Of individual responsibility, personhood, moral dignity, and the mental health professions

George Will's latest Washington Post column really struck a chord with Colleen and me. He writes about the profession of psychiatry and the new edition of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), which Will describes as "psychiatry's encyclopedia of supposed mental "disorders."

Will, typically using his incredible vocabulary which always includes at least one word I need to look up, points out several problems with the DSM. One is that children are increasingly being diagnosed with some ailment requiring treatment with powerful drugs, when behavioral modification treatment can mitigate the problem. Another danger is that "childhood eccentricities, sometimes inextricable from creativity, might be labeled "disorders" to be "cured." (Think about Mozart, Temple Grandin). Furthermore, Will writes that "a society that thinks scientific determinism renders personal responsibility a chimera must consider it absurd not only to condemn depravity but also to praise nobility."

Colleen and I, being a psychologist and social worker, are often asked if our training has given us lots of advantages in knowledge and ideas that we can use as parents. Are you kidding me? Almost every effective parenting action we have employed has been in direct opposition to what we were taught in our mental health professions! I agree with George Will that "today's therapeutic ethos" ... "absolves the individual of responsibility, personhood, and moral dignity."

Do we even know who our enemy is?

Bret Stephens writes a provocative column in the February 16 Wall Street Journal about Major Hasan, the killer of 13 and wounder of 30 at Fort Hood. The Defense Department has released a report entitled "Lessons from Fort Hood." The fall guys are eight medical officers, whose military careers likely will be coming to an end, because they failed to pass him over for promotion and push him out the door, even though they knew he was a radicalized Muslim. Stephens asks the provocative question: suppose they would have acted and charged him with intent to commit murder? After all, he had made threats, and they thought he was psychotic. If that would have happened, he would have become "a civil-liberties martyr." In the entire report, there is not even a one-time mention of Islam.

No Difference between Democrats and Republicans?

Rush Limbaugh, without mentioning Glenn Beck by name, was not happy about Beck's keynote address to CPAC. Rush played clips today of his speech last year at CPAC. Rush, in his speech, focused on stopping Obama and Reid and Pelosi. Beck, on the other hand, seemed to attack Republicans and Democrats alike. Rush believes the majority of American people "get" it, and are more motivated than ever to stop the agenda of socialists. Beck seemed to imply that Americans need to be educated, and do not yet "get it," and that he distrusts Republicans as much as he distrusts Democrats.

I think that Rush is worried that conservatives will join a third party movement, thereby giving Democrats four more years in the White House. Rush believes there is a "conservative ascendency" within the Republican party, and that those who are leading that movement need to be thanked and supported, not scolded or mocked for being Republicans.

Rising to the Top

I just heard a radio interview with Michael Young, author of The Politician. Who is the politician? John Edwards, the man the "mainstream" media pinned their hopes on until Barry Obama came along. Put this book on your "to read" list. How is it that our system enables sociopaths to rise to the top of our power structure? Maybe reading this book will help us understand the answer to that question.

Working to strip idols from our land

The final chapter in Herbert Schlossberg's book Idols for Destruction is entitled The New Community. In it he launches a full scale attack against humanitarian social policy. "Serving the poor" is a "euphemism for destroying the poor unless it includes with it the intention of seeing the poor begin to serve others, and thereby validate the words of Jesus that it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Whereas humanitarian social policy keeps people helplessly dependent, Christians should seek to remove them from that status and return them to productive capacity."

But Schlossberg also reminds us that the "biblical writers also struck blows against resentiment attempts to use the poor against the rich." "Distributory justice occurs when people redistribute their own property, not that of others."

Instead of being swelled with pride for the privileges we have as Americans, we should be led to gratitude and humility. Schlossberg argues that our society is in the process of destroying its capital. "Government levies and inflation convert capital into consumption and so dissipate it." He defines capital as "any asset - material or non-material - that produces continuing benefits of any kind."

