tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65685463429424878622024-03-05T11:40:45.331-08:00Music CareBill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-74640275627675855132016-04-01T12:07:00.002-07:002016-04-01T12:07:40.252-07:00Why Western Science Doesn’t “Get” Music – and Why We Should Care<div class="MsoNormal">
We Westerners want to get it right, don’t we? The notion that
we belong in this or that pigeonhole that gives us <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i> magic answer seems true for things as diverse as Western medical
diagnoses, <a href="http://www.cosmopolitan.com/">Cosmo’s</a> latest advice,
even horoscopes. We think that, if only we figure out exactly what IT is, then
we can cure it, fix it, own it, have it, date it. Bullshit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As I write this, there are <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/">7.4 billion of us</a>,
give or take a few thousand, ready to be classified, organized, understood, partnered,
satisfied. That many individuals with that many unique desires, issues, plans
and ideas…and yet some of us expect Western science or research or the latest
how-to book to what makes us more attractive or more relaxed or more
intelligent or more wealthy or who our ideal partner might be? As the song
says: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV9FnxuQRhw">something’s wrong</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s get real. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
let’s talk music – the universal food that feeds spirit and psyche. <a href="http://www.musictherapy.org/about/musictherapy/">Music Therapy</a> is
doing a great job with clinical “interventions:” music for autism, chronic
pain, memory loss, and behavioral disorders. But you and I are in the “real”
world, right? And in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> world, you
and I like different kinds of music, and for different reasons. You, me, and
the other 7.4 billing of us….<o:p></o:p></div>
<h2>
Music and Science<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The chance that any kind of science can put any two of us
into the same music box is about as good as matching two snowflakes in a
blizzard. Not that Western science will ever stop trying to predict our responses
to music – the match.com magic potential is too great! – but what if this whole
science thing is just exactly backwards?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead, what if this really is all about diversity? What if
the music I like is just as intriguing to you as the music you like BECAUSE
each of our tastes in music are so uniquely distinct, instead of homogenous?
What about celebrating THAT diversity? Does my love for metal make me a bad
person, or indicate some sort of brain problem? Does my love for Classical
music make me boring? </div>
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What can’t a white guy like me really love hip-hop or
rap, even though pop culture claims I’m not supposed to? Why have we learned to
think that way?<o:p></o:p></div>
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“But wait but wait!” I hear you say. “What about top-40
radio and platinum-selling albums?” OK: I’m in; but “popular” doesn’t mean
“universal” AND album sales are no indication of identical physiological
response across millions of listeners, even listeners of the same song. We want
to take this beyond “like” to the realm of “understand” because that’s where
the real work of music takes place. The combination of “I get it” and “I feel
it” is where music becomes bio-identical soul fuel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<h2>
But I Like the Music I Like!<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
OK, it’s cool that you love the music you love. But that’s
as limiting to your physical/emotional/mental even sexual well-being as saying
you only want to hang out with people of a single race, or religion, or
social/economic status.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s easy to dismiss art we don’t like. We do it all the
time. But behind that art was a living breathing human being with something to
tell you, and the art that person made is the message. Will you ignore that
just because you don’t like it? If music triggers a physical response in you
that’s uncomfortable, don’t you WANT to know why? What part of your soul is
crying out for attention at that moment? What part of YOU responds so deeply to
music that you feel intense anger, or grief, or happiness or fear? What part of
you responds viscerally to music. What kinds of music make you do that? Do you
have music for each of the <a href="http://www.surfyoursoul.com/dictionary.html">four
basic human emotions</a>: happiness, sadness, fear and anger?<o:p></o:p></div>
<h2>
Your Balanced Musical Diet<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You could eat an all-sugar diet, but there’s a good chance
you already know how that would feel after a while. What goes into your body is
who you are, sick or healthy, and that includes what you put into your ears –
what you hear. If you’re a one-genre music consumer, you might be missing
nutrition your soul needs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One day, when you’re bored with all the horoscopes and self
help and relationship advice and tell-all crap about other people, and you
really want to get to know your own self more deeply, put on your headphones
and find a playlist ‘way outside your wheelhouse. <o:p></o:p></div>
<h2>
What About Music I Don’t Like? Or Music That’s New to Me?<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Music we have never heard can sometimes echo the private and
personal stuff we guard inside ourselves in a way no other art can. Once you
hear those inner melodies, resonate them. Let them unlock the unknown scary parts
of your human being – the guts of who you are; when you know yourself like
that, the scary stuff loses its terror. Let your grief find a song to support
it. Let your rage rock you hard. Do this in safety – use headphones (not
