Roger B. Burt's Blog, page 39
July 25, 2016
A Vision For Appalachia
Where should we apply our resources?
In this political season there is vision coming from some quarters and none from other quarters. One of the saddest things I am seeing is the complete lack of vision in regard to the future of the people of Appalachia and the victims of the coal industry.
Beauty at Our Doorstep
Appalachia is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever visited and its people have been treated terribly. We now have politicians claiming they are going to save the coal indus...
July 18, 2016
More Than A Cause
The Leadership of Women
In what ways do you think women will show special leadership?
Without question the role of women is being enhanced across the world. In almost every society they are being empowered and permitted new or enhanced roles. I’m utterly fascinated and have been since I saw women’s liberation blossoming in the 1960s. It just felt right.
When my Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy began to stir it was intuitively obvious that the people who would lead humankind to a new future had to be...
July 14, 2016
Seeking Perspective
Is this time in our national experience familiar to you?
National Exploration
It seems we are once again embarking on a national exploration or, call it soul searching. There is ample discussion but it often is not illuminating. Yesterday morning I passed through a television show I normally avoid. The pontificating lead anchor declared that this period is about self discovery and that the 1960s was about violence.
The host had no grasp of our history whatsoever. Looking at him I realize h...
July 11, 2016
We The People
Have you thought deeply about the basis of recent tragedies?
Thought Needed
In the wake of the atrocities in Dallas and the death of two black men there will no doubt be a lot finger pointing and attempts to use the events for partisan political gain.
An assessment of the basis for the killings can fill books but there are a few basic pieces of history to which we need to attend. The words We the People are being used as the headline for this post because we need to understand that it is f...
June 29, 2016
A Time of National Reformation
Understanding the Need for Change
Do you believe we are facing major change or just major disorder?
It has not yet been described as such, but it would seem we are on the verge of a national reformation. The reaction to the recent massacre in Orlando is just one indicator of a national crisis. Demographic change is looming large even as a major party seems to be in the process of collapsing. Now is a time for us to do a multilevel reevaluation on many fronts.
Public Safety and Guns
The event...
June 27, 2016
Orlando! The Meaning and Impact of Mental Illness IV
Sunset and fellow photographer at the beach Dealing with Life
Each of us can be placed on dimensions of a set of behaviors and processes. When there is mental illness is a matter of dispute and fashion. When mental illness is defined, too often it is a function of funding and professional achievement. That sounds obscure, but think about it for a moment.
When community mental health blossomed, we learned, at least in inner city poverty, that poverty is stressful (seriously?) if not just plai...
June 22, 2016
Orlando! The Meaning and Impact of Mental Illness III
In the Private Sphere
The story is long and detailed and over the years I saw so many dysfunctions related to how the mental health field was constructed. In private practice later I had to confront the insurance industry. In the end they were successful in virtually destroying much of the “mental health” field. They required ever more serious diagnoses if they were to grant payment. Often my decisions as a doctoral level psychologist were at the mercy of someone with a two year general col...
June 20, 2016
Orlando! The Meaning and Impact of Mental Illness II
Have you had contact with mental health professions?
An Ongoing Dispute
When I wrote the initial copy for this post it was entitled The Myth of Mental Illness. That was also the title of the 1961 book by Thomas Szasz that I hold in high regard. He questioned the foundation of psychiatry as do I. His case gets stronger as time passes.
The fact is, I chose to become a psychologist for reasons I’m still uncovering. Probably the chief among them was my need to deal with my mother’s severe depre...
June 15, 2016
Orlando! The Meaning and Impact of Mental Illness I
Another Terrible Warning
On what did you focus about this tragedy?
The recent massacre in Orlando, which is described as hate inspired terrorism, also raises the specter of mental illness along with a lot of other concerns which include effects coming from the political arena. Prejudice and failure to act in the national interest had a significant effect along with the manipulations by power hungry people who claim to be acting from a religious viewpoint. The true meaning of the attack has...
June 8, 2016
The Personality of the Artist (Painter)
Our Own Personal Style
While I did well in school it often did not hold my attention. Some things were fascinating and some things trivial. So frequently I “went out the window” which meant dreaming and exploring while the teacher went on his or her way. This process continued into graduate school. Some part of the subject matter was really interesting, other parts not so much.
As the time came closer for me to choose a doctoral dissertation topic I was working with a professor who held my...
