This is my third post in the last 48 hours. You never saw the first two because they never got posted.
This blog is a communications conduit to my far-flung friends and family. When I started it, I had an unspoken rule that I was going to try to keep it from being as narcissistic as I've seen others turn into. Those two postings failed that test.
There's a lot going on in my life right now. I can't post too much about my family because I don't want to expose our private lives into the World Wide Web. I'm an adult and every time I post something here, I'm taking some risks with regards to personal privacy. That's not something I can do for the rest of my family. If you don't see too much about the kids here, that's why. Having said that, you're always welcome to call us for an update.
Things are generally going well. I'm unhappy with the treatment for my rather uncommon Condition - progress has not only just stalled but there's actual regression to pre-treatment symptoms. My out-of-town doctor is following a treatment plan written for an entirely different medical condition. The treatment is called the same thing in both cases but the dosages are radically different, producing totally different results for totally different needs. It's literally like claiming that adding a pinch of salt vs. a cupful of salt is the same thing in a recipe, because they're both salt. I will have to politely question the validity and dangers of him doing so in two weeks, when I have a scheduled phone call with him.
Other than that, I've recently turned to an examination of Feminism (and to a much lesser extent, Womens' Studies). The last time I looked at it was when I was still a university student. Yep, a lot of it is still very narcissistic with a massive dose of inferiority complex. Having said that, I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that there's more moderation and common sense prevailing these days too. There's some moderate viewpoints out there now that makes the subjects worth taking a second look at. I guess that will be my mini-project in the coming months since I'm a little tired of hard physics these days.
4 comments:
"...narcissistic with an inferiority complex"? I will admit that I have never taken Women's Studies, or taken a serious look at feminist writing. I am curious why you would give it that particular description.
Narcissistic because a lot of it spends an inordinate (and occasionally embarrassing) amount of verbiage about why we women are special. Most of it crosses the line from noting why we're special and precious and definitively into the unashamedly-patting-oneself-repeatedly-on-the-back level.
Practically everything I've had compares the differences between femininity and masculinity. Perhaps this is useful but IMHO, we're not polar opposites of men; we're similar in some regards but totally unique without comparison in others. Couple that with the misandry and I smell inferiority complex.
We need to have equal rights in the eyes of the law. That is a given. The fact that we only got the right to vote in 1917, less than a century ago, should remind us of how far we still have to go.
In particular, I don't approve of the the self-aggrandizing nor the male-bashing aspect of some feminist literature. However, as I mentioned, there are quite a few balanced viewpoints out there now, thankfully.
Let's be honest here, we have yet to acheive equality in the eyes of the law, economics, politics, several major cultures and most major religions. Growing up we receive conflicting messages all the time, one side telling us we can and the other side firmly telling us we can't. The sad thing is that there are still people out there even our age and younger who keep reinforcing the "can't" and as long as they do that we will still be fighting the inferiority complex.
When people continuously espouse - and receive - the same message they eventually believe it.
Oh yes, there is a *lot* of inequality out there; I don't dispute that at all. What I have issues with are the ways that some feminist writers present their ideas; bashing the men doesn't help. Patting ourselves on the back doesn't help either. What we need to do is effective non-violent social action like the Suffrage movement a century ago.
Likewise, let's be honest here: I am not hopeful that we will achieve equality in our lifetime or anytime soon. It doesn't mean we should lay the groundwork for our daughters and our daughter's daughters that come after us though.
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