of this insightful psychologist and experienced political activist.” --Laurence H. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard Law School  

 “State of Confusion is intense, clear, logical, and striking in its message. It will grab you emotionally and intellectually…the message cannot be missed.…Bryant Welch sees through the smoke and mirrors and offers the only remedy that will place democracy firmly in the grip of the people from whom it is being stolen: the truth.” --Dr. Harold I. Eist, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry, George Washington University, and former president of the American Psychiatric Association

“Dr. Welch is a master of making complex psychological concepts understandable and using them to explain the disturbing political climate of our time. This beautifully written, urgently relevant work should be on the bookshelf of everyone who cares about the survival of American democracy.” --Nancy McWilliams, Ph.D., president of the Division of Psychoanalysis, American Psychological Association, and professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology

“[State of Confusion] is a unique and successful effort to understand the machinations of politicians and others who have significant influence on others.…With professional credentials in both law and psychology, Dr. Bryant Welch is ideally suited to raise the issues…fascinating reading.” --Lewis P. Lipsitt, Ph.D., professor of psychology, emeritus, Brown University

About the Author

Bryant Welch, J.D., Ph.D. has more than thirty-five years of experience in law, psychology, and politics. He spent seventeen years in Washington, D.C., where he built the American Psychological Association’s Practice Directorate, and has held faculty appointments at the University of North Carolina and George Washington University. He currently lectures and consults nationally and practices clinical psychology on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Debbie. His Website can be found at www.bryantwelch.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (June 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312373066
• ISBN-13: 978-0312373061
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert L. Welker, Psychoanalyst, July 15, 2008

By 

Robert Welker, Ph.D. (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind (Hardcover)

Bryant Welch's recent book, State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind (2008) Thomas Dunne Books, provides a compelling psychoanalytic framework for understanding the collective mental pathology driven by current sociopolitical machinations. He describes three "battleground psychological states" (paranoia, sexual perplexity and envy) that are manipulated in "gaslighting" the public--duping voters and consumers through the provision of defensive maneuvers that alleviate anxiety and create unquestioning believers in causes benefiting those in power.

Mental dynamics remain in focus throughout Dr. Welch's penetrating analysis, the uniqueness of which stems from his perspicacity, the breadth of his professional experience (psychology, law, and politics) and the intensity of his effort. A personal anecdote in his acknowledgments is illuminating: "My personal mental image while writing the book was to framing a house. What made it especially difficult was the sense that I had to drive every nail with my head." (Page xii)

While reading State of Confusion I remembered that when I decided to major in psychology (during the Nixon Administration, the Vietnam War, post political assassinations) I wanted viable answers to why our nation was so crazy. Forty years later I had all but given up hope that psychology could be of much help countering the formidable power of self-serving politicos and marketers. Reading Bryant Welch's book renewed my hope.

Bryant gives us a practicable framework with which to promote healthier functioning of "The American Mind." I hope the American Psychoanalytic Association takes advantage of this opportunity by supporting and elaborating his ideas, joining him in the arduous task of driving each nail with our heads.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must-read" for every caring, thinking voter, August 30, 2008

By 

Jeana (IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind (Hardcover)

If you're interested in -- or just curious about -- how the US got where it now is in Iraq and among the nations of the world, you need to read this book. It explains how the "gaslighters" [Karl Rove, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc] manipulated the minds of American citizens, increasing their vulnerability after 9/11, to make Americans more dependent on "their" brand of reality and to enable their agenda to be achieved. They warped American citizens' ability to "think," and discredited those persons and professions that could foster "clearer" thinking and decision-making. The psychological explanations are invaluable tools for helping readers identify similar on-going manipulations from the current Presidential campaigns. State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Astute Rendering of our Nation's Policies and Actions, July 5, 2008

By 

Andrea Celenza (Lexington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind (Hardcover)

This is a highly informative book about how the Bush administration and its right-wing political ideology have created our multiple current crises. Bryant Welch submits his comprehensive knowledge (both broad and deep) of global and domestic conflicts, especially the players within them, to an incisive psychological analysis so that we may understand the oft-times puzzling actions of our leaders. No matter your political persuasion, this is a book for everyone to read - you will have more substance to your arguments with Welch's research and analysis behind them!
Andrea Celenza