How do we transform hatred into love? How can justice triumph? Schlossberg urges Christians to work to "stop the incessant looting taking place under the banner of redistribution, which at once makes dependents out of all its recipients and destroys the economy by removing incentives for production." Further, we must "insist that the criminal justice system, bemused by behaviorist contentions that criminals are victims, begin protecting the innocent against those who prey upon them." "Justice means the ruling of society in conformance with the law of God."
Christians are to "work toward bringing the political, economic, and cultural landscape into conformity with the divine intention."

We need to remember that crucifixion was followed by resurrection. Christianity is about victory and triumph. We must not recognize the right of our leaders to play god. Passivity must be rejected. Christians must avoid "blind submission" to political symbols such as conservative or liberal. We can form short-term alliances with political parties, but we should always maintain a suspicion.

Who are Christians? We are disciples of the Master. Hope is a Christian virtue, not a statist one. Our hope is "rooted in the faithfulness of God, the firmest of all foundations." Marxism is the imitator of biblical faith. Like Marxism, biblical faith finds great power in the conviction that history is going its way. No life could possibly be more exciting and adventurous than the Christian life. Schlossberg's final sentence: "It is hard to imagine a more important or satisfying role than to embark on the spiritual, intellectual, and political adventure of working to strip idols, root and branch, from the land."

"Faith without works is dead!"

Did you read that Wal-Mart and Procter and Gamble are joining forces to produce a family-friendly movie? It is about a single mom who moves her kids to the mountains (where's the dad?). I work part-time at Wal-Mart as a cashier. I am always surprised when a seemingly innocuous middle class family comes to the counter and plops down their choice of DVDs. Something about vampires sucking blood, something about killing and maiming people, something about torture. Books? By far the most popular are the vampire books by an author whose last name is Meyers.

Herbert Schlossberg reminds us in Idols for Destruction that biblical thinking underlay the values of our country as originally founded. Our country can survive (and often has) the "domination of wicked people in high places, but we cannot long survive the people's insistence that wickedness be dominant, the continual boast that evil is good," writes Schlossberg. He adds, "we must not be content to accept compliantly the continuing growth of evil."

Is our Christian faith merely what Schlossberg calls "mental assent to dogmatic statements?" If so, then we will be great at moralizing and focusing on sacraments. No, Schlossberg insists that the biblical message is about love, mercy, and a life commitment.

He elaborates: "calls for the reformation of society that do not insist upon both orthodoxy and orthopraxy, therefore, are futile." I looked up those two words. Orthopraxy means actions/activity, how we conduct ourselves. Orthodoxy is about having a correct belief, and the use of rituals. In other words, "faith without works is dead."

"Repentance and faith can repair the damage"

I think Herbert Schlossberg's book Idols for Destruction is the meatiest book I have ever read. Here are just a few points he raises, then goes into in depth.

"People fail to appreciate the worth of society's Christian underpinnings because they are unconscious recipients of its blessings.

"The irony of humanism is that it dehumanizes."

And, what about the Social Security system? Schlossberg points out that when the system began in 1935 there were eleven people in the labor force for every one person over the age of 65. Soon that ratio will be two to one! Schlossberg writes, "It is inconceivable that people trained to regard themselves as the center of the universe will each agree to provide half the support needed by a retired person." Thank God people like Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity have incessantly warned us about death panels and rationing in the Obama/Pelosi/Reid health care bills. Scholssberg writes:"The elderly will be called selfish if they insist on living, and it will be a humanitarian deed and moral duty to see that they do not continue to live and so deprive others of the quality of life to which they aspire."

Early death becomes a "management option" for the "progressives" in power to inflict on the very young, very old, and disabled. Death, then, becomes the answer to our economic problems!

I put "progressives" in quotes, because Rush Limbaugh said today he will not call them that, because it is only an attempt on their part to squirt away from the "liberal" label he attaches to them. He continues to use the "liberal" label, because 40 percent of Americans now identify themselves as conservatives, but only twenty percent self-identify as liberals.

Back to Schlossberg. He writes "The persistent pattern is that the failures wrought by state intervention, rather than leading to a dismantling of the control system, serves as a pretext for further controls. Misfortune is taken as prima facie evidence that we can no longer afford the luxury of freedom."