earbuds please!) and a comfortable chair without distractions – and practice it
often. Spend the rest of your life in wellness supported by music – a powerfully
transformative way to do so.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Western science can’t touch this!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once you know your own musical diversity more fully, take
that skill with you into your life. Let your music animate what you do, how you
speak, the way you think, what you feel, how you respond. The other 7.4 billion
of us want to experience you this way. We’re tired of the same old boring you,
flat-lined on the same old tunes every day. We aren’t interested in what music
you like or don’t like and why. What we care about is how your music got into
you and made you who you are.<o:p></o:p></div>
<h2>
You Are Who You Are – and That’s a Beautiful Thing<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You are, I hope, much better than an all-carb dieter. So
bring that diversity to your playlists. Many of us use music to get back to our
“normal” – to transform the stress, depression or anxiety that erodes us. No
prob. But fighting the “bad” feelings, or stuffing them under our powermusic,
isn’t the same as letting them go. The beautiful, complex person you are
deserves beautiful care and it’s in your hands to give it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you’re full of rage, you need to flush some of that
before it leaks out and hurts somebody…maybe somebody you love. If you’re full
of grief or fear, let that pain go before depression immobilizes you.
Chronically happy people feel the “bad” stuff too – and locking it up under the
disguise of a positive mental attitude isn’t a great long-term strategy for
health and wellness. A single song for each of those four emotions can be your
key to a more authentic experience of life, health and well-being.<o:p></o:p></div>
<h2>
What are Your Four Songs?<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do this now! For each of the four basic emotions, pick a
song that helps you feel it fully:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fear:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>__________________<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anger:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>__________________<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grief:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>__________________<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joy:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>__________________<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Those are your go-to songs for fully experiencing those
feelings. Practice listening to them, even when you feel just a tiny bit scared,
or angry, or sad or happy. See how they work for you. Change them as you
explore new music and notice feeling in it. This is beyond science because it’s
personal – it’s about <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">you</b> in a way
no generalized research study could ever be, even if it sampled all 7.4 billion
human beings alive today.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Are you ready for transformation? Contact me: I mentor music
lovers like you for a living. You are right <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP95wwpOm9s">on the verge of the rest of
your life</a>: grab that opportunity now!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-33364821310278552372015-10-30T08:29:00.004-07:002015-10-30T08:29:36.514-07:00The Healthy Secret of Music and Rage<div class="MsoNormal">
At one of the PowerMusic classes I teach, a student asked me
“How can I safely experience rage?” It’s
a great question.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You could visit an <a href="http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-anger-bars-coming-to-a-neighborhood-near-you">anger
bar.</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You could enroll in a specialized mixed martial arts
program, such as <a href="http://powsd.org/">Pugilistic Offensive Warriors</a>,
where Veterans with post-traumatic stress therapeutically beat the hell out of each
other.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The idea here is to express the anger you feel – in relative
safety – and let it go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much better to
not stuff those explosive rage-full emotions back down inside and drag them
around where they might leak out at the wrong moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Freud’s case for <a href="http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/686/40/">depression as
anger turned inward</a> may be a good one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I was a kid the range of “acceptable” emotions in our house was
very narrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anger and grief, for
example, weren’t allowed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only acceptable way I could express big emotion was at the
piano.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using music, I could express –
and experience – the entire emotional spectrum, but my built-up anger kept on leaking
out where it shouldn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’ve probably met men like me: passive-aggressive, master
of sarcasm, always ready with a snarky remark or backhand compliment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was ugly but that was all I knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was my “normal” back then.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fast forward to my early thirties and psychotherapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fast forward again to my early fifties: regular
practice to unpack my lifetime of pent-up rage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I smash things and hurt
