Flashback Wednesday's Words of Wisdom: Pete Seeger Singer, Songwriter, Sage's Powerful Weapon

Thought for the Day: The quote on Pete Seeger's Banjo, which a friend posted on Facebook yesterday has today's words of wisdom:

This Machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.

My father knew 3 people over the years who were famous. He went to school with Ozzie Nelson, the father of teen heart throb actor and singer, Ricky Nelson. His dentist was Felicia Rashad's (From the Bill Cosby show) father. When I was a teenager, the fact that he knew Ricky Nelson's father was pretty impressive. However, his third famous acquaintance, Pete Seeger, who passed away this week whose words of wisdom are on his banjo above, tops them all.

Special Edition: Wake Up Washington: Part II Putting Congress On the Couch

Thought for the Day: I tend to be a serious person, however, when a humorous creative writing idea comes my way, I try not to let it pass. Therefore, today, I am writing a special edition for the blog. I hope you enjoy it & feel free to share it with whomever will appreciate the humor. Maybe it will help Wake Up Congress. As always, I'd love to hear your comments & ideas.

On Wednesday, I posted some comments on the need to "Wake Up" Washington DC & asked you for some therapeutic suggestions. Today, I'm offering a few treatment plans (tongue in cheek) to consider for Congress:

1) Psychoanalytic Treatment Plan: Put Congress on the couch. Address early childhood issues, Oedipal conflicts & wishes to get rid of paternal figures & have presidential power. Pros: it could get to the bottom of the causes for the neurotic behaviors. Cons: It would takes years of intensive psychotherapy & the nation would be in shambles before the treatment was completed.

2) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Develop a plan to overcome ObamaCare Phobia using progressive desensitization techniques. Teach members of Congress relaxation techniques & combine them with imagining a hierarchy of their fears of ObamaCare from the least to the most anxiety provoking.  Have them stay relaxed while imagining all the scenarios & they will be ready to move on. Pros: It could be completed in a few sessions. Cons: It might not get to the underlying issues causing the phobias.

3) Marriage Counseling &/or Family Therapy: Meet with members of congress to see if the marital rifts between the two sides can be resolved. Focus on enhancing communication skills & learning to compromise. Try to help the "parental figures" (congressmen & women) consider the needs of their children (citizens) even if they cannot resolve their differences. Mandate participation in a parenting class for divorcing parents for all members of congress. Get them into mediation to find solutions on how to keep the government running despite their differences. Pros: It could make them wake up & start behaving in a more adult ways. Cons: To do marriage counseling or mediation they must 1st be able to sit in the same room & start speaking to one another. It may not be possible at this time.

4) Addiction Intervention & Rehabilitation: Since Congress seems to be in denial of their addiction to "obstruction of the democratic process," an intervention may be necessary. All family members (citizens) who feel Congress' addiction is self destructive would meet with the interventionist prior to meeting with the addict. Family members would need to be prepared to tell Congress how their addiction is impacting them & the nation & the consequences if they do not get intensive treatment immediately. Before involving Congress a treatment facility & plan for rehab would be chosen. Pros: It may be the only way to break through Congress' denial of their addiction. Cons: The inpatient stay would bankrupt ObamaCare & recovery would take too long.

5) Treatment of Cult Victims: Treat members of Congress for brainwashing by cult like factions. Pros: It might actually help break the impasses in DC. Cons: Treatments for cult victims are controversial techniques. They cannot be carried out without cooperation of the brainwashed victims. Members of Congress would never cooperate.

I know there are therapists following this blog. Anyone have some additional suggestions?

Motivational Monday: Psychology, Morality & Politics: Is there a Red Line Even Pacifists Cannot Ignore?

Thought for the Day: It's Labor Day and I don't feel like writing, however, often I find that I need to push myself when I feel least motivated. Sometimes, it leads to some of my greatest insights. I have been avoiding writing about the horrible events in Syria for a while now. I try to stay clear of political topics. Instead, I focus on things more directly related to the field of psychology. However, as a psychologist who has always looked at issues related to war and peace, I know that I need to address this sooner or later.

It will be no surprise to those of you who have been following my blog, that I am a "dove" at heart. I grew up singing folk songs of peace and protesting war. I lived in Israel and studied ways to help people cope with the trauma of war, father absence and death of a parent during war and terrorist attacks. Here in the USA, I have continued to work for peaceful resolution of conflicts, sensible gun control, and reduction of violence and bullying.

