America and the Brexit, or Much Ado About Nothing

I listen to the Media, something I would recommend you avoid, say that the World is going to hell and all is doomed. Great Britain has left the European Union. Let there be the wringing of hand and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Let us all wear sack cloth and ashes and do penance, for this is surely the death of Western Civilization. Or so they would have you believe.

Actually, it may signal the rebirth of sanity. The idea of a united Europe is old. The Church tried this when it created the Holy Roman Empire. Historians are fond of pointing out that it was neither holy, Roman nor an empire, and it did not last. Nations began separating and squabbling and soon, territorial wars spanned the Continent. The Romans could not maintain an empire and neither could the Vatican.

As the Reformation and the Enlightenment grew, there arose a counter movement, synarchy. Old school Catholics tried to revive the Divine right of Kings rap. Royalty was, to them, superior and favored by God, since they were rich , they should rule and, being gentleman, they could agree to rule their lands separately but with a sense of unity and cooperation. Now, there are more than a few logical flaws there and, for a long time, the idea remained on the back burner. The nobility lost power and the common man gained some power. Not a lot though, since the Industrial era gave power to huge corporate entities and they began to use their economic clout, to slowly seize power from the common folks.

Finally, after a whole lot of rivalry and colonialism and just a general lust for power ran rampant, Nations found themselves in a series of Wars and Revolutions, each cunningly planned and financed by the corporate heads and the banks that served them ( or maybe it was the other way around, thing get blurry and lines are crossed frequently in this madness). This is, of course, a very short version of a very complex history, but you get the drift.

Then along came Hitler and his plan to, yes, unite Europe. It is vital to remember that many in Europe and the US loved the little guy and gave him lots of support, at least until they realized that he was completely insane. Even then, secretly, they continued doing business with the Nazis, after all, business is business. You see though, that idea of synarchy was still alive.

After the war, Europe rebuilt and claimed to be scared of the USSR and formed NATO. Slowly, the idea of unifying Europe began building and finally, voila, the EU sprung up. But, it has become clear that it will not work. There are too many cultural differences, too many economic differences and, for a ruling body in Brussels to try to dictate the behavior of all of Europe showed its obvious imbecility. Add to that the massive influx from the Middle East and the EU is doomed. (Wonder why they want to take in all those refuges? Its not humanitarianism; look at the way they are ignoring poverty in Greece and Spain. No, it's just that all those corporations love the cheap labor and the additional consumers) The EU countries, with the exception of Germany (funny, there they are again), are in dreadful financial shape and Great Britain finally had sense enough to say, 'alright, we're out of here." Good for them.

As far as the good old USA goes, it is none of our business. Let me repeat that. It is none of our business. All of those countries will still do business with us, they love our dollars and we still grow a whole lot of food that the World needs. Yet, we are told, the markets are in shock. Bull, The stocks were riding a bubble that had to break anyway. It's a good thing it happened this  way and not from scandal and bank failure like it did in 2008. The real reason the Powers that Be are crying is that, like their European counterparts, they want all that cheap refuge labor here and they are afraid that since the British had nerve enough to stand up and say, 'no', that Americans might finally do the same. Also, being the Power addicts they are, they just resent being told. 'no.'

Well, too damn bad. Just like England, we need to stand up and shout, as Howard Beale said in the great movie Network, 'we're mad as hell, and we won't take it anymore.' Stop all this whiny nonsense about political issues that don't concern us and get to work and, make something of this Country again. That or just shut up and hide in you homes watching Dancing With the Stars and The Voice and admit that this once great Nation is no more. Your choice.

America, Terror and Orlando - the Killer's Mind

I am not big on psychology. The human mind is vastly complex. However, I think I may have a few ideas on our latest mass killer that may be useful.

