tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post9207059044921595736..comments2024-03-29T04:06:37.402-07:00Comments on Had Enough Therapy?: The New SleepwalkersStuart Schneidermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12784043736879991769noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-70668514047589140512016-08-24T05:47:31.574-07:002016-08-24T05:47:31.574-07:00AesopFan,
Well stated as recognizes by IAC. We g...AesopFan,<br /><br />Well stated as recognizes by IAC. We get what we reward. Sadly, one cannot, in this culture or otherwise, stand by or in a mud puddle without getting mud on them especially "blue" cesspools.Dennishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14962996070458991675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-76954782449115610692016-08-23T17:56:51.723-07:002016-08-23T17:56:51.723-07:00AesioFam @August 23, 2016 at 1:30 PM:
"... w...AesioFam @August 23, 2016 at 1:30 PM:<br /><br />"... we have to recognize that such an outlook is an inevitable consequence of a culture that doesn't reward unselfish behavior." <br /><br />Brilliant!Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222603717128565302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-72915517449346523972016-08-23T13:30:16.324-07:002016-08-23T13:30:16.324-07:00"It sounds like a good explanation, except th..."It sounds like a good explanation, except that it tends to absolve all human beings of responsibility for their behavior."<br /><br />Looks like a good lead-in to this article:<br />http://www.city-journal.org/html/its-your-fault-i-killed-14618.html<br /><br />* **<br />David Foster said...<br />If you read some of the early writings on self-esteem, circa late 1960s, they are actually pretty rational---along the lines of 'pat on the back when it's deserved, don't just kick in the ass when problems happen.' <b>But along the way it got transformed into 'pat on the back regardless of whether it is deserved or not.'</b><br /><br />There has never been a good idea that hasn't been corrupted somehow.<br /><br />* * *<br />J said...<br />I believe we should ask about whether or not these children and young adults have good or bad character. Are they trustworthy and reliable? Do they have a strong work ethic? Do they show up on time? Do they take initiatives? Do they feel loyal to their school or their company? Are they patriots?<br /><br />These are better questions to ask if we want to check on the health of our society. But we have to go way deeper than that.<br /><br /><b>The question, "Do they feel loyal to their school or their company?" could be reversed and asked, "Do their companies and schools demonstrate any loyalty to them?".</b><br /><br />This is true on so many levels. If we are going to complain about the me-first culture, we have to recognize that such an outlook is an inevitable consequence of a culture that <b>doesn't</b> reward unselfish behavior.AesopFannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-26244021180701858402016-08-23T11:59:57.911-07:002016-08-23T11:59:57.911-07:00David Foster @August 23, 2016 at 7:21 AM:
I suspe...David Foster @August 23, 2016 at 7:21 AM:<br /><br />I suspect you are pointing to the "greater" that theorists/academics/ideologues seem to crave when they achieve success: they want more, more and still more. So their theories/studies/ideologies must proliferate. It's like they believe "Too much of a good thing is just enough." And things go off the rails, and there's so much piling on. That's really what the self-esteem movement is today. It's a long way from a pat on the back. It's a hammock where servants bring you candy and ask if there's anything more they can do for you so you can feel better about yourself. Hammocks are for a bit of rest and relaxation, not an entire lifestyle. Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222603717128565302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-2574669052706983192016-08-23T11:55:22.942-07:002016-08-23T11:55:22.942-07:00J @August 23, 2016 at 11:27 AM:
"Politics is...J @August 23, 2016 at 11:27 AM:<br /><br />"Politics is downstream of culture, so ultimately cultural problems are spiritual problems. Until our nation is restored to health spiritually, we will not have the fertile soil we need to create virtuous men."<br /><br />Agreed. Beautiful statement. Spot on.<br /><br />The questions your ask earlier are interesting. I would pose another one first: "Do you feel a pull toward anything greater than yourself?" This would be an interesting question to our young people, academics, business leaders and politicians. Anyone, really. Do you believe in something greater than yourself, something you would be willing to sacrifice for because it is more valuable and meaningful to you than pleasure, desire, or even your own life? <br /><br />The big questions are simple, open-ended and challenging. And don't appear on standardized tests.Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222603717128565302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-68202087412360420972016-08-23T11:27:21.387-07:002016-08-23T11:27:21.387-07:00I believe we should ask about whether or not these...<i>I believe we should ask about whether or not these children and young adults have good or bad character. Are they trustworthy and reliable? Do they have a strong work ethic? Do they show up on time? Do they take initiatives? Do they feel loyal to their school or their company? Are they patriots?</i><br /><br />These are better questions to ask if we want to check on the health of our society. But we have to go way deeper than that.<br /><br />The question, "Do they feel loyal to their school or their company?" could be reversed and asked, "Do their companies and schools demonstrate any loyalty to them?". Higher educational institutions are saddling their graduates with heavy debt and little job assistance. Companies are less loyal than ever to their employees, cutting jobs and outsourcing or bringing in cheaper H1B immigrants to replace them. It's a two-way street.<br /><br />Our young people need to be held to high standards, but so to our institutions and corporations.