Comments for The Public Sphere

Comment on Lifestyle drugs and the new wave of pharmaceutical personality sculpting by franz

franz — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:05:51 +0000

I appreciate your insight and your depthful writing. However, as someone who suffers from clinical depression, who has struggled all her life with “Biopolar II”, who has both attempted and further contemplated suicide – on drugs and off – I can’t help but feel totally left out of this equation of branding antidepressants “lifestyle” drugs AND depression itself a “lifestyle” that is a necessary part of “the human condition”. Wheres I entirely concur that to be human necessarily involves the peaks and valleys of contemplation, isolation, interiority and exteriority, there is a tremendous chasm between your assessment of what constitutes “lifestyle” and what constitutes a life-threatening and debilitating disease, a chasm that has an endless pile of rotting corpses at its bottomless bottom. There are so many articles of this type appearing and, yes, the pharmaceutical industry in this country is greedy and the doctors are over-prescribing, but in these sorts of analyses there are shrill absences of the actual mentally ill, the actual neurological disorders; to compare acid reflux to depression is mind-boggling. And to romanticize depression as a necessity of being human is dangerous and a slippery slope. Such absolutes leave out the realities of those who suffer by means beyond their “lifestyle choices” every minute of every day and don’t seek the help that is out there (yes, in drug advancement) because of the stigmas that STILL exist and are perpetuated by pieces like this one that could have used some clarification, distinction and compassion.

Comment on My So-Called Asian Identity: The Invisible Minority Report by Leah

Leah — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:18:03 +0000

Great blog!

Comment on Missing the Good Samaritan on the Present-Day Road to Jericho by Graffiti Supplies

Graffiti Supplies — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:26:07 +0000

Shooting kids for doing graffiti on the walls is a bit extreme.

Comment on Lifestyle drugs and the new wave of pharmaceutical personality sculpting by Saoirse

Saoirse — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:38:02 +0000

Thank you, Prof. Fahs, for a succinct analysis of the branding of normal physiological processes as disease by those entities colluding to make us ill for their profit. The reluctance of a shared, public government to regulate properly these entities to protect one of our nation’s most precious resources – i.e., the health of its citizens – belies just as much its fascist relationship with the private sector as does its long-standing, and ongoing, bioenslavement of its citizens:

http://dontfearyourfreedom.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html

Comment on Is the Selling of Virginity a Feminist Act? by Cost compare Viagra

Cost compare Viagra — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:15:06 +0000

Selling the virginity is not a feminist act but a foolish and stupid act. Thank you anyway for posting.

Comment on The Church Needs a New Confession: Pathetic-ness as Moral Failing by JohnzoBonzo

JohnzoBonzo — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:58:58 +0000

All this is a pointless exercise and rationalization. There is a big lie at the heart of your religion, that you can understand God’s mind, and that your books and texts are revelations from God. And no matter how you try to jump around and redefine things, you are lying to yourself at the core, and therefore will not be able to tell anyone else the truth. And the lie in your life will always lead back to the same ugly things that religion always leads to.

Oh, you’re not Muslims? Well, that changes everything.

Comment on My So-Called Asian Identity: The Invisible Minority Report by Ken

Ken — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:57:38 +0000

Nice blog again 🙂

I believe, like what our Kasaysayan (History) 2 professor told us, that “Ang wika ang salamin ng isang bansa,” or in English “The language is the mirror of a nation.”

You succeeded at step one (from your previous blog, where you narrated your “going back” journey). Step two, for me, is to “Learn the Filipino language.” You are an intellectual person. You, as a Filipino, has that capability to grasp other languages (common belief) so it will not be hard if you learn bit by bit the Filipino language (Tagalog), which is the language that might reside on your subconscious.

Lastly, parents in the United States should still teach the native language to their children. The Philippines fought hard for its freedom (and is still struggling for its freedom from corrupt politicians as of this generation), let alone for its language. It is part of our heritage.

Pagpalain ka ng Diyos sa iyong pagtuklas ng ating kulturang Pinoy.

Comment on My So-Called Asian Identity: I Shall Go: In Search of My Filipina Roots by Ken

Ken — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:39:48 +0000

Nice blog 🙂

I have not thought of how fortunate I am being born and raised in my own country (Philippines). I cannot imagine the “disconnect” that would happen if ever I were born in another country. It’s just somehow – it’s not just a matter of genes, like race or ethnicity, but to “fill in the gaps” you really need to know more than the people of your ethnicity but their habitat and most of all, their culture.

