Obsession

Al Gore is the Aimee Semple McPherson of the climate change movement. He bangs one meaty paw on the pulpit, scaring the congregation with apocalyptic visions of a man-made hell, while with the other he coolly extracts their folding money in support of certain miraculous, planet-saving technologies in which he just happens to have a small private interest. All that’s needed to make the picture complete is for him to be discovered in a love-nest down in Mexico, shacked up in a hotel with the nubile daughter of a coal magnate.

Gore continues to write his own gospel, recently claiming in an interview on ABC Australia that a court ruling in the UK went in his favor, when it is well-known (even in the distant Antipodes) that the judge held that Gore’s Cli-Fi movie, An Inconvenient Truth, contained nine significant errors of scientific fact.

For some reason, monomania comes to mind. Here’s a definition that fits Gore as snugly as a size 60 sport coat from the Big and Tall Men’s Store :

Monomania is an emotional or mental disorder that impacts the ability of the individual to interact with his or her environment in a balanced and productive manner. Essentially, monomania is a condition in which the sufferer is so focused on one idea or emotion that it is impossible to function normally. An individual who suffers with this disorder is often referred to as a monomaniac.

The term monomania is created from the Greek word monos, which refers to one, and mania, which refers to an excited state. People who exhibit monomaniacal attributes become so focused with a single emotion or concept that the majority of their waking hours are devoted to this single subject. In most cases, paranoia is increasingly present as the condition deepens, with the monomaniac often believing others are seeking to negatively impact the obsession in some manner.

Mark my word: the intensity of his obsession will one day lead to a synaptic meltdown, and he may well wind up embracing the symbols of that which he now opposes – if not the lascivious young coal-heiress aforementioned, then perhaps NASCAR or large-tank toilets.

And frankly, I think the crisis will come soon. Al's hallucinations are getting worse…