Re: ADD the new onanism?

In a message dated 12/1/98 3:46:21 PM Eastern Standard Time,
Ian_Robert_Douglas@xxxxxxxxx writes:

> but it seems to me what is
> interesting in the case of Ritalin is not so much the enforcement of
> normality, but precisely the question of how it is that our societies are
> becoming so pathological for their inhabitants. We seem to have come a
> long way from the cameral dream of the healthy, tranquil civitas. Either
> that or governments (and States) really have lost control.
>

Of course you know about the psychiatric emphasis on pharmaceuticals and the
de-emphasis on therapies. This translates into bureaucratic personalities
which are somewhat weak since they are so limited by legalities and open to
criticism from all quarters and hence are required to utilize more subtle
intelligences to navigate the "system." I do not think of a pathological
environment, I think of an apathetic, negativistic, and anomic environment.

Fred

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