One of the paradoxes of a free and democratic
society is that it only takes a few committed and fanatical people to
screw up the system for every one. Political entrepreneurs can appeal to
people’s fears and concerns, get power by gathering together a group
with common worries and beliefs, and then isolate ‘their’ followers from
the larger population. The media can entrench this kind of political or
social fragmentation. When people become addicted to their ‘own’
particular media channels—ones that support the messages of ‘their’
leaders or ‘their’ side—we end up with no one listening to anyone else’s
point of view. While this can and does exist everywhere to some degree, it is
particularly evident
By Jim Selman | BioI have been making the
case that our country is trapped in a vicious cycle, analogous to
alcoholism or any addictive spiral that inevitably leads to ‘hitting
bottom’, and that we need a rigorous ‘recovery’ program. Our
Constitutional Democracy cannot work if our founding principles, the
Constitution itself , and the institutions responsible for sustaining it
are not aligned and functioning as a whole. In the ‘recovery’
literature and all 12-Step programs, the first and primary question to
resolve is “Where is the bottom?” Have we had enough of having enough?
Are we ready to acknowledge that the system is broken and we are
powerless to fix it? If we are, then we can begin the real journey to
recovery.[Read More]
By Jim Selman | BioAnyone familiar with 12 Step programs knows that the literature generally characterizes the ‘ism’ or addiction as a disease of ‘self-centeredness’. This is basically a way of saying that the behavior (that is, the alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, etc.) are symptoms—not causes. The nature of the problem is that people become trapped in a ‘self-referential’ relationship with the world, live in various states of denial, and pursue increasingly self-destructive behaviors until they ‘hit bottom’. At that moment, they can begin the process of recovery—assuming they will take the first step—to acknowledge that they are out of control and powerless and that their life is ‘unmanageable’.[Read More]
By Jim Selman | Bio
By Jim Selman | 
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