psychoanalysis and religion

     Many people believe that psychoanalysis is religion in another form, and not necessarily a more modern one. A famous author and mental patient ( Sylvia Plath ) once compared psychoanalysis to being "born again". Both psychoanalysis and religion promise a new existence, free of the guilt and responsibilities of the past. Both use confession as one of the means to achieve this new existence.  Psychoanalysis is considered a "process"--it has no end.  It isn't meant to cure an illness, after which the patient moves on. It is an ongoing way of life, as religion is to many people. All "analysands"--everyone who has undergone psychoanalysis, including psychoanalysts--are members of a club, in a way. Psychoanalysts have their own therapists, as priests have their confessors. Many analysands attend meetings ( Jungian meetings, or meetings of the "oversoul") , as churchgoers attend services. The only thing psychoanalysis lacks to make a religion is priestly robes and sacraments.

the great brain

     Some of the people you may encounter on the internet believe that they are fashioning a great brain. The great brain will be a cyber great brain, and will be omniscient. No one will need to go to school, as they will all be a part of the great brain. They won't need to learn anything, or understand anything--they will just "be".  Some "great brainers" don't believe they need to know how to read and write. Some "great brainers" believe that if each participant learns just one thing, together they will be omniscient--or at least smarter than anyone else.
     I suggest that some of the merely human challenge the great brain. Perhaps a human could play chess with the great brain. Or a human and the great brain could each take a standardized test. Be sure to let me know where  the contest takes place, and when. I am confident that a human could defeat the great brain, even in a trivia contest.

birth control benefits

     How can the federal government insist on birth control benefits from private insurers, when birth control benefits are not offered to Medicaid recipients? In Pennsylvania, this may be because of the state's use of a Catholic health service provider.  If benefits are offered, they may be offered through Planned Parenthood. This may be the government's attempt to work out the problem--but the plan seems to cover employees, without mentioning welfare or disability recipients.

psychics

     In Pennsylvania, claiming to have the ability to tell the future will get you a visit from the bunco squad. That is why "psychics" call themselves "readers and advisers".  Many "psychics" consider themselves religious. They believe that humans are predestined, in a way, and that they are in on the "divine" loop, and know what is in store. What the point of knowing the future would be to someone who believes in predestination, I don't know. If people are predestined, their fate cannot be altered, nor could they choose a new course of behavior--and if they did, according to the theory of predestination, the consequences would be the same.    
   Perhaps psychics don't believe in predestination, and they are in the business of warning people about the consequences of their actions--this would mean a belief in free will--which wouldn't leave a book of "the future" open to initiates, as there would be no predestined future, other than the one we make with our actions.  This renders the "psychic" an "adviser"-- perhaps a badly needed service. Anyone spending money on a fortune teller probably does need help with thinking about the consequences of his or her actions.

still a guessing game

It's obviously true that even a broken clock is right twice a day--but not useful, as you'll never know when.

can we make adults go to school?

     Can we make adults go to school? Probably not. Perhaps if they are in prison, but I'm not sure that the prisons have the capacity to test for literacy, or to force remedial schooling on the incarcerated. If the prisons do not have the capacity to test for literacy and enforce attendance in class, they should be given the capacity. If they do have the capacity to test for literacy and enforce class attendance, they are failing miserably.
     People spend 10 years in jail, and re-enter society completely illiterate. People spend 10 years ( or 20 years ) in jail and still can't tell time when they get out--or make a sandwich, or tie their shoes, or catch a bus, or use the laundromat. They can't eat anything but takeout--they don't know how.
     If we're not spending money to teach basic literacy and life skills to prisoners, let's spend it. If we are spending the money, let's find out what the prisons are doing with it.

pets and TV

      I have had several cats of my own over the years, and even more foster cats. They all seem to like TV.  They want to sit on my lap, on the back of my chair, or under the chair. It's the one time they seem to agree with what people do--just sitting and not moving, almost like naptime. It never seemed to matter what was on TV, or what movie I might be watching on a DVD. Even cat food commercials don't seem to mean anything to them. But now I'm watching them more closely, because I think they don't like certain TV shows. They run around the house in a kitty panic attack on occasion, and I think it's connected to TV, and what's on TV. The shows only have people on them--no cats or dogs, so I wonder if some people's voices frighten or annoy them.

authority

     There are some people who insist that they do not have to acknowledge the authority of anyone younger than they are. Others insist that they don't have to acknowledge the authority of anyone smaller than they are. So what we need are some tall elderly people in positions of authority--police, teachers, probation officers, etc.

murder TV

     At least one popular murder TV show never misses a chance to tell us that we ought to have sympathy for serial killers. Very little is left for the victims of these killers, who are usually so disgusting that they are not recognizably human. What could be more perverse?

