Al Franken and Rush Limbaugh have at least two things in common: Both have radio talkshows and both spend their air time tearing down other people, respectively Republicans and Democrats. Okay. They’re entitled to their opinions. But the insults and barbs that they hurl are a reflection of a much larger problem, one that profoundly affects our political and social landscape. Simply put, we can’t talk to each other about important issues anymore unless we’re certain that the other guy is “on our side.” We live in the era of knee-jerk reactions. Sure, it makes for good entertainment, and the aforementioned broadcasters are in the entertainment business, but when it comes to serious problems like the state of health care in the United States, dealing with the elderly, and the war in Iraq, we can’t speak to each other civilly. Hell, we can’t even speak to other other at all because as soon as one gets the words out that he or she is against gay marriage, for example, the person with the opposing viewpoint closes up shop mentally. All that’s needed to know is that the other guy differs from you in opinion and the discussion is over. [Read more…]
Tom Cruise: Please Go Away
Who knew that pseudo-actor Tom Cruise was a scholar? Mr. Cruise apparently has a lot of insight into psychiatric illness. He even has some strong advice for the unenlightened among us: Suffering from depression? Schizophrenia? Bi-polar disorder? Put down the Paxil and the psychotropic drugs. They are evil. A daily regimine of vitamins is all you need. Never mind all of the evidence that antidepressants have helped countless people who are victims of serious depression. As Mr. Cruise informed the hapless Matt Lauer on The Today Show, he “knows the history of psychiatry.” [Read more…]
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Let the Rants Begin!
A brief introduction–or not. I’m not going to bore you with various factoids about myself. You now know the hair color. I’m delighted to be a part of this blog, which will allow me to escape implosion when I’m worked up about various issues (and people) that are just impossibly ludicrous. I’ll get right to it:
