Tuesday, Chicago, Illinois

Among the divides in American Popular culture there is one that we don’t like to talk about much. It’s the divide between the vapid and the intellectually alert, between the thinkers and the blinkers. Every society has it’s separation between those who are reflective, value learning, who work on improving their minds and those who think with their loins, ridicule education and reject intellectual improvement.

And I am not referring to the real bottom of the literary scale of mouth breathing felons with misspelled tattoos who prey upon the rest of us and give cause for the entire enterprise of the criminal justice system. It’s the love affair we have been having for a long time with associating learning with a snobby elite. There are those cars with the bumper sticker, “My Child is an Honor Student at…” and then there is the car behind with “My Child Beat Up Your Honor Student at…” O…Kay!

Susan Jacoby, writing for the Washington Post point out, “Americans are in serious intellectual trouble…in danger of losing our hard-won cultural capital to a virulent mixture of anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and low expectations.”

Illustrations abound!

- One of five Americans believe the Sun revolves around the earth!

- One of three don’t know where the Pacific Ocean is!

- Only one of ten can find Iraq on a map!

- And all the while our scores in math & science continue to fall behind!

This would all be tragic enough if it weren’t for the gloating of the dumb. Mocking the intellectually gifted has been a staple of television comedy for decades. Ridiculing nerds and geeks is stable grist for the entertainment mill. And many of the most popular television programs feature fighting and the celebrations of physical prowess.

What gets lost in these distractions is the fact that a high percentage of the ignorant morons beating the crap out of each other in ultimate fighting have a limited career future, while the dweebs who get rejected are busily inventing the new technologies that are changing human life.

It’s an anecdotal observation to be sure, but my exposure to individuals visiting here from other emerging countries, such as India, China & Japan, place far more value and esteem on the endeavors of the mind than the activities that induce sweat, bruises and contusions. Until we begin to rebalance the scales and make heroes of the people who are conquering cancer instead of those conquering another tattoo covered dropout with a gym-chiseled physique, we will continue our slide down the competitive scale.

If you are fascinated and motivated by the activity of beating people up, good luck with that. But let’s have no illusions. Those values and passions are not contributing to the advancement of society. The more hours each week that Americans spend amusing ourselves with unreflective nonsense, the further we slip behind and slip away into irrelevance. That does not sound like the America I know.

Glorifying and excusing the stupid is what is hurting the country. If he were alive today, I doubt Thomas Jefferson would be found belching in his easy chair watching professional wrestling!

Good God! Read a book; encourage your kids to focus on school and learn. And spend a little tme with the History Channel, The Learning Channel, Discovery. Anything beyond Wrestling, American Gladiator or Ultimate Fighting. America needs you to think more.

The Dick Van Dyke Show was a great classic program in television history. And it has an interesting psychological theme. The significant clue to this theme is seen at the very beginning of the program when Rob Petrie comes through the front door after day at work and trips over an ottoman. This so-called "accident" reveals that Rob is startled and unprespared seeing professional colleagues Buddy & Sally in his home. Why? Rob as a man torn by his loyalties between home and office. He loves his work life so much that he actually feels more relaxed and at home at the office with his family of co-writers. When he walks in and sees his work partners in his living room it is as if worlds collide! It tells us that Rob has some discomfort with merging his work life with his home life. He feels in control when they are kept separate. And it suggests that he has guilt about the attention he gives to work. In a sense, ironically Rob is "robbing" Laura and Richie of his full energy and passion.

Might this describe you? Do struggle with some guilt that you love your work and feel more energized by its then your home life? Do sometimes field tripped up when you move from one world to another?

Or maybe it’s the opposite for you. Perhaps you love your personal life so completely that you neglect your job abd careeer responsibilities. If so, it ceratinly could explain why you have consistently come up short on your career dreams. Hmmm!

Friday, West Lafayette, Indiana
(A New Video Monday!)

The Law of Emotional Desensitization

Some holidays are rooted in long standing traditions of national pride or religious conviction. The Fourth of July and Easter come to mind. Americans have long been acclimated to the commercialization of each of these holidays.

Whether you are amused or troubled by the transformation of Christmas into Santa Claus,Easter into the Bunny or President’s Day into a department store sale, it’s all part of the cultural landscape. Then there are the created holiday events like Halloween and Super Bowl Sunday. But the most obvious has to be Valentines Day.

This is the day we express our love to someone with cards, flowers and even a night out. It is estimated that over a billion Valentines Day cards are sent each year. The sentiment is noble. Let’s take a day to focus on expressing our love for the special people in our life. But let’s face it, not everyone can figure out how to do this. What to do? Business sees the problem and comes to the rescue. Voila! the love industry is born. Sales of flowers, candy and cards go through the roof in early February.

