Where Reason Ends
Deborah Venable
06/23/06
Ever
wonder why such ignorance can exist in a world brimming with knowledge and
facts? Ever wonder why, no matter how
hard you try or how many facts you cite, some people cannot be convinced of the
most important truths? Ever wonder how
the most far-fetched conspiracy theories, void of all reason, can be embraced
by some of the most intellectual among us?
(These same people are also prone to quote, “seeing is believing” when
asked to take simple Christian beliefs on faith alone.)
In
order to come to grip with some of these things, I did a little research
recently, and guess what? There is a
logical reason for these phenomena, and it fits perfectly with the modern
philosophy of diagnosing us all as sufferers of one illness or another. The aforementioned examples are all
suffering from a psychological illness – psychological scotoma. Scotomisation, if you will, takes over where
reason ends.
No,
I haven’t made all this up. The word
“scotoma” originates in the field of optics and ophthalmologic medicine, and it
means blind spot – a spot in the field of vision that is literally gone. Plug it in as a psychological term and,
well, as you can see, the sky’s the limit!
Although in psychological terms it means not only that which is missing
because we refuse to “see” it, but can also mean that we “see” that which may
not be there, simply because we choose to.
(My research did not specifically make a definite correlation with
“faith” here, but I feel relatively comfortable doing it myself.)
The
term was probably first used in a psychological sense by the French
psychiatrist Rene Laforgue (1894-1962).
In 1925 he wrote a letter to Sigmund Freud in which he said,
“scotomisation corresponds to the wish that is infantile. . . not to
acknowledge the external world but to put the ego itself into its place. .
.”
While
Laforgue was referring to repression and denial of schizophrenics at the time,
the observations can certainly be applied in a more general sense nowadays. In other words, we are a lot “sicker”
society now. Another psychiatrist, R.D.
Laing (1927-1989) described scotomisation as psychologically denying the
existence of anything seen but denied by choice so that it cannot be
believed. Explained further as, “our
ability to develop selective blind spots regarding certain kinds of emotional
or anxiety-producing events”, Laing interestingly sums scotomisation up as an
“ability” that is actually a psychological illness.
The
possibilities are too numerous! This is
obviously an epidemic of gigantic proportions already! Hell, this even qualifies as a pandemic I’ll
bet. Everybody is affected all over the
globe. How does it feel to be
psychologically ill? I know I fit the
mold every time I simply refuse to believe that there are so many arrogant,
stupid people in the world. I’m sick
and I know it!
My
mind chooses not to believe that so many citizens in the greatest country on
earth could hate their country so much that they do everything in their power to
destroy her. That it is easier to
believe I can reason with such folks, (hence I try to do just that day after
day), is proof that I’m just not facing reality. Why can’t I see the reason in comparing acts of war on the
battlefield with murder? Obviously the
news media thinks that it is much more important to sensationalize the arrest
of 7 or 8 U.S. soldiers for murdering one yet to be proved innocent Iraqi than
to report the details of the brutality carried out on two other soldiers by
terrorists after they were abducted and disarmed. It seems easier for some to ignore the “innocent until proven
guilty” rights of the former and rationalize the “cause” for the latter as
retribution for us getting another real bad guy out of the gene pool. My God, this is where reason ends!
And
then there is Mount Soledad in San Diego.
Why oh why can’t I see the reason for desecrating this monument to
fallen U.S. soldiers by removing the universally accepted symbol of sacrifice
from this site? The 9th Circuit Court
of Appeals can see it. The one atheist
that originally complained years ago obviously saw it. The countless individuals who read the
“separation” clause in the Constitution that isn’t there, (obviously due to my
illness), certainly see it. Why can’t I
see the reason? If I am not alone in my
illness, perhaps you would consider reading up on this situation here and meet me where reason ends - here to tell the president just how sick you are!