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Screening leaders

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  • 24-11-2009 12:21am
    #1
    Kevster
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,980 ✭✭✭


    Should prime ministers, presidents, (ayotallahs... :rolleyes:), etc. be psychologically screened before they take up post? Further, should they have to prove a certain level of intellect.

    Kevin


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    #2
    Iwasfrozen
    Registered Users Posts: 16,250 ✭✭✭✭Iwasfrozen


    No, as it would be against his/her Human rights:
    Article 21 wrote:
    (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
    Does that answer your question ?


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    #3
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    Kevster wrote: »
    Should prime ministers, presidents, (ayotallahs... :rolleyes:), etc. be psychologically screened before they take up post? Further, should they have to prove a certain level of intellect.

    Yes. But first you would have to screen the screeners to make sure they themselves are psychologically sound & then screen those screeners just to make sure, then maybe screen those too, just in case.

    As for intellect - yes, but we need to screen those who judge the intellect on their intellectual capacities & screen those screeners to make sure they match up to those who set the international screening levels, who of course, should be screened by,,, em. I'm lost.

    Maybe we should just strive to introduce a perfect race - almost ayrian, where no screening is necessary.


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    #4
    Dannyboy83
    Registered Users Posts: 4,236 ✭✭✭Dannyboy83


    starbelgrade wrote: »
    Maybe we should just strive to introduce a perfect race - almost ayrian, where no screening is necessary.

    "Daoine a hAon, Náisiún a hAon, Ceann a hAon".
    Just doesn't do it for me.

    Besides, Brian Cowen is one of those rare people who actually looks less intelligent with glasses (since he came to power, he constantly looks like he is just about to make his first holy communion)


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    #5
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    Dannyboy83 wrote: »
    "Daoine a hAon, Náisiún a hAon, Ceann a hAon".


    Can you translate this?


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    #6
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 83,333 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Iwasfrozen wrote: »
    No, as it would be against his/her Human rights:
    Does that answer your question ?
    That doesnt violate the right..
    directly or through freely chosen representatives.


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    #7
    Tricity Bendix
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,510 ✭✭✭Tricity Bendix


    Overheal wrote: »
    That doesnt violate the right..
    Surely people aren't freely choosing representatives if they can only pick those reresentatives that meet a certain IQ level.


    As for psychological screening, pretty much anyone who runs in an election is pretty weird, but I do think that people with mental health problems are in fact banned from running in elections. Which I think is totally unfair.


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    #8
    Dannyboy83
    Registered Users Posts: 4,236 ✭✭✭Dannyboy83


    starbelgrade wrote: »
    Can you translate this?

    Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer.
    (1 people, 1 nation, 1 leader)

    Or something approaching that anyway (I hope)


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    #9
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    Tricity Bendix wrote: »
    I think that people with mental health problems are in fact banned from running in elections. Which I think is totally unfair.


    It's could be unfair , but as it's completely untrue/ made-up /imagined, it's also completely irrelevant.


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    #10
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    Dannyboy83 wrote: »
    Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer.
    (1 people, 1 nation, 1 leader)

    Or something approaching that anyway (I hope)

    That'll do! :D Cheers!


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    #11
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 83,333 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Tricity Bendix wrote: »
    Surely people aren't freely choosing representatives if they can only pick those reresentatives that meet a certain IQ level.
    who said anything about IQ level? Psych Evaluations are completely seperate. I dont know where you pulled IQ tests out of.


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    #12
    Kevster
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,980 ✭✭✭Kevster


    Yeh, I was also going to say that I never mentioned an IQ test/level. Maybe even asking them a simple geography exam would help, as I'm sure many would actually fail this (this is a semi-joke, by the way). You really do just have to question the motives of some of the leaders that are out there, and I won't even bother naming them because we know who they are. EVen when the good ones get into power, their hands seem to be very much 'tied'

    I wrote a letter into the Irish Independent 2 years ago (which was published) about how I feel the world would be a 'better' place if women held the leader's position for every nation on Earth, and I stand by this belief. Granted, some would be just as bad - or worse - than the men, but overall it would be better.

    Kevin


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    #13
    Rebelheart
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,077 ✭✭✭Rebelheart


    Tricity Bendix wrote: »
    but I do think that people with mental health problems are in fact banned from running in elections. Which I think is totally unfair.

    I doubt this is true, or at least it needs serious qualification. Clinical depression is apparently a mental health problem - http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/information/get-info/depression/depression-what-you-need-to-know/depression-what-you-need-to-know - which means at least 10% of Irish society has that particular mental health problem. There are plenty of politicians who suffer from it. I don't know if anybody was listening to Pat Kenny's radio show about a month ago. He had the former Prime Minister of Sweden on, who stepped aside from his position citing clinical depression as the reason. He assumed the position again when he got better.