<br /><br />How do we turn all this around? Young men need incentives:<br /><br />1 - We need a reasonable chance of marrying a feminine woman and having a family. 2 - We need a reasonable chance of earning a living.<br />3 - We need a reasonable chance of earning honor and respect for living virtuously.<br /><br />There are many forces arrayed against us in these three areas:<br /><br />Feminism has really damaged young women (and of course men too). Women don't need men anymore (or so they think). Certainly not financially. They may have children with us, but will boot the father out of her and her children's life on a whim. Also, women are taught to act, dress and carry themselves like men. As we lose sexual polarity, we also lose the potential for attraction, healthy marriages and children.<br /><br />Globalism, open borders and unrestrained immigration have driven down wages and made earning a good living harder than ever for young men. Corporations that are solely focused on the profit motive do not benefit society as a whole. They need to be held to account to maintain their end of the social contract with their employees and the nation.<br /><br />Men are shamed for our sex drive, our lack of financial and educational success, our desire for respect. Virtue is no longer honored.<br /><br />Politics is downstream of culture, so ultimately cultural problems are spiritual problems. Until our nation is restored to health spiritually, we will not have the fertile soil we need to create virtuous men.<br /><br />Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-25293386095176583252016-08-23T07:21:46.462-07:002016-08-23T07:21:46.462-07:00If you read some of the early writings on self-est...If you read some of the early writings on self-esteem, circa late 1960s, they are actually pretty rational---along the lines of 'pat on the back when it's deserved, don't just kick in the ass when problems happen.' But along the way it got transformed into 'pat on the back regardless of whether it is deserved or not.'David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-5139401298949914412016-08-23T07:20:17.432-07:002016-08-23T07:20:17.432-07:00Trigger Warnings..."The self-esteem cult, in ...Trigger Warnings..."The self-esteem cult, in my opinion, is largely responsible for the viral re-emergence of one of the forgotten and little known 7 Deadly Sins, acedia: i.e., "a state of listlessness or torpor, of not caring or not being concerned with one's position or condition in the world [leading] to a state of being unable to perform one's duties in life."<br /><br />Peter Drucker mentioned acedia, which he said in the Middle Ages has been typical of the monk who realized, around age 40, that he would never be either saint or abbott...and suggested that the same acedia tended to appear in modern people who had been in the same careers till they reached that state of boredom.David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-29034565568492620622016-08-23T06:35:08.739-07:002016-08-23T06:35:08.739-07:00"It sounds like a good explanation, except th..."It sounds like a good explanation, except that it tends to absolve all human beings of responsibility for their behavior. "<br /><br />Ahh, but reasons and explanations provide a sense of security. If science can explain it, we can understand it. "Science says..." and "Studies say..." Never mind that we don't actually do much about it, but at least we know why it happened. So when Adam Lanza kills his mother, shoots up 26 human beings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and then kills himself, we speculate on why he did it -- because he was psychotic -- and somehow that makes it all better. But we don't do anything meaningful to protect people from psychotics (like forcibly institutionalizing them). Instead, we propose gun control, even though his mother bought the weapons for him. So then no one should have guns, except the government. Because 20th century governments were so reliable and trustworthy, as you aptly point out with the 200 million figure. Still, "Studies say..." and studies ought to be believed.<br /><br />No one is responsible for anything. That's the net product of social "science." There's a reason, rationalization, excuse and/or explanation for everything. But it never changes the result, does it? Punt.<br /><br />The problem with this generation of snowflakes is not too much experience, but lack of it. One can avoid all kinds of unpleasant encounters when living inside a cocoon.<br /><br />Blame the Glowing Box! Hold on... doesn't it have an on/off switch?<br /><br />We have met the enemy, and they is us. It seems we will give anything away for security, as long as it is couched in the right explanation. The Glowing Box tells us so, so it is true. But what do we give up? Our long-term self worth, our dignity. Self-esteem is a transitory objective -- justifying short-term peace or pleasure. It's a sham.Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222603717128565302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-11225603599688527622016-08-23T06:03:02.821-07:002016-08-23T06:03:02.821-07:00Interesting you should mention self-esteem. Counte...Interesting you should mention self-esteem. Countering the Ed.D. demographic (a demo whose ranks are swollen with misplaced self-esteem), Roy Baumeister, an experimental cognitive psychologist, has done some marvelous work in the area of self-control. A good video intro can be found here:<br /><br />http://bit.ly/2bARKmR<br /><br />The self-esteem cult, in my opinion, is largely responsible for the viral re-emergence of one of the forgotten and little known 7 Deadly Sins, acedia: i.e., "a state of listlessness or torpor, of not caring or not being concerned with one's position or condition in the world [leading] to a state of being unable to perform one's duties in life." [Wiki]<br /><br />Acedia could be as easily described as living in Mom's basement watching porn. It's a symptom of the classic sin of presumption, aka unearned self-esteem.<br /><br />Funny how we revisit this stuff every few centuries, despite Progress.Trigger Warningnoreply@blogger.com