people?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I binge on adrenalin?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I meditate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pray?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
None of those.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Destructive
rage isn’t socially acceptable, and meditation and prayer come only AFTER my
rage is gone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Secret of Music
and Rage<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Would you be surprised to learn you and I can experience
rage safely and fully using a drum?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or headphones?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alternatively, free-stylin’ with our homies?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All true.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the magic of why we would want to do that: your very
own secret rage unravels to music the same way as mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We humans are hardwired like that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Freestyle Your Rage<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hip-hop (rap) is just about as full of rage as any music can
get.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It needs to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a safe way to put anger into words and
then back those words with a powerful beat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And you don’t have to be Nicki, Eminem or Ludacris to do this for
yourself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you’re steamed, surf to the website called <a href="http://www.wikiloops.com/tracks/HipHop.php">wikiloops</a> where you’ll
find tons of beats minus vocals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Choose
your favorite genre, click Play, and freestyle-rap your anger away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forget about the rhyme and lock in on the
rhythm of just a few words you can repeat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s break that down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Think: what gets your knickers really twisted?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phrases like “road rage,” or “medical terms” repeated
out loud – like you mean it, people! – and in rhythm can sometimes be enough to
unpack my rage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Road rage” and “medical terms” were two gems from my PowerMusic
class of homeless folks at last week’s freestyle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others: “stupid people,” “robots,”
“insensitive bitches,” “people don’t see me,” and “government.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After an hour rapping that stuff to a heavy
beat, all of us were grinnin’ and definitely NOT feelin’ rage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are you getting this? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pound Rage Out</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t have a drum?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be
the drum!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sit in a sturdy chair with
your feet flat on the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With your
left hand, slap the top of your left leg near the knee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then do the same thing on the right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Repeat it in a constant rhythmic beat: left,
right, left, right, left right, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hard
to keep a steady beat? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find and slap
along with a <a href="http://www.wikiloops.com/tracks/HipHop.php">wikiloops</a>
track.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, just like in freestyle, think about the stuff that gets
you good and angry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really angry. Let that
s**t take over your entire soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep
your rhythmic slap steady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really angry
now?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slap harder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to, shout some words or nonsense
syllables it to the beat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try as hard as
you can to hold on to the angry, raging craziness inside you while you beat
that steady rhythmic slap with your hands on your legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll know you’re finished when you can’t
dial up the anger any more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Listen With Your Rage</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As powerful as a drum and/or freestyle may be, they’re not
for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The analytical
judgment-based part of my brain still makes me drag my feet, even on new musical
experiences that might be good for me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately,
there are other ways.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to the Internet, it’s easy to dial up rage music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dare yourself to uncover music that’s outside
your current anger envelope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve
never listened to Metallica or Rage Against the Machine, this would be a good
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If mainstream hip-hop is already your
thang, take it further with <a href="http://www.hot97.com/">Hot 97</a> where you
can hear the latest and edgiest new artists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Take the deepest dive you can into the madness of music fully endowed
with rage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Build a two- or three-song
playlist that really does it for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With your headphones (not ear buds, please!) and a quiet,
non-mobile place to sit (please don’t do this in the car!), close the door on
the world and spin up your rage playlist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Give yourself the OK to think rage and anger – bring up the stuff that
has festered for a while and let the angry vengeful ragged power of the music
wash it away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more fully you can
feel your anger, the more profoundly that feeling can flow through you…and out
of you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Little Less Rage, A
Lot More Love</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That snarky person I was back in the day has given way to a
different sort of person now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, I
still have anger, but I don’t have as many anger issues now that I’ve made a
musical practice out of rage on purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Science has been able to prove there’s a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-prove-it-really-is-a-thin-line-between-love-and-hate-976901.html">thin
line between love and hate</a> and the more hate I release the more I choose
love. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Try a little music to let go of that rage you feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You deserve it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-2107034259182050182015-10-22T20:35:00.001-07:002015-10-23T07:10:28.032-07:00Depressed? You’re in Great Company. Here’s Why….<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>I’m chronically depressed.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>It’s a diagnosis…but it’s <a href="http://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-disorders/" target="_blank">not a disease</a>.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Did you know that October is National Depression Education and Awareness Month?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), my diagnosis means that, in the opinion of psychiatrists, I have four or more of the following symptoms that have lasted for more than two weeks:</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>• Body: Fatigue, body aches, significant change in appetite, sleep disturbance</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>• Mind: Racing thoughts, negative thinking, negative self-concept, suicidal thoughts</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>• Mood: Sadness, despair, guilt, lack of self-worth, hopelessness, irritability</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>• Social: Loss of interest in social interaction, lack of desire in activities, withdrawal from others, loss of sex drive</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>You may recall times in your life when you’ve experienced symptoms like these. There may be good reasons for them, too. But that doesn’t mean you’re mentally ill or have a disease!</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>When my Mom died after a long illness, I didn’t grieve right away. After a year or so, when I finally did begin to feel her loss, those grief emotions hung around me for a long time. They are supposed to; that’s how it works! Losing a parent is a life experience that deserves prolonged grief.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>When I faced my own suicidal thoughts during a very dramatic and intense period of my life, those feelings stayed with me for many months. They are supposed to! I still make an almost-daily decision to keep breathing. Facing my own desire to kill myself, but deciding not to, is a life experience that demands deep emotions. No other way to handle it.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Sure, I used anti-depressants, and I’m glad I did so with a great psychiatrist and an educated awareness and understanding. I also stopped using them cold turkey after about a year when my feelings of being an experimental lab rat ran counter to my desire to fully experience the emotions and fully process them.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>More recently, on the advice of a naturopathic physician, I tried using melatonin. The chemical reaction I had after only a week got me literally screaming into my pillow. I stopped that experiment cold turkey, too.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Perhaps it serves the medical and psychiatric communities to label me with a mental illness. But there’s no scientific test for depression, and no evidence that it is a disease. All that science can do for depression is treat the symptoms, often with drugs that carry a suicide warning as well as highly unpredictable effects folks like me probably don’t want. Getting to the root cause of depression has so far eluded the scientific and medical research community.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>So what do I do?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>These days when I get depressed, I recognize the symptoms as I would an old friend. I welcome the opportunity to identify the source of what I feel. If it is unprocessed grief, I grieve. If it is “anger turned inwards,” I rage. If it is loss, fear, aimlessness…whatever…I give myself the time and care of fully experiencing the loss, fear or aimlessness. I do this where it’s safe for me and safe for others – raging on the highway isn’t safe! – and I do this until I’ve fully felt the symptoms depression brings to me.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>To fully feel the symptoms of depression in safety for myself and with compassion for the safety of others around me is a good practice.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>To fully feel those symptoms is not masking them by meditating, praying or doing anything to change them.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Sometimes I cry; sometimes I keen (like when I was screaming into my pillow on melatonin). Sometimes I rage -- but without breaking things and hurting people! Sometimes the symptoms are so intense that it makes my entire body quake – I’ve learned that these kinds of tremors can be very healing.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>When I’ve fully experienced the symptoms, they leave me. That process can take minutes or months, depending on the intensity of the life experience that triggered the symptoms.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>How do I do this?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Full experience of emotion, for me, happens when I bring those symptomatic emotions to music.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Music lubricates the experience of my depressing emotions. Music allows me to experience the symptoms and the feelings that go with them in a very personal and healthful way.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Whatever the DSM wants to claim about me, I don’t feel that my practice is a sign of mental illness. To me it feels like I’ve found a way to give myself proper care – care that drugs and therapy don’t give me.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>If you are experiencing depression, I hope you can use my story. I hope it will inspire you to try a different approach to meeting the symptoms you experience. Without stigma and without fear.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Some experts feel that symptoms of depression open a doorway to the human psyche – the soul. I’ve walked through that “chronically depressed” doorway many times in my life. With all that practice, I’ve gotten better at it. I’d like to think you would join me there.</b></span></div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-67031732775360728052015-09-08T22:08:00.002-07:002015-09-08T22:09:16.570-07:00Worried a Friend Might Be Suicidal? Here's How to Help<style>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s World Suicide Prevention Day today: September 10 2015.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It might seem like a morbid subject, but there’s a happy
ending. I promise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
A few years ago on a beautiful spring morning, I got the
call no one wants. Through her tears, my best friend’s wife told me that my
lifelong buddy was dead…he had set himself on fire. She witnessed it, as did
his parents and two of his three kids.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I didn’t know then that I might have been the one to save
him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I want to be very honest and direct: I’ve chosen not to take
my own life – it’s a choice I make often. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just last week I was mountain biking on the rim of the Rio
Grande Canyon near Taos New Mexico. It’s spectacular: flat mesa with this huge
rift cut through it. The drop-off to the river is several hundred feet in many
places. I chose not to jump. I’d rather continue to live – to see what happens
the next moment, and the next. Breathing, for me, is better than not breathing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
There are people alive in the world that I love, and who
love me. I feel confident that not jumping was – and is – still my best choice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Thanks to two long-term studies, researchers have learned
that social connectedness – not necessarily “relationship” but simply having a
robust network of friends – can significantly reduce the risk of suicide for both
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/16/us-social-connections-suicide-idUSKBN0FL2O720140716">men</a>
and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/29/us-health-women-social-suicide-idUSKCN0Q32OG20150729">women</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Life’s hard – no question about that. Friends – not the
digital kind, but real, live, in-person friends – can make it seem less
difficult. Those studies show that those friendships can literally be
lifelines.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Here’s how I might have helped my buddy choose to keep
breathing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ask about risk for
suicide or harm</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sure, it’s a hard question: “Are you feeling suicidal?” Or:
“Are you thinking about hurting yourself?” I wish I’d known to ask my friend
how he was feeling and what he was thinking. It’s such a simple question, but it
might have saved his life. Role play that question with friends who care for
you…it will seem more natural if you ever need to ask it for real.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Listen – and don’t be
judgmental</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To listen and not judge is hard. It’s even harder to bite
your tongue and NOT try to intervene in a crisis. Just don’t; it’s more
effective to listen. Look into your friend’s eyes and LISTEN. The next step is about
what you CAN do…but only after your friend or acquaintance stops talking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Give reassurance</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is when you can talk. What you say right then is ONLY
about being supportive and empathetic. If you know your friend well, give them
love and support – a hug even. If you are barely acquainted, offer your
friendship: “I’m here for you, whatever that might mean. I would miss you if
you were gone.” You aren’t going to fix anything, but you can offer encouragement
and information: “It’s fairly common to consider suicide, but it’s much less
common to actually do it, and I want you to keep breathing. I enjoy our
friendship.” If you want other ideas about what to say, email me!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Encourage appropriate
professional help</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are lots of qualified professionals who deal with
suicide every day. You don’t have to be one to effectively and confidently
encourage your friend to connect with any of them. Calling 9-1-1 is a great
first step. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is another: 1-800-273-TALK.