    According to http://www.dublin.ie/health/mental-health.htm: 'Up to 25% of the Irish population are affected by a mental health problem at some point in their lives'.


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    #14
    Kevster
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,980 ✭✭✭Kevster


    Given the amount of mental health disorders that have been defined out there, I'd say the percentage of the population who could [technically] be diagnosed as having a disorder is much higher than that estimate.


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    #15
    Tricity Bendix
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,510 ✭✭✭Tricity Bendix


    starbelgrade wrote: »
    It's could be unfair , but as it's completely untrue/ made-up /imagined, it's also completely irrelevant.
    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/government-in-ireland/national-government/houses-of-the-oireachtas/eligibility_for_membership_of_dail_eireann

    People of unsound mind are not allowed run for the Dail.

    I knew I had heard it somewhere before, good to know I wasn't just making it up :P


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    #16
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    Tricity Bendix wrote: »
    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/government-in-ireland/national-government/houses-of-the-oireachtas/eligibility_for_membership_of_dail_eireann

    People of unsound mind are not allowed run for the Dail.

    I knew I had heard it somewhere before, good to know I wasn't just making it up :P

    There's a difference between being of unsound mind, ie., lunacy or insanity, and suffering from a mental health problem, which can vary from milder problems such as anxiety, depression & eating disorders to more extreme cases, such as personality disorders, bipolarism & schizophrenia.

    While people suffering from disorders like schizophrenia may be considered of unsound mind, a person with anxiety would not & therefor could run for election.


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    #17
    nesf
    Registered Users Posts: 27,645 ✭✭✭✭nesf


    starbelgrade wrote: »
    While people suffering from disorders like schizophrenia may be considered of unsound mind, a person with anxiety would not & therefor could run for election.

    It's really far more complicated than that, someone with schizophrenia may be able to function fine in real life and a person with very severe anxiety may not be able to deal with the outside world at all. Don't make generalisations based on the labels, they're really quite broad things! :)


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    #18
    nesf
    Registered Users Posts: 27,645 ✭✭✭✭nesf


    Tricity Bendix wrote: »
    Surely people aren't freely choosing representatives if they can only pick those reresentatives that meet a certain IQ level.

    People aren't freely choosing when we restrict the age of candidates to 21 for the Dáil, or ban anyone in the Defence forces, Gardaí, Civil Service and so on from standing for Election. (Full list of requirements: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/government-in-ireland/national-government/houses-of-the-oireachtas/eligibility_for_membership_of_dail_eireann)

    A country is allowed to restrict who may stand what they can't restrict (beyond a few small exceptions) is who may vote.


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    #19
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 83,333 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Speaking of people with a Napoleon Complex,

    original.jpg


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    #20
    Dannyboy83
    Registered Users Posts: 4,236 ✭✭✭Dannyboy83


    ^ LOL

    how_world_leaders_measure_up.jpg


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    #21
    Tricity Bendix
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,510 ✭✭✭Tricity Bendix


    nesf wrote: »
    People aren't freely choosing when we restrict the age of candidates to 21 for the Dáil, or ban anyone in the Defence forces, Gardaí, Civil Service and so on from standing for Election. (Full list of requirements: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/government-in-ireland/national-government/houses-of-the-oireachtas/eligibility_for_membership_of_dail_eireann)
    Well, I definately disagree with the age limit. I can sort of see whee they're coming from re: the defense forces and the gardai, but it all smacks of protecting the people from themselves.
    A country is allowed to restrict who may stand what they can't restrict (beyond a few small exceptions) is who may vote.
    Many countries place resrictions on who can vote. Some don't allow voting at all.


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    #22
    Kevster
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,980 ✭✭✭Kevster


    Overheal wrote: »
    Speaking of people with a Napoleon Complex,

    original.jpg





    Forget about Sarkozy... ...Check out that smile on Barrack!


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    #23
    nesf
    Registered Users Posts: 27,645 ✭✭✭✭nesf


    Tricity Bendix wrote: »
    Well, I definately disagree with the age limit. I can sort of see whee they're coming from re: the defense forces and the gardai, but it all smacks of protecting the people from themselves.

    Well, a lot of it is ensuring that there can't be conflicts of interest with you knowing departmental stuff and then suddenly becoming an opposition politician and similar.

    Tricity Bendix wrote: »
    Many countries place resrictions on who can vote. Some don't allow voting at all.

    Yeah sorry, I should have phrased that as "decent democratic countries". :)


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    #24
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    nesf wrote: »
    It's really far more complicated than that, someone with schizophrenia may be able to function fine in real life and a person with very severe anxiety may not be able to deal with the outside world at all. Don't make generalisations based on the labels, they're really quite broad things! :)

    I understand that completely - my point was that being of "unsound mind" is a pretty vague term & does not mean that everyone who suffers from a mental illness is ineligible to run for election, as the other poster suggested.


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