First, all of us have things about ourselves we don't like, Most of us work these things out internally or, sometimes with the help of others, We realize that the fault is in us. Sometimes, for reasons that I don't think anyone really understands, something goes wrong, and we project our failings, or perceived failings (sometimes we just don't fit in with societies norms. It's not that we are doing anything truly immoral, we just don't fit. At the same time, what we dislike in ourselves may be some thing not acceptable by any system of morality) and, when we see those traits in others, we despise them. This is called projection. I suppose we all do this a little, especially when young, but most soon learn to deal with the faults in themselves. Again, here and there, things simply go wrong and this leads to another problem.

Carl Jung wrote of archetypes of the collective unconscious. These are seemingly possible ideals of patterns of behavior that we all are in touch with. Jung believed they have a existence separate fro ours. Where they come from and how they exist, we have no idea, but they are there and very dangerous. Jung, rightly believed that getting caught by an archetype and identifying with it was disastrous  since it prevented the further growth of the individual. You lock yourself into a set stereotype of behavior and belief that is only one aspect of existence.

There are many archetypes. For example, the World Savior. Jesus and Buddha are 2 examples of this. Whether those actual historic beings saw themselves that way is unknown. I somehow doubt it, but others view them as such.

Another example is the Avenger. Examples are the Archangel Michael, the Jewish Messiah, the Shambala warriors of Buddhism and Kalki, scheduled to be the cleansing and final avatar of Vishnu in the Kali Yuga. This has become a disturbingly prevalent archetype in our modern world. Look at popular movies of recent years, all the way from Dirty Harry and Death Wish to Batman and, yes The Avengers. Rorshach in The Watchmen is a perfect example. This image of the righteous battler of evil, seeking out and destroying the bad guys is a dominant archetype in our times.

Now, sane people know that this is entertainment and while they may get a kick out of seeing evil doers get wiped out, they are aware that this is not acceptable behavior. But, take a slightly unhinged mind, one that thinks it is the final arbiter of right and wrong, especially when it is assured of such by a fanatic religious movement, and you have a problem.

What to do? Well, you cannot and should not stop making entertaining, action packed movies just because they touch off the fuse in a madman's mind. I suppose, if you see someone, beginning to obsess on this need to right wrongs and destroy bad guys, you may want to talk to them, carefully about those thoughts, possibly encouraging them to get a little help. Again, be very careful with this, lest they decide you are one of the bad guys they have to destroy. If you feel you cannot do this, or have reason to fear them, a word to authorities may be called for. I say that regretfully. I hate to think we have come to the point where we start telling police about our weird neighbors but, if they truly seem dangerous, we must.

I would strongly urge parents to use caution in allowing your kids to see any films or TV shows that glorify the crusading avenger. The ultimate answer is for our society to finally grow up and stop declaring behaviors that hurt no one to be horribly immoral. We have to stop this Manichean, all is totally good or totally bad approach to the World.

America, Terror, and Orlando

I had to think a bit about the horror in Orlando before writing. The entire incident is just weird. Something is missing from the narrative we are being given. Oh well, more and more, I get the feeling that we are not being told even a fraction of the whole story.

Let's start with the killer's job, security. Those guys are supposed to be carefully screened and in his case, he had worked for a pretty high level company. Well, being questioned twice by the FBI should have showed up on his background check and raised a caution flag, but I guess not. Second, what kind of security did this club have? In this day and age I am afraid all clubs are going to need professional, armed security. Sorry, that's just the way things are now. Third, how can 1 person, even armed, subdue 300. I know that among the folks I have known, if it seemed likely that we were about to get shot, we would have moved on the guy. Yes, some would still get shot but they were anyway. If a lot of people move at the shooter from all directions, some will get through and be able to subdue him (you can't shoot in 3 directions at once). Fewer would have died.

But, all that aside, let's talk about how to prevent future such events. Some say gun control. Let's be clear. You will never eliminate guns in our society. They are now an ingrained part of American society. There are just too many of them. Any idea that everybody will turn theirs in is foolish and any thought of the Government confiscating them is dangerous since many gun owners will use those guns to keep them. Make them illegal and people will simply find illegal sources, like they do with drugs (we all know how well that war on drugs has gone).

