Roger B. Burt's Blog, page 30

Thank You For Your Service

 

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Have you ever had a stress reaction?

Have We Defined Stress Incorrectly?
Maybe our recent wars did not create an apocalypse for our nation, but we’re now facing some consequences of the wars. An apocalypse is ongoing for many of the residents of the Middle East but there is also significant distress among some people in our nation.

Some of that distress will be referred to as mental illness. I am not a huge fan of the medical model as it relates to mental and emotional functioning becaus...

Time for World Reformation or Devastation?

 

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Is this a picture of the dawn of hope or the end of the world in fire?

Keeping Our Eyes Open and Head Clear

We seem to be teetering on the edge of something but the question is “of what?”.

Nothing Is Eternal

As I’ve said previously it was not long ago that we were looking at a world of dawning hope. The Arab Spring was growing, Europe showed ever so much promise and the world in general suggested progress. And then the downward spiral began.

The deterioration in the Middle East was strikin...

Wonder and Creation

 

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Competing Forces

There are numerous competing forces in our lives. Some are the ordinary demands of our lives but there may be other kinds we ordinarily cannot perceive. We often seem to be interacting in an environment we do not understand. A lack of awareness compounds the problem.

And then there is the matter of power. There are all kinds of power but in this instance I’m not thinking of what comes out of the wall socket but the power of rulers who run our lives. These days we generally...

The Not So Loyal Opposition

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For you, what are the implications of the movement to empower women?

Opposing Empowerment

From history it is clear that there are very many people opposed to women being empowered. It was not so long ago that women did not have the right to vote. They had to be brave, march in the streets and insist that they should have such a right. In the 1960s came the women’s liberation movement. In some ways it was not an easy time for women. I recall women dressing in what amounted to men’s suits wit...

Our Nation in Crisis – An American Vision: Part 5

 

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Responding to Problems – Two Examples

An Epidemic of Drug Abuse

We are told we have a national heroin epidemic. Probably not quite. That’s an easy description.

It seems that we have been passing out prescription pain medication a little too easily. I have not heard a clear statement about why this issue is suddenly so prominent. If the issue is pain, then what kind of pain are we dealing with and why is it happening? Is it physical or emotional? Regardless of why, it is an issue and why is...

The Wonder of Reuben De Santis

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Seeking Character Diversity

In the first book of the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy, Gaia’s Majesty: Mission Called, our lead character, Chantia, refers to being among the fishies. Her use of the term reflects her ambivalence about the new life she has been thrust into in the world of the Tethyans.

Of course she has derived benefits such as finding the birth mother she didn’t know she had and the love of her life, Beck. But it is a complex world and she finds special appreciation of the man Reuben...

Baltimore! What have we done?

 

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Why do you think the disorders in Baltimore occurred?

Revisiting Baltimore

Recently an appointment in Baltimore led me on a tour of the city. Once again I had to revisit what I had seen happen in the city. The scars are still very much in evidence. I thought it time to republish this post. We are doing better in some regards but in many others we still are not attending to the needs of our people.

A National Outrage

One essential theme in this blog is the empowerment of women and there are...

A New Movement

A New System

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There is a new movement concerning how we handle problem issues in our personal lives. That may mean the things we have called mental illness. It’s about time.

As a psychologist I’ve had to wrestle with my profession and the allied profession of psychiatry. Fundamentally I’m not a huge fan of the term mental illness. Obviously no one would be enthusiastic about mental illness. But I’m talking about my reservations about the whole concept and how we respond to problems and crises...

Expanding Our World

 

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Other Life Forms

On a day to day basis there isn’t much reason to consider the possibility of other life forms. That doesn’t mean rabbits, deer and water buffalo. Other life forms refers to the ones we cannot ordinarily perceive. But the possibility keeps coming up.

When I started working on the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy I found story lines often led to other life forms. If humankind is, in fact, moving toward some kind of denouement or transformation, is it possible we would come in contact...

Nicolai’s Truth

 

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The World of Intelligence Intrigue

Lately there has been a lot off attention regarding Russia and its authoritarian regime. We have seen journalists and opposition leaders murdered. That process is not characteristic of just recent Russian history. I have a story from my past which is germane to current events and how we view our world.

Being in graduate school at Duke University working on my Ph.D. was fascinating in so many ways. The South was having a civil rights war, I found myself de...