Well, it's been a long while since I've posted anything. It now seems like there's something about getting "back to basics" that's important in making a new blog entry. The basic theme that I refer to is that of trauma and its effects, as well as the virtually ubiquitous nature of emotional, physical, and spiritual trauma in our culture. I see it as the elephant in the living room that doesn't get mentioned. Or, perhaps it's more like the unnoticed object which is hidden in plain sight. It's so "normal" that we don't identify it for what it is. Rather, we surround it with priorities, values, expectations and accepted norms so that it disappears from view. If it effects nearly everyone, it goes unnoticed as anything other than what's ordinary. We lose any reference point which would allow it to stand out from the background. The emperor is stark naked indeed, while we all insist that he is wearing the most stunning new set of clothes.
Boys don't cry. Girls are emotional. Families keep their private business to themselves. Spare the rod and spoil the child. Don't be so sensitive. Everything you need to know is in a literal interpretation of the authoritarian version of the Bible. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Patriotism means my country right or wrong, before all else. National geographic boundaries and borders are to be taken very seriously. Police are here to protect us. What's good for business is good for America. Right and wrong are obvious and simple, and something we can all agree upon. Etc.
A friend of mine who is a retired journalist, and with whom I frequently disagree about the importance of following the latest news reports, replied with "that's not considered news" when I pointed out that all we seem to get from the media is negative information, while there of course are other things going on in the world - positive, inspiring things. These other things are "not considered news" by our illustrious media, and are therefore not reported. Just take a moment to consider the implications of this "norm". It isn't difficult to see what a constant barrage of horror, war, violence, greed, corruption, crime, brutality, scandal, and other forms of power grabbing and self indulgence might produce. Did I say "might"? Sorry. I mean to say
"will".
This alone is a form of psychic trauma that we live with every day, simply by keeping up on the news. Do we call it that? Of course not. Do we recognize it for what it is? No. Do we take steps to protect ourselves from it? Mostly, we do not. Culturally we do not. In fact we do the opposite. Like my friend, we believe it is important to continue to abuse ourselves with this important information. We need to "know". We need to be informed. It's our civic duty. And so who in their right mind would suggest that we are being repeatedly traumatized by reading/watching/listening to the important news of the day? Nonsense.
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