Kudos to you because you did not fail in the first steps to finding the Filipino heritage.

Comment on Is the Selling of Virginity a Feminist Act? by Jillian Bailey O'Connor

Jillian Bailey O'Connor — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:26:18 +0000

Thank you very much for taking on this thorny topic. I agree that Dylan has simply taken third-wave feminism to its logical conclusion – that capitalizing on your own commodification just makes good business sense — but she’s treading the same old ground that the Pussycat Dolls and Jenna Jameson have before her. What about the radical concept of not being for sale?

Comment on The Church Needs a New Confession: Pathetic-ness as Moral Failing by Harper Ergo

Harper Ergo — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:30:05 +0000

So my question for the earlier comment poster, why did you focus on the piece of the article that deals with the Holocaust in Europe (which, by the way, millions of Catholics and Lutherans did let happen; and you can’t prove that Christianity motivated the soldiers of other European nations who fought against Germany, just that a handful of Christians felt motivated by Christianity to save some people sometimes, and I am pretty sure the author was clear about that)? It seems you missed the whole point, that often Christians are too spineless to take a real stand against racism today, too cowardly to use Holder’s description. Apologies are no substitute for genuine self-reflexive action. Inert disapproval is not the same thing as taking a real moral stand, however much postmodern church-goers seem to think it is. So, if that is the point of the article, then yes, the actions taken by many in WWII suggest a significant spine, but why did they take those actions? Christian-motivated defense of innocent victims? Or self-preservation and loyalty to the nation-state?

Comment on The Church Needs a New Confession: Pathetic-ness as Moral Failing by Joe Maine-iac

Joe Maine-iac — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:23:04 +0000

So… let’s get this straight.
Atheist left-wing lunatic fascist movement murders six million Jews and millions of other assorted people.
The Pope (in other words, one guy in Italy) hears about it but keeps his mouth shut.
Strongest, most religious, Christian nation on Earth sacrifices half a million of its sons to put an end to the madness.

And your take on this is that this is the great moral failing of Christianity? I think Christians come out of it looking pretty good, actually, and atheistic Europeans not so much.

Comment on Hockey Moms, Prayer Nazis, and Why I Love But Fear People Like Sarah Palin by Joe Maine-iac

Joe Maine-iac — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:05:38 +0000

“The women would meet with us, mentor us, and teach us how to be good Christian women. And they also taught us that the highest good a woman can do is to be a wife and mother-a role that was apparently incompatible with the pursuit of higher education and a professional degree…”

I think Sarah Palin’s life story proves that being a good Christian woman, a wife, and mother, is NOT incompatible with education and career. You are reducing her to a stereotype out of your memory (or imagination) that quite clearly does not fit.

“I don’t know Palin, and I’m sure she’s a nice, charming person, just like the other women I met in college. They always try to follow the official position/dogma, because to fall out of line is to lose your community. Palin has no doubt been so trained into this fear that she doesn’t notice it, even if her beliefs would help to maintain apartheid in South Africa.”

You must not be talking about the same Sarah Palin the rest of us are. She strikes you as being full of fear? Following the “official” position? Not knowing the basis of her beliefs?

I’ll tell you why Sarah Palin scares the hell out of you. It’s because she’s everything you think you are, but know you aren’t. Her political positions are derived from unwavering principles and a deep knowledge, while you get -your- beliefs from people like Jon Stewart on cable TV. You’ve convinced yourself that you’re a poor oppressed woman, and you have to make a choice between career and family; Sarah Palin by contrast is strong and confident, she chose love, family, AND she’s on track to become the next President of the United States. Your insecurity pours from this article in buckets.

Comment on Hockey Moms, Prayer Nazis, and Why I Love But Fear People Like Sarah Palin by Lisa Graas

Lisa Graas — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:58:05 +0000

I only just realized that this was written in September of 2008.

Comment on Hockey Moms, Prayer Nazis, and Why I Love But Fear People Like Sarah Palin by Peter

Peter — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:24:28 +0000

I’m an African American male. I’m conservative but unaligned politically. My comment is simply this; I do not at all discount a person’s life experience and how it may shape that person’s worldview and political leaning. Ms. Bailey does a thorough enough job of chronicling her “back-stabbings” that on the surface one could hardly argue against her right to shunning of conservative phisoshphy.