Hallmark cards was built on helping lovers express feelings with the simple idea: let us give you the words that you probably don’t have yourself. For those who have to admit, “I don’t talk good,” Hallmark reassures you. We can talk for you. It’s the Cyrano De Bergerac strategy. When words fail - we rescue the tongue-tied and the obtuse. And how grateful we are for this great gift of commerce.

Every year millions stand humbly by watching their loved one read a warm, heart-piercing sentiment and, dissolving into tears, falls into their arms. Forgotten in the moment is that these are the words of someone living several states away, contracted by a card company and sitting at their computer with a thesaurus and Bartlett’s book of Quotations. Nonetheless, you get the credit! God bless America.

Of course there is a dark side to Valentine’s Day. Just as significant is when we fail to acknowledge someone we claim to love. This has created a secondary market we might categorize as guilt offerings.

These are a form of atonement for when you have failed to acknowledge your feelings for an entire year. Trying to worm your way back into the good graces of someone who is furious with you? Don’t worry. Stores are open late to help you purchase the perfect sacrificial offering to lay on the altar of the offended god who desires to smote you.

The other major Valentine’s Day category is the fantasy gesture. This is given to someone who has captured your heart but who you are too timid to tell in person. With an anonymous Valentine’s card you can have Hallmark say to them, “

I believe you are perfect. I dream about you night and day.” Of course this can be risky for two reasons. First you might well be cruelly rebuffed causing emotional pain and loss of self-esteem. Second, you might be accused of harassment causing financial pain and loss of your job.

All in all Valentine’s Day is a delightful distraction in the middle of the long winter. And let’s face it, what else are we doing? No one really gets emotional reflecting on President’s Day.

The gift industry has never figured out how to capitalize on that sentiment, But it might be helpful to understand that before there was FTD, Hallmark and Godiva chocolates, there was a real Saint Valentine. In fact there were three of them, all martyrs. Yipes!

How do we get from martyrs to this? In the middle ages people noticed that the birds began pairing off around the time that the Church remembered one of these poor Valentines. So the tradition is rooted more in watching the birds than anything to do with Valentine. It is a common human challenge that we often take for granted that the people we love know that we still love them.

It is a good thing to be reminded that those in our life, despite a veneer of confidence and bluster, need to be told that they are valued and loved. And this dynamic is relevant not only to those with whom we are most intimate, but to everyone we encounter.

Every relationship we have needs to be nurtured. You may be paired off with one other bird, but don’t ignore the needs of the flock!

Happy Valentine’s Day.

I love you all!

Thursday, West Lafayette, Indiana

What a pathetic display of arrogance, stupidity and dishonesty dressed up in a suit. I’m referring, of course to the Congressional Hearings on the Roger Clemens steroid debacle. And the supremely embarrassing individuals were the Congressmen asking the questions.

With few exceptions they were predictably haughty and grandstanding. Some were worse than others. There’s no problem with asking the tough questions but the skewering of Mr. MacNamee made it seem that these Bozo’s were mostly star struck and pandering to the cameras.

Indiana’s Dan Burton was emotional and nearly incoherent, foaming at the mouth as he attacked Brian McNamee. He needed his aides to whisper facts into his ear when he confused facts and stammered. He opened his statement by asking Clemens if he could call him "Rocket." Huh!? I was waiting for him to run down and ask for Roger’s autograph.

And he wasn’t the only one. It became easy to see which party had an axe for Clemens and which for McNamee his accuser. Once again it became a display of congressional representatives lining up for party loyalty while blowing gas about seeking the truth. What immoral, unbearable gasbags.

While this whole matter might make for a great daytime television soap opera, it begs the question about why are these knuckleheads spending a day of taxpayer money refereeing an intractable dispute between two individuals involved in baseball? We are in a recession, a war and a heated presidential campaign.

Is this spectacle deserving of national media focus? A quick wrap up on the evening news of a lawyer’s deposition would have been more than enough. Do the sycophant aides working for these privileged individuals have the courage to clue them in about how they appear to us? One idiot had to be told the name of Jose Conseco.

HELLO! Next time you’re on a paid corporate junket somewhere, read the section of the newspaper relevant to your hearing! Catch up! It was embarrassing.

Wednesday, West Lafayette, Indiana

General Motors announced the largest single business loss in American history - a staggering 38 billion dollars! Whoa!

In an effort to stanch the bleeding, the company is offering every one of its workers a generous buyout to get them out the door and off the payroll. General Motors, an icon of American industry for nearly a century looks like it’s circling the drain. And while there is no stated connection between events, it’s yet another distressing indicator that something is deeply wrong with the economic health of our country. The GM story has the feeling of a symptom … that something even deeper is at play.

