THE MISANTHROPE’S CORNER ■

MANY societies have made life miserable for their citizens, but none has ever driven them crazy. A few, such as Louis-Philippe’s self-satisfied bourgeois France, may have bored them to distraction, but sturdy sanity has always held sway among the commonality even when their rulers fell into hereditary fits and had sobriquets like “the Simple” and “the Mad.”

Enter America, where presidential candidates dare not admit to seeing a psychiatrist and the masses go on daytime TV to boast volubly about “seeking professional help.” Of all democracy’s unintended consequences, this one takes majority rule where no one ever imagined it could go.

About the Author

Florence King

Florence King was a contributing editor of National Review.

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MANY societies have made life miserable for their citizens, but none has ever driven them crazy. A few, such as Louis-Philippe’s self-satisfied bourgeois France, may have bored them to distraction, but sturdy sanity has always held sway among the commonality even when their rulers fell into hereditary fits and had sobriquets like “the Simple” and “the Mad.”

Enter America, where presidential candidates dare not admit to seeing a psychiatrist and the masses go on daytime TV to boast volubly about “seeking professional help.” Of all democracy’s unintended consequences, this one takes majority rule where no one ever imagined it could go.