neutering pets, again

     Someone asked me recently if having a dog or cat spayed or neutered was sick, perverse, or mean. First, the answer is no. Many people have pets spayed or neutered because of all the unwanted pets who are killed in the United States each year. Millions of animals wind up in shelters every year because no one wants them. When no one adopts them from the shelter, many of them are killed. By spaying or neutering we hope to see fewer cats and dogs in shelters, and fewer cats and dogs killed. This will work because if enough people have their pets spayed or neutered, there won't be nearly as many cats and dogs. Even if you plan on finding a home for any kittens or puppies your pet has, that home might have gone to one of the unwanted pets in a shelter, if your cat or dog had been fixed so as not to have a litter.
     Animal welfare organizations such as the ASPCA promote spaying and neutering, but they seem to be preaching to the choir.

how to prove your point

     Remember Thor Heyerdahl and the Kon-Tiki?  Thor Heyerdahl posited the theory that people from the South Pacific might once have traveled to South America, or people from South America might have traveled to Polynesia.  Expert scientists, historians, and anthropologists thought Heyerdahl's theory was ludicrous. So Heyerdahl built a boat out of reeds, the same way people might have built a boat hundreds of years ago. Heyerdahl and his crew sailed across the Pacific in the reed boat, called the Kon-Tiki, and the experts had to concede that such a trip was possible.

waiving right to jury trial

     "The Trial of all Crimes, except in cases of Impeachment; shall be by jury..."  No one actually has the right to "waive" the presence of a jury when being tried for a crime.  This supposedly only happens when someone pleads guilty, and a trial is considered unnecessary. There should be a trial, anyway, and with a jury. The jury should be present to hear the plea or confession. The trial would be short, so why the problem?

heroes

     Imagine a world with no heroes.  Does it sound like a paradise? It could be. No one with any special obligations to save or rescue other people, no one with any special powers or capacities. No capes and tights, no halos and wings. Anytime anything needs doing, everyone at hand will just have to pick up a shovel and get to work.  Amen.

the hallowed 70's

    One thing I remember about the 70's--the homeless people. Our city seemed to suddenly have a lot of homeless people, in about 1976. You could see them sleeping in doorways, even in the cold weather, or you could see them sleeping in the train station, if you went to work early.  Homelessness seemed, at the time, to be a new problem, but it wasn't. The homeless had been sleeping in the churches. The doors to most churches were always left unlocked, so the homeless had a place out of the rain and the cold. The churches began to have vandalism problems, and decided they needed to lock their doors at night. The homeless had nowhere to go. Most people didn't blame the homeless for the vandalism, but the effect was the same--there were suddenly people sleeping in doorways and over steam vents.

facts vs. theory

    So, your facts don't fit your pet theory. What do you do? You might consider the notion that your theory could be in error, and start over with a new fact-based theory.

a golden oldie

Remember this one?

I don't drink, smoke, or swear--dammit, I left my cigarettes in the bar.

crime drama

     Can you imagine a crime drama with a plot that is more like real life? By a plot more like real life I mean we would watch an ordinary person or family going about a daily and weekly routine. We would get to know them a bit and perhaps find their lives interesting. Then "bang!" one of them is dead. No explanation, no psychological profiles or heartfelt speeches about how the killer never had a chance. Just "bang!" you're dead, and maybe some questions from the police and then a funeral. The end.

foster a cat or dog

     Animal shelters and rescue organizations often need a temporary home for a cat or dog. They call it a foster home, or fostering an animal. You keep the animal until a permanent home is found for it. If it needs a veterinarian, the animal shelter or rescue will take care of it. Fostering keeps animal out of shelters. Animals who have been stray can get used to living in a home. Animals who have been abused can learn to trust people.
     Animal shelters euthanize millions of cats and dogs every year. Fostering solves the problem. It can be a rewarding experience. A new kitten is fond of you almost instantly.  When a foster cat hides for weeks, it's a big moment when it finally approaches you.

best quip

     I have worn out all my acquaintance with my speech about why everyone has to vote. A quip recently overheard on TV was so well-put that it might have made a non-voter out of me--
                                        " I never vote. It only encourages them."

teaching a fish to swim

     There's an old saying about teaching people something they already know--"like teaching a fish to swim".  Teaching people something you already know can something like this--like a fish giving swimming lessons.  A fish would probably claim that swimming is as easy as breathing, an attitude that doesn't usually make a good teacher.  The best teacher of swimming would probably be someone who had to struggle harder than an average student to learn it.

my theater idea

    This could be a new form of interactive drama that would get people away from the computer screen and into the theaters--a play in which the audience votes on the fate of the characters. Does the guy get the girl? Thumbs up or thumbs down. Should we let Little Nell live, and for how long? Thumbs up or thumbs down, as in an ancient Roman amphitheater. Is the hero dead, or only wounded? You decide. Wonderfully sick--I would show up myself.