Another Schlossbergism: "If there is a decline in the number of people who believe that God is love, we can expect fewer who think that actions of love are moral imperatives."

"If we are able to discern that we have brought our troubles upon ourselves, then repentance and faith can repair the damage."

What are we to do?

Sarah Palin's speech to the Tea Party convention, and her affirmative answer to a reporter's question as to whether she would consider running for President, has spurred conversation as to whether conservatives and independents should jump aboard a third party. They did so in 1992 with Ross Perot, and that enabled Bill Clinton's victory. Influential pundits like Glenn Beck tell us to be wary of both Republicans and Democrats. Rush Limbaugh counsels against leaving the Republican party; instead, he wants conservatives to take it over. Mike Rosen warns us that if we vote for a Democrat, we are voting for someone who will respond to the coalition of groups that the Democrat party answers to.

Herbert Schlossberg wrote in Idols for Destruction that conservatives, when they are in power, tend "to keep intact the system that their opponents caused to flourish" when they were in power. As Schlossberg says, "they will change the beneficiaries and the victims." "A tax increase disguised as a tax cut, a budget increase disguised as a budget decrease, and the continued policy of rewarding political friends from the public purse" was a feature of the first Reagan administration. As Tom Tancredo said last weekend in his speech to the Tea Party convention, we would have gotten a "progessive" agenda if Senator McCain would have been elected, and Sarah Palin would not have been free to speak out as she is now.

So, what are we to do?

More information about marijuana

The chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has jumped into the argument over "medical" marijuana. Dr. Ned Calonge writes in today's Denver Post that "marijuana can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination and problems with learning and memory. Daily use, when smoked, is associated with a number of physical health harms including damage to the immune system, respiratory infections, and chronic lung disease, and has been linked to lung cancer. Recent use impairs driving ability, leading to motor vehicle crashes and injuries."

I am glad there are physicians who are willing to speak out on this subject.

Language, borders, culture

The number of public school children in Colorado who are non-English-speaking is now 86,500! 35 percent of the overall enrollment in Denver are classified as non-English speakers! They could not possibly be the children of illegal immigrants, could they? I wonder what percent of Denver's population are illegal immigrants. In the last decade the number of non-English-speaking Colorado students has risen 260 percent! These figures are from an article in today's Denver Post by Jeremy P. Meyer.

Talk radio guy Michael Savage had it right years ago when he pleaded for America to protect its borders, language, and culture. Those in power, in both political parties, did not listen to Dr. Savage. Republicans saw cheap labor, and Democrats saw votes, I surmise.

Meyer writes that Judge Richard Matsch ordered in 1999 the Denver Public Schools to offer native-language instruction in the core subjects for three years, then transfer into reading in English. It appears from Meyer's article, that Denver is not following the judge's orders. Instead, students are mostly in immersion programs, with little or no support in their native languages.

Homosexuality and marriage

Today I want to write about homosexuality in America. On January 23 I wrote about Gayle Haggard, and asked you, my much appreciated readers, if you thought I was being naive in believing Mrs. Haggard's story. Today she was a guest on the talk radio show in Denver that originally brought to light Mr. Haggard's long time relationship with a male prostitute. Today Mrs. Haggard revealed that her husband was molested as a second grader, and, as a result, later developed compulsive thoughts about having sex with men.

Peter Boyles, the host of the talk radio show, believes our sexuality is wired genetically. On the other hand, trauma that we experience in our childhood certainly can produce compulsions that may continue through a person's lifetime.

Relevant to this discussion is the fact that Ted Olson has written a very important piece in the January 18 issue of Newsweek. Olson, you may remember, was the attorney who won Bush v. Gore, and his conservative credentials are impeccable. You may also remember that his beloved wife was one of those who perished aboard one of the airplanes on 09-11-2001. Olson argues very persuasively the case for gay marriage. He is one of the lead attorneys seeking to overturn Prop 8 in California.

