Brief Politico-Therapy: A Tour of the Psych Bloggers

It has been a while since I last toured the Psych bloggers, those intrepid bunch of mental health professionals as we take a look at their take on politics, the human condition and anything else that catches my eye. Our usual bunch of suspects include: Dr. Helen, Dr. Sanity, Shrinkwrapped, neo-neocon, Assistant Village Idiot, One Cosmos (Gagdad Bob), Sigmund, Carl and Alfred, Its About Them, and this issue adds Dr. John Jay Ray, who will be familiar to many of you, Dr. Ray is a retired psychologist from down under.

So, let's begin with James Sutton. Dr. Sutton has a mid July post up that made me think about adversity and, well, A Foot On The Dinner Table. His post is short, and sweet, and worth a full read before you do anything else.

I mentioned that I was adding John Ray to the mix. I've known Dr. Ray (via the miracle of the internet, not in person - yet!) for at least two years. John has visited my blog and left comments, and I have reciprocated. He covers a variety of topics as exemplified in this lengthy post.

Dr. Sanity is one of my favorite people in the whole wide blogosphere. We have been friends for a while and she was the first to include me in the Psych Blogging category (Thanks Doc). Today's entry is in regards to "Westophobia" surely an aptly named mental disorder given C.A.I.R.'s penchant for calling the disgust of islamofascists "Islamophobia." Why do I suspect that C.A.I.R. will disagree?

Dr. Helen is another favorite, in a post she poses a basic philosophical question: "Should we resist when confronted with crime." Those are not her words but mine, her words are much more suscinct:

That's what we're always being told, isn't it? Comply with a thug's wishes and you won't get hurt."

Now we turn to that Three-In-One Therapist, Sigmund, Carl and Alfred. SC&A offers up a "repost" (as if that is a lazy thing to do - I would postulate that any repost of SC&A is worth more than 100 fresh posts from the likes of Kos, Puffington Host, MyDD or any similar dreck). This one chosen by SC&A as a tidbit while SC&A communes with his (their?) boat, the sea and Samuel Adams is a mind bender and well worth reading and then worth reading again.

The Arabs are engaged in a schizophrenic battle of monumental proportions. Moderates recognize that the western ‘temptations’ can offer redemption and success on their own terms (by achieving and not imitating) . Fundamentalists are determined to destroy the ‘temptor,’ Satan, embodied by America, Israel, Jews and Christians.

The tempted cannot simply resist the temptations- they must destroy the temptor so that they might not succumb. [T]hey do not see that resisting temptation is [more] powerful than destroying that temptation. The justification of destroying temptation, as opposed to simply resisting comes from the elevation of the temptor. Christians are the agents of Satan, Jews are pigs, non Muslim women are ‘uncovered meat’ and whores that defile family and community. All non Muslims are fair game, as are all Muslims who are ‘not on the program.’

Regular commenter on GM's Corner and Social Worker Par Excellance The Assistant Village Idiot. AVI defends, in this post, his home state of New Hampshire (and Iowa too) against the depridations of Professor Bainbridge. And does a fine job as well.

Seeing that NH consistently has among the best SAT’s and lowest dropout rates in the country (and last I checked, Iowans do pretty well there also), we’re guessing that as you can’t figure out two small states that sit still and can be looked up in the encyclopedia and everything, you shouldn’t be given any more power in elections. Iowa and New Hampshire have a pretty good idea about California and New York. You haven’t got a clue about us. [to this I'll add "Go AVI!!!"]

If it wasn't so important, it would be a fascinating study to follow the state of MSM coverage and reporting on the war as our progress on the ground becomes more and more unavoidable. Will the Times, and their allies in the Democratic party, try to overwhelm any good news with coverage of the suicide bombings and deaths in Iraq? In this they will be more than ably assisted by al Qaeda, whose only hope of success lies in convincing American politicians that the war is hopeless and too costly."

Gagdad Bob writes the excellent One Cosmos blog and has a very thoughtful post on "Signposts on the Road to Nihilism". A tidbit to whet your appetite and a warning, if this doesn't make you think, nothing will:

But the more you develop spiritually, the more you will recognize a gulf between yourself and this kind of person. Incidentally, it doesn't matter whether this person is outwardly “religious,” because there are plenty of vital types who get involved in religion -- and not just exoteric religion. Even creepier are the vital beings who get involved in esoteric religion, for then you start to touch on the demonic.

If, like me, you are intuitively repelled by Bills Clinton or Maher, this is probably why. Now, I am the first to admit that there was a time that I was not repelled by Clinton. The repellence has only come with spiritual development. And it has nothing to do with ideology per se. After all, he largely governed as a rudderless, poll-driven moderate, and he seems to have no ideological core that isn’t negotiable anyway. I was certainly never a Clinton hater, nor am I now. Rather, he radiates a very specific essence that bears on what we are discussing today. For Clinton is a purely vital man in all he thinks and does.

Clinton is obviously not an unintelligent man, but that doesn’t matter either. For as Sri Aurobindo noted, there is a realm of the psyche called the “vital mind,”

neo-neocon has a thought provoking post regarding the war in Iraq in: "The Democratic candidates and the pullout: will they find themselves in the Nixon position?"

It’s a good sign that the Democratic candidates are beginning to take tentative steps towards the reality of Iraq and what a precipitous withdrawal would probably mean. But nothing indicates they know how to go about preventing one, or protecting the troops and the Iraqi people from the consequences of such a pullout."

And there you have it, another Tour under the belt. I'll have to work on getting them up more often, afterall, its free and it makes you think.