Most people have long recognized that American products, automobiles being one obvious example, have been getting their brains beat in by superior products coming here from other countries. Even when setting up manufacturing facilities on local soil with American workers, companies like GM, Ford and Chrysler have failed to become lean and competitive in response to evolving trends and consumer demands. For many years now buyers have been opting for the products of Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, and on and on.

When taken together with our slide into recession, and the shocking billions being spent so inefficiently on our foreign wars while simultaneously pressing for less tax burden to pay for it all, it feels like quicksand. National endeavors don’t work unless we are collectively asked to sacrifice and participate. In the tension between management and unions it appears that the right balance has clearly not been met. From a lay person’s point of view, it seems like we are starting to slide in many areas when compared to more ambitious and savvy foreign competitors.

And in light of the studies indicating a growing problem of self-absorption and ego-entitlement among Americans, it’s not surprising we are getting out hustled by hungry, humble and disciplined workers in India, China, Japan and wherever else.

Thriving - even surviving - in the new world economy will take some serious self reflection about how we are raising our children to go toe-to-toe with their peers everywhere. And that’s going to take a readjustment of expectations and willingness to be patient and surrender our maniacal, ludicrous drive for personal stardom.

If we continue along this lazy path, there is no reason to believe there won’t be more companies hemorrhaging money.

- All electricity in the building is turned off within 30 seconds of closing time

- The CEO qualifies for food stamps

- The Christmas bonus last year was a Wendy’s Gift Certificate

- The monthly phone bill for all company global operations totals $85.

- The FDA has condemned your company’s core product

- You company qualifies for benefits from the local United Way campaign

- The Chairperson of the Board is seen changing light bulbs in the building

- Your company is bought out by a local bakery

- The CFO drives a Yugo

- You are relocated to Mexico but when you arrive no one knows anything about it

Tuesday, Indianapolis, IndianaThis is the anniversary of the 100th episode of the classic crime show Ironside. Starring the great television actor, Raymond Burr, who was most well known for his role as Lawyer Perry Mason, it ran for 8 seasons (1967-1975).

The show’s name played off the irony that the lead character, Detectives Robert Ironside was confined to a wheelchair after being shot and wounded while on duty with the San Francisco Police Department. After his recovery the department used him as a special consultant who worked on difficult cases.

Using mental powers where once he used physical abilities he cracked crimes on behalf ofd the department. The cast surrounding Burr was exceptional including Detective Ed Brown, a reformed youthful offender Mark Sanger and a wealthy and beautiful socialite police officer Eve Whitfield.

The team took on cases that were too difficult or time consuming for the department and solved them using Ironside’s great investigative powers.

Why We Watch

In many ways this program continued the fascination viewers had with Burr in his role as brilliant attorney Perry Mason. Here, although in a very different role as a physically disabled police officer, he remained a remarkable individual who could unravel a mystery using his deductive powers in lieu of physical force.

It is in some ways an extension with our fascination with the legendary Sherlock Holmes, the detective who used brains to outwit criminals.And this is a strategy that is appealing to all of us. We frequently feel at the mercy of brute force - whether from other people or from nature - and want to believe that using our wits can overcome the odds staked against us in life.

Dr. Will appeared on the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom Show Monday (Hope you enjoyed!)

Friday, Lafayette, Indiana

The news is full of bad news!

Headlines are filled with stories of violence, war, economic problems and interpersonal conflict, including hatred justified in the name of God. From the global scene of war and poverty down to the local with our murders and drugs, it’s a mighty challenge to remain optimistic. In order to cope, it’s tempting to find distractions to keep our mood buoyant. One dependable distraction is to focus on entertainment and sports. Or is it?

Breeze through the entertainment or sports headlines on any pop culture site and guess what? The stories are about miscreant behavior, drug use, steroids, premature death and outrageous behavior.

- Appealing young actor Heath Ledger dies as a result of misuse of prescription drugs

- Brittany Spears leaves the psychiatric ward and actress Delta Burke checks in

- Kirsten Dunst checks into drug rehab and actor Randy Quaid is kicked out of his actor’s union for “abusive, lewd behavior” committed on stage and in meetings

- British singer and crack user Amy Winehouse can’t perform at the Grammy Awards because her VISA request was denied

- Twice a week prime time displays the pathetic spectacle of thousands of delusional adolescents who were never told that they are without performing talent until Simon, Randy & Paula broke the news to them.

And these are just the stories leading the news this week!

OY! Nonsense everywhere…even in the world of make believe.

It’s difficult to get a fair hearing when criticizing the media because they own the biggest microphones, cameras, printing presses and distribution chains. Their blowback is ferocious. Nonetheless, they deserve the derision of the public for succumbing to the economic temptation to highlight the low lights and minimize the significant.