Why have Christians tolerated prejudice against gays? The most virulent prejudice in America today is the anti-gay prejudice among children, many of whom are children of Christian parents. Children who call other children "gay" would never even think to use the "n" word. The worst epithet they can think of is "gay."

Olson writes that "conservatives and liberals alike need to come together on principles that surely unite us. Certainly, we can agree on the value of strong families, lasting domestic relationships, and communities populated by persons with recognized and sanctioned bonds to one another." There is much more in Olson's argument. I recommend it.

"Medical" Marijuana

Finally, a doctor speaks out on the medical marijuana issue, which is spreading like wildfire across Colorado and other states. Dr. Christian Thurstone, who is a board-certified child/adolescent and addictions psychiatrist and medical director of an adolescent substance abuse treatment program in Denver, speaks out today in the Denver Post. Dr. Thurston shoots down the lie that medical marijuana is being pushed for "end-stage illnesses." 70 percent of the licenses being issued in Colorado are going to young people in the demographic most likely to have addictions. He points out that marijuana is a highly addictive drug for teenagers. "When they're high, these young people make poor choices that lead to unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, school dropouts, and car accidents that harm innocent people." The medicinal value of smoked marijuana "has hardly been studied in controlled trials."

Unmitigated Gall!

President Obama says he is going to "freeze government spending." In fact, he is going to freeze one-half of one percent of government spending. The average Joe and Jane watching the speech do not know that. They think if the President says something, then it surely must be true. Unmitigated gall. Slowly, but surely, the American people will catch on.

"He's in the freezer!"

Jon's fourth grade teacher has a Friday afternoon half hour set aside for one student to be "star of the week." The student gets up in front of the class and tells the class about his family or other favorite things he or she likes to do.

Today Jon was the star, and I got to attend. Attached to the blackboard Jon had a poster filled with family pictures and adventures. The other students got to ask him questions after his presentation. Despite the fact that he is consistently on the honor roll, Jon does not really like school. I got a clue today as to why that might be. For starters, there are ten girls, and only four boys in his class!

Jon pointed to a picture of one of our cows, and said, "This is Spot. He's in our freezer now!" One little girl was aghast, because her dog is named Spot, and she thought our Spot was also a dog and that we had killed our dog and put him in the freezer. Then, an anemic little girl stood up and proudly stated that she is a vegetarian and so is her mother, so she would never put her cow in the freezer! This brought a lecture from the teacher about how there was not really anything wrong with slaughtering cows.

The star also gets to bring treats. Jon chose to make Rice Krispie candy. An obnoxious girl wearing an obnoxious "Girls Rule" tee shirt, proudly announced that she does not eat Rice Krispie candy. Jon could not have cared less, as he proceeded to proudly serve each student and made sure to get some for himself.

Am I being naive?

The January 20 Denver Post has an above-the-fold front page story about Gayle Haggard. She is the wife of Ted Haggard, who was the pastor of an evangelical megachurch in Colorado Springs. He was also the president of the National Association of Evangelicals and ran several other large ministries.

Gayle has written a book entitled Why I Stayed, referring to the fact that she has stayed married to Ted, even after it was revealed that Mr. Haggard had a secret life of drug use and homosexual liaisons. She chose to forgive him and to continue to love him. That is what her understanding is of Christianity. She says she and her husband have been treated better by people whose faith - or lack thereof - was unknown to the Haggards, than they have been by fellow church members.

Mr. Haggard finally revealed the truth, after a talk radio interview with his accuser. That night, "in spite of her anger, revulsion, and pain, she started choosing to forgive" him. "I turned and slid into his arms." She said if he had not repented and if he had persisted in sin, she might have chosen differently.

I think Mr. Haggard is an extremely lucky man to have a wife like Gayle Haggard. I know I might be somewhat naive about this and other stories in the news (Sarah Palin?), but I do think Mrs. Haggard is showing us what real Christianity is all about. My wife read the same article, and thinks after Gayle gets her money from the book sales, she'll dump the no-good slug.

What do you think?