Tolerance of those who differ from the norm would be useful and there is some movement in that direction. That is a very good thing but such change is slow. That's just the way humans are and it is not helped when you have people clinging to archaic belief systems. The killer seems to have deliberately targeted a gay club. Well, the kind of extreme Islamic beliefs he chose to follow teaches that gays should be killed, but, lest anyone lay this solely at the feet of Islam, let me remind one and all that there are still a few extreme Christian sects who feel the same way, thankfully fewer all the time but, still some.

William Burroughs said that by the time a situation had become a problem, there was no good solution, you just had to let the scenario play itself out. Maybe he was right. All I can suggest is that everyone use a bit of caution. Watch your surroundings, learn a few ways of defending yourself, and be ready  to call authorities any time you see something weird going on. That sounds really lame. It is, but for the life of me, I cannot come up with anything better, in the short run.

In the long run? We need to examine the 'whys' behind terrorism. Not the politics, but the mind set that seems to keep turning out these terrorists. That's what the next post will deal with. I think I have an idea that may be worth considering. 

America and Dugs - Why We Dp It?

I promised that I would try an explanation of why folks use drugs, not medicially, but to alter their minds. Well here goes.

First, the urge to alter the mind is common to all people for as far back in history as we can go. Kids have this same urge. Just watch them spin around until they're so dizzy they fall laughing to the ground, then lay there smiling. Animals, from birds, to coyotes, to elephants and reindeer have all been observed seeking out and consuming mind altering plants.

The mind uses the brain as a tool to interact with the world. The brain is bombarded by a vast number of sensory impressions each second and if it allowed the mind to be conscious of all of them, we would be overwhelmed, frozen as we tried to deal with it all. So, the brain evolved a mechanism to decide what is neede for survival and send all the rest, the vast majority, to the subconscious. This is needed so we can survive.

But, our minds know they are being shortchanged. The limiting mechanism is not perfect and little, odd things leak through here and there and the mind wants to know more. Well, there are substances that temporarily over ride that limiting mechanism. In the old fashioned pin ball machines, you could bang them around, but, hit them too hard, and a sign came uo saying'Tilt, Game Over.' Then you hit reset and started again. Well, apply the right push, chemical or otherwise, and that little device in your brain says'tilt', stops the game and then resets the mechanism.

During this process, the mind is free to see, for a bit, what it is missing, and that is helpful as we move along our spiritual and intellectual paths, That's why we seek mind alteration. There are many ways to do this. A lot of us use chemicals because they are quick, dramatic and they always work. However, trust me, the less chemicals you use, the better.

America and Drugs

It is hard to write about alcohol. So much has been said of it and it is so ingrained in our culture. Actually, it is engrained in most cultures and throughout history it has been the drug of choice most everywhere. Why?

Well, its easy to make, it, mostly has a pleasant taste, and it is nicely relaxing. Most folks reading this have at least some exposure to alcohol, so I won't waste time discussing its effects or its drawbacks.

Drink too much and you become clumsy and stupid. Drink too much, too often and you develop probems that may kill you. Some folks get violent when they drink, some get wildly happy, some downright morose. The drug seems to release parts of ourselves we keep in check most of the time when we overdo it.

But, that's the thing. The drug is damaging when overdone, but reasonably benign when consumed moderately, which is how most consume it. It relaxes the body and eases the mind.

The way it is consumed is important. Most folks drink it somewhat slowly. Very few take a fifth of liquor and drain it right down. Some do amd if you are one of those, quit or you won't be here long. By drinking it at a reasonable pace, you can keep tabs on how it is affecting you and stop before you turn into a raving monster.

Be careful with alcohol. Use it reasonably and you'll be fine. Get carried away and you won't.

America and Drugs - Marijuana

All these years later, I am still not sure how I feel about cannabis. First, let me say that it should be cheap and easy to get for medical reasons. If a doctor legitimately sees a use for it, then the patient should be able to go to a pharmacy and get his supply at a fair cost. Total legalization? Well, that's a little different.

One thing for sure, giving or selling the drug to anyone under the age of 21 should be illegal and firmly punished. The human brain is not finished growing until the early 20s and the use of mind altering drugs should not be allowed until then.