When a global war against religious terrorists finds its way to page 3 while the page 1 stories are about local killings and storm damage, priorities are really skewed. Covering the antics of pretentious celebrities and engaging in little or no meaningful reflection continues to debase our character and shame us in the world.

Thank God for the blogosphere and its capacity to splinter the mass audience and siphon off some attention to worthier content, offering a free-form environment to spit back at the profit centered mainstream media with its own pretentious, celebrity journalist culture.

And this is from yours trully, who regularly wallows in the world of celebrity claptrap.
I need to get a life.

- Although you know nothing about art you, attend and nod thoughtfully at paintings at a local gallery

- You often sneer but never laugh

Thursday, West Lafayette, Indiana

Dr. Gunnar Ollsen is a senior research fellow at the Teletherapy Institute in Fowler, Indiana. He was born in Holland and emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager. He became addicted to television, typically devoting over one hundred hours each week to watching. Sent by his parents to counseling, he then developed a reaction formation and became committed to spreading the idea that television is destroying American civilization. He now devotes his life to the science of Teletherapy - the study of hidden meanings in television programs. He sent the following to me:

(CAUTION: Some of the writing below shows signs of incoherent rambling and may indicate a decompensation or even a psychotic break on the part of Dr. Ollsen. Pick out only what is helpful for you)

Dr. Will,

As you know I am often the victim of stalking. These are crazed fans desperate to learn from me how to find healing through television. In one recent encounter at a local food store an individual (let’s call her Phyllis Dirkson of Panama City, Florida) assaulted me with bag of croutons rolled up in her fist.

As I lay there twitching on the floor of the bread aisle, she said to me, “clearly I am disturbed. My question is, did television do this to me?”  I asked her to sit next to me on the floor and said I would offer my insight. Before long there were a dozen other shoppers sitting around me as I lectured. Here are my insights:

The question before us is, "has Your TV Viewing Made You Psychotic?"

As we begin our study of the special problems associated with extreme craziness, perhaps you are not sure if you or someone you know might be cracked. Take this quick test to assess your sanity. (Remember, answering yes is not good news, but lying will not help you. In fact, if you lie by answering any of these questions “no,” this means you are probably a pathological liar, and this can be as problematic as psychosis.)

1. While watching television, do your thoughts wander to topics completely unrelated to the content of the program? (For instance, while watching “Law & Order” you begin reflecting on origami, even though you have no history of contact with the art of paper folding)

2. Have you ever heard messages relating to the government coming through your television set during talk show? Were they encrypted, and, if so, were you able to understand the code? Have you made a call to the authorities reporting these messages?

3. Have you ever gone on a trip using plastic trash bags as luggage? Have you ever made a rain suit from a plastic trash bag? If so, have you ever saved it for reuse at another time? Do you believe this is what Wolf Blitzer would want you to do?

4. Have you ever torn the “Do not remove” tag from a mattress and lost sleep or appetite, or experienced any other anxiety related digestive symptoms concerning your probable arrest?

5. Do you pay close attention to the dialogue on crime dramas listening for references to yourself or members of your family?

The Chaos Inside

For those readers who have not yet been in therapy, and who have never become familiar with the basics of psychology, I must share a painful truth with you. As a human being, I know that you have been plagued by periodic doubts about your sanity. You have certainly had those nagging suspicions that there might be something seriously wrong with you. I can now confirm that your suspicions are correct. There is something wrong with you. But there is also something wrong with each one of us. We are ALL filled with the capacity for comprehensive derangement.

Why? Because buried inside each of us is a reservoir of unformed, unprocessed impulses, fantasies, and habits which are untamed and always pressing to get out. And there are no exceptions. Think about the most saintly individual imaginable; think about the Dalai Lama. This may stun you, but even Dalai has this smoldering cauldron of intense feelings which could potentially drive him to acts too horrible to contemplate.

Bring the picture of Dalai to mind as he helps a poor suffering innocent understand the meaning of life and the way to happiness. This is the holy path he chose, and the world is humbled and gratified. But as a human being he holds the potential to crack and take a decidedly different direction in his life. Should he ever cave in and surrender to his baser instincts, we would be introduced to another side of this saintly individual.

Try to picture him as an ordinary man, say as “Barry Lama.” Instead of the spiritual icon he us now, you see an unbalanced, antisocial elderly man who has a penchant for spitting and back-handing rude cab drivers.

Sound impossible? The truth is, this is a possible reality. If you don’t believe me, ask Dalai yourself. He’ll be the first to tell you he is a fallible, human “sinner.”

So perhaps you should get off your high horse and recognize that you are inches away from full blown loopiness. A carefully prescribed regimen of therapeutic television watching is your only hope.

Don’t blow it!

Have an awesome day!

Gunnar