Kids

We had five baby goats born this week. This one with Sara is Hercules. The children are taking turns bottlefeeding him.

To some people it is useless junk; to others it is a treasure!

Can you believe we now have a Goodwill Outlet store? Out of curiosity I went there yesterday. Clothing is sold by the pound. The place was jammed with Mexicans, who I presume crossed the border with few belongings. There was a perfectly good rocking chair for $2.49. I would have bought it, but I had to pick up Sara, who was getting her "Sister Locks" attended to, and there would not have been room in my small car. I did buy a huge sack of books for $.49 each.

My best finds were hardback bound collections of the "Ranger Rick" Nature series magazines. The dates on the magazines were all in the 1970s. They have wonderfully written stories for children, and the pictures are fabulous. For example, last night I read two stories to Jon and Greg at bedtime. One was about an Eskimo boy who gets chased by a giant female polar bear, who thought the boy was a danger to her cubs. The other story was about "Jack Ass" penguins, which bray like donkeys, and live at the southern tip of South Africa.

Are you empathy-challenged?

The left really knows how to play the election game in the United States. They have seemingly endless amounts of money to spend on races at all levels. Perhaps even more importantly, they really know how to destroy conservative candidates. No one was a bigger threat to them coming out of the 2008 elections than Sarah Palin. In Sarah's book Going Rogue she documents how the left flooded the system with frivolous and expensive complaints. In Alaska the governor and the executive staff have to hire attorneys at their own expense to "defend themselves against ethics complaints, no matter how frivolous, malicious, or ill-conceived an ethics complaint might be." The left doesn't care; they figure personal bankruptcy has to be the result if the candidate is not rich or corrupt. They also know how to tie up state bureaucracies, so that the real business of the state does not get done.

But the final straw that helped Sarah decide to "pass the ball" was a phone call "from the other side of the world" from her son Track who was serving in Iraq. "No dishonorable discharge, Mom. You only leave if it's to move up to something more worthy."

Sarah asked Track if he thought protecting Trig and his sisters was "more worthy."
She asked if revealing the truth (her book) was more "worthy." "I'm not a quitter, Track," I finished. "I'm going to fight. And that's the point." When Track told her he was praying for her, she asked Track to fast for a day. He said, "Holy crap! Eat nothing for a whole day?" So then she asked him to fast from cussing for a day. "Hell no, Impossible over here. Next?" He agreed to give up chew for a day. As Sarah says, "That was a big darn deal."

Sarah asked herself, "how would millions more in Freedom of Information requests, ethics compaints, and lawsuits benefit Alaskans?

In her father's words, "Sarah's not retreating; she's reloading!" Of course, the left wanted nothing more than to throw Sarah out of office. Now they were criticizing her for leaving! But so were and are many empathy-challenged conservatives.

Now it was announced today that Sarah will be a regular commentator on Fox News. A caller to Dennis Miller's radio program suggested that her segment on O'Reilly should be called "Beauty and the Beast." Miller passed on the suggestion to O'Reilly's producer.

Brilliant Analysis

I hope everyone reads the brilliant analysis of Sarah Palin written by Greg Cotharn in the comments section of my recent "Going Rogue" post. I agree completely with what he said there, and I wish I could have written something nearly that spot on!

I am almost finished reading the book, but I don't have time to write anything yet. My anger at the dominant liberal media and leftists remain intact. I don't understand how anyone with a family could run for public office, but I am sure glad that Sarah Palin did.

Going Rogue!

Do you know where Sarah Palin got the title to her wonderful book Going Rogue? It was a phrase used by the top McCain staffers, who were always afraid she would say something off-the cuff. She was asked by Fox News reporter Carl Cameron about a news story that asserted the campaign was blowing off Michigan, and she answered honestly that she thought that they should not give up anywhere on any voter. That was when McCain senior staffers accused her of "going rogue." I love that she is now using that as the title for her excellent book.

I find myself being emotionally drawn to this wonderful candidate, especially when she talks about her children, her appreciation for the average Americans, her love of country, and her deep admiration for those who defend our country.