I used to smoke a lot, a whole lot, of weed. I haven't smoked in about 25 years. Why? That gets into the nature of the drug. It is usually called a mild hallucinogenic and that is sort of true. I have, in more recent years, heard it called a hypnotic, and there is also some truth in that. The thing is, different strains of weed have different effects and each person reacts a little different to marijuana than others do. On top of that, it seldom effects someone the same way all the time. In truth, we really don't understand just how it works. We do know that just as the body produces endorphins, its own opiate, and DMT, its own psychedelic, it produces endocanabbinols. They seem to be involved in regulating sleep, hunger, and body temperature, but, we simply don't understand the exact mechanisms.

On a practical level, the drug is not as harmless as some would have you think. Smoked, here and there, it probably is okay, although it is hard to define what 'here and there' means. But on a regular basis, it does effect short term memory, it makes you lazy, and, the ability to focus is impaired. You can still focus, but on 1 thing at a time and it is very difficult to shift focus. This is the problem I have with total legalization. That inability to shift focus makes driving a really bad idea, yet, just as with alcohol, a person high on weed will think they can drive. Trust me, they can't, not well.

At this time, we cannot test for marijuana usage as we can alcohol. Blood must be drawn and lab work done, and we have no way of setting the level at which the driver is impaired. Until we understand that better, we need to think twice about complete legalization.

Still, at the same time, I find it barbaric to put people in jail for smoking marijuana. I really have no good ideas on how we should deal with this issue. I will say this. Most folks I knew, went through periods when they smoked a lot, then they quit. Why? Simple. once you stop making a big deal out of it, you learn that the drug is really pretty darn boring. Sitting around buzzed, staring into space or at the tube, munching on snacks, and smiling, gets old fairly fast. Maybe the best idea is to just not make a big deal out of it. Fine people for possession if they don't have a prescription. Stop the importation of the stuff and ignore domestic growth. Just wait out the fascination and let folks get bored with it.

America and Drugs - Hallucinogens

Note: I will be writing about our latest mass shooting in a few days. I need some time to process things before I can make any intelligent comments. Until then, I will continue the current series.

I hate the term hallucinogens. The term is just inaccurate since often, in fact usually, the drugs produce no true hallucinations. Visual effects? Yes. True hallucinations? No. The other terms are just as bad. Originally, they were called 'psychodelics,' meaning manifesting psychosis, which they were thaught to do. They don't. Then they were called psychedelics, literally meaning 'mind manifesting. Well, the mind is always manifesting so that is a silly term. Now, they seem to be called 'entheogens.' which roughly means an agent releasing the God within. This is absolutely ridiculous. It is true that in some people, at some times, use of the substances leads to a powerful spiritual experience but, it is equally true that they were, for a while, a favorite party drug for the Hell's Angels, so that pretty well kills that idea.

Ken Kesey put it best. They just turn up the volume; they intensify the brain's activity and thus allow you to access parts of the mind you normally aren't aware of. Look at it this way. Suppose you have an old TV with the old rabbit ear antenna and you get 3 channels. Now, suppose one day, while you are out, a kindly techno-gremlin drops in and hooks you up to cable. When you come home, you suddenly have 100 channels. That would be great except you are getting all 100 at once and at full volume. That gives you an idea what these substances do.

That is the problem. they do open the mind but they are so uncontrollable. After awhile, you do start to find your way around your brain and you can learn a lot, but all of that can be learned in other ways. True, the process is slower, but it is also richer and deeper. Meditation, contemplative prayer, fasting, music, extreme physical activity all can throw you in to new mental states in a far more useful way. Actually, so can rational study and even just learning to relax and pay attention to how your mind works and what you are perceiving.

There are a couple of sorts of these substances. Usually, when referring to hallucinogens, people mean LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, DOM, or DMT, in their synthetic form or in the plants they are derived from. These are all stimulants/ There are also drugs like ketamine, PCP, and DMX that are relaxants and really, while they do have a kind of psychedelic tinge, would be better called disassociatives, in that you jst kind of cut your mind off from the world.

