Thursday, February 11, 2010

We like to view ourselves as rational creatures, says David Pogue

Wasn't it a Times writer who had great success with a book called Emotional Intelligence (never read it because having read his pieces about psychology, I guessed he knew very little about his subject)? Well, now, as per the head above, David Pogue, the Times technology editor, adds his support to the national (maybe human) love affair with denial. If you've ever read a word of Freud (or any of his cohort), how could you "like to think of ourselves as rational creatures." Even if you've had any experience in life (and taken it to heart) or have any emotional intelligence at all, how could you think such a thing? Look at how our nation is governed (or not governed) and tell me how rational we are as creatures. Is it rational to deny care to children so rich people can own more things? Is it rational to put aside the nation's health and sanity to get more money to be re-elected? Is it rational to torture? Is it rational to destroy the Constitution and everything it stands for. No, I would submit.

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