You could suggest that your friend call 2-1-1 and ask for a referral to a
qualified suicide therapist.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Encourage self-help
or other support strategies</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again, in spite of what many people believe, suicide isn’t
always a mental illness. Your friend’s well being is important to you – if you
make sure they feel and know that, your encouragement will be genuine and
received that way, too. There are many ways to give self-care and tons of
resources for doing so, from yoga and mindfulness practices to <a href="http://www.billprotzmann.com/">self-care using music</a>. Religious folks
appreciate the fellowship of church, and although that may not be working for
them at the moment, perhaps a change of venue would be welcome – maybe invite them
to your church with you. Be creative when you offer options!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
This simple five-step process is something you can learn and
do. It’s not hard – remember to role-play! – and it’s effective. Want to know
more? You can take a free short course, taught by <a href="http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/cs/take-a-course/what-you-learn/">Mental
Health First Aid</a>, in many places in the United States.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
So here’s the good news I promised.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Yeah: I’m still alive. But it gets better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
While the suicide statistics are dire, as you and I work to
build authentic connections with people that we love, we lower the potential
for those peoples’ desire to take their own lives. As the message of how to do
that spreads, all of us become more connected and more capable to offer empathy
to each other – and to others we don’t know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Isn’t that good news? It’s the kind of awareness that feels
good to me. If you do this even once, I guarantee it will feel good for you,
too. Tell me your story! The world is listening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a href="http://www.suicidology.org/Portals/14/docs/NSPW/MediaKit2015.pdf">National
Suicide Prevention Week Media and Information Kit</a><br />
</div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-90138136094466160912015-07-15T13:35:00.002-07:002015-07-15T15:47:43.134-07:00The Suicide Spectrum<style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRc-ePy3pVkJS9jw4bNLdcp3WOl7speLSaHde7PRQSlna0CQYLrxKUicLMh9cfxPy3hla1EXz-txCF1Srel5Fd4JWGc85xC8ssO7uP3CdQyBpirQwf999eHt4IXzMPyEKjWx7_91w4ng/s1600/The-Jumper-small-borderless.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRc-ePy3pVkJS9jw4bNLdcp3WOl7speLSaHde7PRQSlna0CQYLrxKUicLMh9cfxPy3hla1EXz-txCF1Srel5Fd4JWGc85xC8ssO7uP3CdQyBpirQwf999eHt4IXzMPyEKjWx7_91w4ng/s640/The-Jumper-small-borderless.jpg" width="504" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Jumper ~ R Noelle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
"The friend who holds your hand and says the wrong thing is made of dearer stuff than the one who stays away." ~ Barbara Kingsolver, quoted in The Sun, February 2007 </div>
<br />
Somewhere between taking one’s own life when everything
seems completely without hope – call that “hopeless suicide” – and “assisted
suicide” there is a conversation waiting to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This post is meant to spark that conversation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So many Veterans appear to choose suicide from the
perspective of having nothing left to live for – no meaning in life and too
many issues, whether physical or emotional or practical – so ending it all appears
as the best option. Non-Veterans also face this choice, including my
grandfather (whom I never knew) and my best friend (whom I knew well) and me. This
is “hopeless suicide.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s also a fact that there’s growing awareness and advocacy
for “assisted suicide” as a humane way to end one’s life when reasonable
expectations for recovery simply don’t exist.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s some crossover, too: “officer-assisted suicide” is,
ironically, a fairly reasonable way for some people to end their lives. These
days, all one has to do is show up in a public place acting crazy and
brandishing a toy gun and the police will take you out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And what about the protest suicides that are popular in
Asian countries? Monks have set themselves on fire for a long time to call
awareness to conditions they abhor and can’t change. That’s considered
honorable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, what if suicide is a better
alternative in the moment of crisis? <a data-mce-href="http://www.rnoelle.com/dreams-and-visions.html" href="http://www.rnoelle.com/dreams-and-visions.html">The Jumper</a>
(hat tip to R Noelle for the image shown above) depicts one person's choice to
leap from the World Trade Center rather than die during its collapse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Which of these forms of suicide does society want to