There is another hallucinogen that I know little about, amanitia, a mushroom that is favored by some shamen. For some reason, people are fascinated by this mushroom which by all accounts produces a weird variety of effects that vary according to where it is grown and how old it is when picked. This stuff, if not handled properly will make you ill and may even be fatal, so why anyone touches it is beyond me.

Actually, I was under the impression that hallucinogens went out of fashion long ago, but it seems I was wrong. Let me say this. In these drugs, purity and dosage is vitally important and, unless you know a PhD in organic chemistry with a proper lab, don't go near any of it. Even if you know, 100%, what you have, there are better ways, as mentioned above, to explore your consciousness.

Most folks I knew who took them, quit for a few reasons. First, they are uncontrollable, after all, that is kind of the point. Second, the purity issue. Third, fatigue, they take a lot of energy out of you. And fourth, oddly enough, boredom; after awhile, they show you nothing new and after taking them, you are stuck in an odd, but ultimately very boring space.

I do not regret having taken these things; I learned a lot. Having said that, I would not go through that again, and I would urge others to avoid these drugs.

America and Drugs - Opiates

The recent death of Prince and a rash of overdoses in the NE have brought opiate addiction to the foreground again. I say again because this is a periodic plague in this country. In the 1940s, heroin was a big problem but, to be very blunt, not many people cared because it mostly affected the black ghettos. Sorry, but we were even more racist then than now.

Heroin made a big comeback in the 70s. It was cheap and a lot of folks I knew were trying to come down from the hangover left by the acid days. That was a bad plan. Now, we are swamped with high quality heroin from Afghanistan. Odd, the Taliban had stopped opium growing, then, when we invaded they started again to finance the war. Even more odd is the fact that some of our allies there are opium smugglers and now we have a glut of junk. Of course, I am being sarcastic. The American CIA has a long history of drug smuggling, from Vietnam to Columbia and now to Afghanistan.

The timing is obvious. The pharmaceutical companies flooded the market with Oxycodone, which was said to be non-addictive. Of course, it turned out to be horribly addictive, supplies got cut off as doctors put away their prescription pads, and folks everywhere discovered that they had to feed the monkey on their back. And, right on time, cheap heroin shows up and suddenly you have Moms and Dads, even Grandmas and Grandpas, nice middle class folks, out scoring smack.

But, that aside, what of the drugs? Well, they have medical use. They are the only really effective pain killers. Anti-inflammatories work by easing inflammation which, to a degree, eases pain. Opiates kill pain. And that is the problem. They work better than anything else and they are highly addictive. For those suffering chronic pain, I empathize, having been through bouts of that myself. I have no answers except to say, avoid opiates as much as possible. Sorry, that's not much help, but it's  all I have.

Then there are 'recreational users' although what's so much fun about sleeping is beyond me. That is really all you do when high on opiates, doze. However, there is a less obvious effect, well 2 really. One, seldom mentioned is the rush of warm pleasure that flood the body when the drug hits. It really is an amazing rush and it is over quickly, so, using for that reason is idiotic. Then, after the rush, you feel wonderful in an odd way. When you are awake enough to notice, you feel like you are in a warm, little cocoon. safe and completely unattached to the world and its woes. You are completely at ease and I understand the attraction of that, but, again, the feeling is short lived.

Opiates come in many forms, but there are 3 basics. First, opium; usually smoked, not easy to get, and relatively mild. Second, codeine, one component of opium; I never found it to be that great as a pain killer, but, short of terminal illness, it's about all a doctor will give you. It always made me cranky and constipated (a side effect of all opiates). Third, morphine and its derivatives; the other component of opium, it is vastly superior to codeine as an analgesic and much more pleasurable. All 3 have this in common, they are powerfully addictive and withdrawal is nightmarish. I have been with friends who were withdrawing and it is brutal. They all agree that if you imagine the worse case of flu you ever had and multiply by about 10, that is what withdrawal is like.