On the other hand, I grew up hearing about the holocaust. I know all too well the traumatic impact World War II and the Nazi's intent to annihilate the Jewish people (and gypsies and disabled of all races and religions) had on my family and on countless others for generations to come. I worked with holocaust survivors and their offspring. Therefore, I am conflicted by the evidence of the gassing of innocent civilians and children. Although I and most Americans are weary of wars and reluctant to get involved in yet another conflict in the Middle East, can we sit by idly and watch a tyrant who would gas his own people? What message are we sending to the world if we turn our heads and pretend it is not happening? Could hundreds of thousands of lives been saved during World War II if the United States had responded sooner to Hitler's regime? Is there a red line even pacifists cannot ignore? Has it been crossed?

I don't have the answers, just scores of questions. I hope that our president, congress and military strategists have creative interventions that will make a difference and help put an end to the violence. The red line in Iran and a nuclear threat to the world is rapidly approaching as well. Like it or not, we need to address these issues. Is there a moral red line that we all must cross when a tyrant moves toward the genocide of any group? It saddens me that I must write about this, but I guess this is why I did not feel like writing today. My guess is that it is something we all would rather avoid, but the world is looking to us for leadership and it is our responsibility to address these questions.

As always, your thoughts, suggestions and comments are welcome. Please join the discussion and share them here.

#FF Friday's Fabulous Finds: Need 4 Women in Politics, Olympic Inspiration, Medical Miracles, & Mothering Blind

Here’s this Friday’s Fabulous Finds with some inspirational news to kick off your weekend. Today’s finds include female empowerment in the White House, a sensational Paralympics athlete, advancements in the medical field that have changed a young girl’s life & how children of blind mothers develop communication skills.

Kirsten Gillibrand Quotes: Why Women Need to Run for Office

This Huffington Post Women article promotes an essay by New York senator Gillibrand encouraging women to run for public office. “Women’s voices are not better than men’s, they’re different & the broader perspective that we bring often leads to better results,” asserts Gillibrand. “That’s why I’ve been such an advocate for more women to run for office & make their voices heard.” After listening to the presenters yesterday at the Museum of Motherhood, I strongly second Gillibrand's recommendation. more women need to enter the discussion & let their voices be heard.








Alana Nichols, Wheelchair Basketball Star, is a Real Inspiration
Huffington brings us another post, this time about Paralympics athlete Alana Nichols. Since a snowboarding injury, she’s participated in wheelchair athletic events & went on to earn gold medals at multiple Paralympics. Read on to learn more about this inspirational icon for physically disabled athletes.

2-Year-Old Receives Groundbreaking Bioengineered Organ Transplant
This video from AOL Entertainment uncovers Hannah Warren, a 2-year-old who’s lived most of her life in an intensive care unit without a windpipe. That is, until surgeons bioengineered an artificial windpipe in her body. Warren remains the youngest person to receive a bioengineered organ, & has been thriving since. Watch the video to learn more about this medical breakthrough.

Children of Blind Mothers Learn New Modes of Communication 
This fascinating article by Elizabeth Norton on ScienceNOW looks at how sighted babies of blind mothers learn to communicate. The results may surprise you.

Hope you will come back for Saturday’s Songs for the Soul, Sunday’s Comic Strips, & our posts for next week. Enjoy your weekend!

What If: Politicians Asked Like Ed Koch & We Took the Time to Answer?

Thought for the Day: On Friday, the world lost former Mayor of NYC, Ed Koch. I was fortunate enough to see him at Lincoln Center at a screening of the new documentary, Koch, just two weeks ago (on the link to this event is a clip of the Q & A at the January 13th screening I attended). Although he was physically frail & came to the event in a wheelchair, he began lively informal discussions with the audience before the screening in the lobby. He proudly walked from the wheelchair onto the stage after the film screening for Q & A. His responses were lively & as entertaining as he was earlier in his life. The movie is a very well made film giving insight into both Koch's often controversial style of leadership & the history of NYC. As I prepared the short video (less than a minute) for my What If Wednesday series, I was struck by the question, What if all politicians followed Ed Koch's example & asked, "How am I doing?" & we all took the time to answer?

What do you think would happen? Would we have the same stalemates in Washington? Since psychologists have found that social action is related to feelings of an internal locus of control, would we feel more in control of what is happening in our country? Would we be more motivated to get involved in politics?

From the documentary, Koch, with the city he loved

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts & comments. Let me know, "How am I doing?" The best ideas & suggestions for future "What If Wednesday" posts will be shared in later posts. So please let me know what you think.