However, I find her generalizations shallow. One should study the roots of both conservative and liberal ideology and then measure the effects over the years both have had on society and then make an informed choice. This should be factored into the mix along with life experience.

Case in point, during the same period of the civil rights fight—liberals did good things (with Republican help in the Congress at the time), but liberals did bad things also during the civil unrest they promoted on college campuses to undermined the nation at war in Vietnam. So one could argue their life experiences the other way around.

The use of the term Ms. Bailey chooses “prayer Nazis” is very unfortunate. It shows she reads from the liberal manifesto on classic Liberal-on-Conservative attack. It makes her seem to be a professional politico rather than just some lay person sharing her “gut” feeling about Mrs. Palin based on her “life experience”.

Personally, I think Hillary Clinton running for president was a plus. And Sarah Palin being chosen as the GOP VP was an additional plus. Matters to me what your political leanings, these were positives for the American political system.

Finally, I would just encourage Ms, Bailey to keep her eyes on thecurrent Obama administration. Keep her eyes on what Gov. Palin is doing in Alaska over the next 3 years and should the two meet in the general election of 2012, she should make her choice based on accomplishmets, promises kept and the state of the Union—-not on past real or imagined “hockey-stick back-stabbings”.

Comment on Hockey Moms, Prayer Nazis, and Why I Love But Fear People Like Sarah Palin by Lisa Graas

Lisa Graas — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:50:04 +0000

Have you ever read Star Parker’s columns? The Dems fought for the Civil Rights Act, but at what cost? Preaching to blacks that they can’t get anywhere without government help. A cycle of dependency is not freedom. We are all now going to be on Uncle Sam’s Plantation, as Star says. I respect your thoughtful commentary, especially that you question Sarah Palin rather than attack. You seem very fair-minded. We supporters of Sarah Palin see her as someone who wants a less oppressive government. Yes, she is a Christian, but she is also a libertarian type. She doesn’t support a government that enslaves us. Consider Obama’s rescission of the conscience clause that will have the effect of closing all Catholic hospitals because they will have to chose between providing abortions and shutting down. They WILL shut down. That is draconian policy, to prohibit the free exercise of religion — and it is done in the name of “choice” for women. Obama’s rescission of the conscience clause is the act of a theocrat, albeit not in the traditional sense. You would never ever see Sarah Palin do something like that because of her belief that the Republic (form of government where we are protected from tyranny) should be preserved. Yes, she is a faithful person, but having faith and professing it is not “pushing” your faith on people. Rescission of the conscience clause is a huge push. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that it is a move away from democracy toward despotism. They are right.

Many thanks for an article that, while I disagree with it, is insightful and fair. I appreciate the level of discourse herein. And Happy Easter to you, too!

Comment on Red-State Sex Refugee by yarrrr

yarrrr — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:23:07 +0000

“welcome a diversity of premarital sexual experiences”

What does that even mean? At least the evangelicals have a plan…

Comment on Would You Prefer Gay Marriage or No Marriage? by Lance S. Smith, Ph.D.

Lance S. Smith, Ph.D. — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:49:08 +0000

Fantastic, insightful article. Will definitely look for more by this author.

Comment on Would You Prefer Gay Marriage or No Marriage? by Alexa McClaskey

Alexa McClaskey — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:11:55 +0000

This advice was very helpfull, although it was also very well typed.
I deffinitally agree with most facts or opinions stated.
Thanks again for this article.

Best Regards,
Alexa McCaskey
8th Grade Student
Marysville WA
Marysville Middle School

Comment on The Perpetual Practice of True Victimhood by Oz Frankel

Oz Frankel — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:05:26 +0000

I suggest you read the book whose title you have “borrowed” for your article, “The Cult of True Victimhood” by political science professor Alyson M. Cole.

Comment on Hockey Moms, Prayer Nazis, and Why I Love But Fear People Like Sarah Palin by louie

louie — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:46:02 +0000

The last few sentiments about palin and mccain are particularly interesting in light of recent developments with palin ‘going rogue’. It seems pretty clear that mccain may already be getting the hockey stick. Which is sad on many levels…but disappointing to me because this continues to happen to him from ‘his own party’. I truly feel for mccain. What must it feel like to be betrayed by his party in ’00, and then have to ask them to help him in getting the nomination this year? And now it appears palin is starting to betray him.