One evening I was monitoring a discussion group and one of the students, a rather opinionated fellow, challenged me on a point of Church teaching in a rather confrontational manner, ending his rant by claiming that I was just giving my opinion. There happened to be several other teachers at the table, and they all looked at me as though to say, "are you going to let that pass or rip him a new one?" (gently, of course.)
After what felt like an hour, but in reality was only a moment, I turned to him and said,
"If you recall at the beginning of the year, I made it quite clear I would always tell you when I was giving my opinion on a subject. The rest of what I teach is the truth of what the Church teaches, backed up by verifiable facts. While I appreciate your feelings, feelings alone do not give you license to change or alter the teachings of the Church. What I just stated was fact and not my opinion. If you wish to be a Catholic, then you are bound to believe what the Church teaches. Feelings are subject to change, depending on, well, how you feel at the moment, and not on truth or reality."
This is exactly what we are encountering when we deal with people who, as my husband always says, "haven't thought it through." Trying to reason with someone who is fully detached from reality and relies on feelings to direct their actions is like trying to play baseball with a blob of jello. When presented calmly with facts, they will most often resort to personal attacks, blame, or just plain lies. Truth to these folks is just a subjective thing. How many times have you heard; "What's true for one person is not necessarily true for another?" The person making this bold declaration has not an inkling of the absurdity of that statement. Truth will always conform to actuality or reality.
Does this mean we should not have feelings? Of course not. Feelings are one of the things that make us fully human. However, they must be backed up by truth. Proclaiming allegiance to a political figure because of the way he makes you "feel" or because you think he is handsome or speaks well, without any regard to what he actually says or does, is what has gotten us into the mess we're in today. We now have an administration that has become so bold, they insult and mock us in the most vulgar of manner by selling a T-shirt that proclaims the new healthcare bill to be a Big F*cking Deal.
When engaging such people, it is wise to remain calm and continue to state the facts. How far they've fallen into the abyss of unreality will determine the outcome. If they quickly resort to ad hominem attacks, in my opinion, it is not worth your time to continue. Save your time, energy, and health by engaging people who do not engage in circular logic, and have not completely lost their ability to reason.
Dr. Sanity has provided us with a tremendous article that needs to be read by every thinking person, or not, as the case may be.
PSYCHOTIC LEFT vs NEUROTIC RIGHT ?
by Dr. Sanity
Anna Freud once wrote that the ego of a child in denial "refuses to become aware of some disagreeable reality.... It turns its back on it, and in imagination reverses the unwelcome facts."
The essence of psychological denial is a refusal to look at, or acknowledge, reality.
Fortunately, reality exists outside of one's head and is objective and verifiable. It is not altered by whim, desire, lies or myth. This is not to say that people might not believe ideas that do not conform to reality--in fact, they do so all the time. Just like Anna's description of the child's ego, the ego of an otherwise normal adult may also resort to childish, immature and primitive mechanisms when it feels threatened or wants to avoid the truth.
You would think it would be a simple matter to be "in touch" with reality. But it isn't. It requires a great deal of cognitive effort--i.e., thinking--and often that effort must assert itself over powerful emotions that draw the person away from the real world, to a place more comfortable and unchallenging--i.e., to their inner reality. read the rest
On a much happier note, Quite Rightly (who has an informative post up about the future of new businesses under Obama) has assured me that even though the chips and dip have been scarfed up by the Potluck ladies, they have saved a few chocolate chip cookies in the back room for me.
One of the newer Potluck ladies, who I hold in great esteem, Sherry Antonetti, is a Little Teed Off…
Go get 'em, Sherry!