If you have to take opiates for any medical reason, be very careful. Keep the doses minimal and get off the drug as soon as you can. If you take opiates recreationally, you are an utter fool and you need to get yourself into rehab ASAP.

America and Drugs - Psychiatric Drugs

I am not an expert on the chemicals used by psychiatrists, in fact, my knowledge of them is scant, but, I do have a few words to say on the topic. I have never been prescribed any behavior modifying drugs, although I sure there are those who would have thought it a good idea, but, I have had friends who were and, just to see what they were going through, I sampled them, minimally.

Ritalin is often given for Attention Deficit Disorder, hyperactivity. It is amphetamine-like, as is the current favorite, Adderall, but the effects are not exactly the same. On Ritalin I found that I had none of the speed rush, but I was jittery, like I had downed a pot of coffee in 15 minutes, and had a splitting headache. For sure, I could concentrate, but I had no control over what I was concentrating on. I set out to read a book but rapidly found myself fascinated by the patterns in my bedroom wall's plaster. I have known folks who benefitted greatly from Ritalin but, I have known others given the drug to have a dreadful time with it. I have known no kids who were given the drug but, I am told that often it is prescribed when not needed and I cannot imagine what that might do to a kid.

My Mom, as a side effect to a drug she took for Parkinson's Disease, suffered intense hallucinations. When she called and demanded that I come over and kill the golden lizards that were swarming all over her front porch, I called her doctor who prescribed Haldol, an anti-psychotic. It  worked wonders. I never sampled that so I don't know what it feels like, but, it worked wonders for her.

On the other hand, I have had friends given Thorazine and after seeing them become zombie-like, I gave it a try, actually twice. I knew it was an anti-psychotic and had heard that it would bring you off an unpleasant acid trip. It does. Five hours in and having a bad time, I took 1 and in no time, I was completely straight and had no noticeable side effects. The other time, to see what my friend was going through, I took  one and had a nightmarish experience. I felt dead, could not think and moved very, very slowly. Now, my friend was troubled and truly weird, but by no means were they psychotic, and the drug was doing nothing but numbing them. They stopped taking it, changed some of their habits and began functioning well, after they quit taking the drug.

Another friend suffered from depression and took Stellazine. It worked wonders. Of course, out of curiosity and with a demented interest in scientific exploration, I took one. Well, I wasn't depressed; I simply became numb and lost the ability to walk a straight line for awhile; again, a nightmarish experience.

Of course, these days there are a wonderland of drugs to treat hyperactivity, psychosis, depression, mania, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc. So, what is the meaning of all of my rambling anecdotes. Just this. Some people do have legitimate chemical imbalances and they are greatly helped by these drugs. there is no doubt of that.

At the same time, there are doctors who are prescription happy and all too willing to give these extremely powerful and dangerous drugs to anyone with a little problem. Feeling sad? Take this. Feeling too excited and happy? Take this. Can't concentrate? Take this.

If you go to a therapist or doctor and the first thing they do is whip out a prescription pad, run quickly from their office. If, on the other hand, they order a physical exam and full blood work, and mention the possibility of things like brain scans, and, if, when they have a full view of your physical state, in your body and brain,  and they have spoken to you at length about your life, your habits and those you associate with, they then recommend a drug, trust them and do as advised. This is especially true if you are having your kids evaluated. Just because a kid is jumpy and acts up and doesn't do well in school, doesn't mean they have ADD. It might just be that they are doing what most kids do so well, being annoying and difficult. Find a doctor who will rule out every other possibility before you let him put your kid on a drug. Remember, these are powerful drugs, no one really knows exactly how they work, and a human brain is not fully formed until they are around 20.

Do not put anything in your brain that you a) don't understand and b) that is unneeded. If you have a good doctor, trust him. If not, find one. If you have horrible side effects, talk to the doctor. If he doesn't listen, find another. The drugs used by psychiatrist are useful, even vital for some folks and you should never feel ashamed or stigmatized if you need them. The chemistry of our brain is unbelievably complex and it does, here and there, get off balance. On the other hand, medicating yourself into oblivion for no valid reason is just as bad. Be careful.