Why People Talk Little About Nader--and the Myth of the "Egomaniac"

I've had to answer this question a million times, so what's once more? Especially in 2004, some thinking people started wondering about all the ridicule Ralph Nader was getting--if he could get in the press at all. "Why?" They asked. Here, in brief, is my answer. My question, though, is what do we do about it? I think it starts with indignation.

People don't talk about him because they've bought into the corporate media's rhetoric that mocks and ridicules him. Why does the corporate media do that?

They mock him not just because they don't want people to know the truth but because they don't want people to take the truth seriously. For example, it is not in the interests of corporations who donate huge sums of money to politicians' (of both parties) election campaigns to have more fair elections which might result in the election of candidates who are not beholden to their (corporate) interests. They can't attack his positions about fair elections because his positions are easy to defend and everyone supports democracy (plus this could encourage people to think about issues). They can't really attack his character because he has good character (particularly in comparison to the other candidates) and this is well known, though there have been attempts to spread lies about his character (starting with GM back in the 60s to the accusations of being a Repub operative in '04 which one writer suggests may have come from focus groups). So when they can't keep him out of the news, they mock him, they try to make him out to be an eccentric old man with illusions of grandeur, a well-intentioned egomaniac, a big joke--it's the best way left to get people to ignore what he's saying and doing.

Ralph Nader is running not because his goal in life is to be president and to have power, there is really no evidence to that effect, rather he ran to educate people and to push issues (and so, to help ordinary Americans), because his running in itself has made many Americans think about the real situation of the country, our real interests and real solutions and also to try to get other candidates to adopt some of his positions on issues like health care, a living wage, the war, education, the list goes on and on (if you're not already familiar with it there's plenty of information about his positions on votenader.org in addition to nader.org). And there are loads of evidence that suggest that he cares passionately about the welfare of the American people (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, seatbelts, Freedom of Information Act, and tons of citizen groups are just a few for starters). Devoting one's life, at great personal risk and sacrifice, to improve the health, safety and well-being of millions of others is about as far as one can get from the actions of an egomaniac.

But don't take my word for it. Watch the extras DVD of An Unreasonable Man and listen to the established psychologist who says it.