prevent? It’s fine to pass laws to add more behavioral healthcare professionals
to the rolls of caring professionals, or pass laws to permit more assisted
suicides, but laws alone aren’t going to resolve the questions that reside
along the suicide spectrum.</div>
<h2>
Hopeless Suicide</h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s start with the big one: unless you are the one
contemplating taking your own life, you are an outsider. Even as close as my
friends and family were to me when I was thinking seriously about killing
myself, none of them – and I mean NONE of them – knew what was really going on
with me, and I made sure to keep it that way. Yes: I was in therapy, and I even
told my therapist what I was thinking, but that wasn’t the reason I didn’t take
my own life. I didn’t share that reason with anyone, and at the decision point,
it wasn’t about reasons anyway. Something else takes over at that moment, and
that something has nothing to do with reason and sanity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So who are “we” (the outsiders) to say we know best about some
random suicidal person’s wellbeing? Doesn’t matter if we are parents, close
friends, spouses or co-workers of one who’s suicidal – what right do we have to
interfere? For most practical purposes, by the time I was at my decision point,
it was too late for outside intervention. I suspect that’s the case for many
others, too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been through a couple of trainings that help
non-clinical non-professional folks like me know how to recognize suicidal
tendencies in others and begin the process of intervention to stop a potential
suicide from becoming a real one. Both programs were good, but as good as they
were, I believe both programs operate at a point that’s too late to do much.
Prolonging the act is really all we can hope for when a person is obviously
suicidal; much more work is required to turn a suicidal individual into a
non-suicidal individual. I choose life every day, but that consistent choice to
live came hard to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The time to intervene in someone else’s suicide comes way before
they are ready to take their own life, perhaps even before they consider it as
an option.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Think about this: do you have any authentic human
relationships? The kind that battle buddies have in military combat. The kind
where you would give your own life to save your friend’s life without a
moment’s hesitation. If you have THAT kind of friendship with one or more
people, you are blessed. I believe this is the kind of authentic human
connection that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">saves </i>lives, too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are you a good mentor? Have you ever volunteered to truly
put someone else’s success ahead of your own, stand beside them as they
struggle, encourage and coach when necessary, answer the phone in the middle of
the night, be the big sister or big brother they never had, allow them to reach
their full potential? If not, try it. If you achieve success as a mentor, you
will have done two important things: 1) you will have modeled an authentic
friendship, and 2) you will have empowered one more person to do the same and
become a friend or mentor for someone else in turn. Pay it forward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We must guard against the complacency of assuming that
another law, or another program, or another donation to a humanitarian cause,
or another Sunday in church is making the difference for folks thinking about
suicide. It’s not. What DOES make the difference is authentic human connection,
whether that’s the in form of a real friendship, or being a mentor, or being an
authentic spouse or authentic partner. We can’t make the mistake of assuming
our relationships are OK just being on cruise control; if we do that, it’s too
late to intervene when suicide becomes an option.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s research that indicates an authentic relationship is
the best intervention for hopeless suicide. If you really want to prevent
hopeless suicide, work on the relationships in your life. Make certain they are
authentic. Those relationships might save YOUR life some day.</div>
<h2>
Assisted Suicide</h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The conversation about assisted suicide is easier for most
of us. But think about this: if it was YOU with a chronic, painful health
condition from which there was no prognosis of recovery, would you want to ride
it out until your “natural” death, even if that meant great emotional and
financial stress to those you love as well as your own suffering? I can
understand the reasonableness behind choosing assisted suicide.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can also understand the reasonableness behind
officer-assisted suicide. Although perceptions are changing rapidly thanks to racial
tensions in the United States, society has had less trouble with a peace
officer taking out a crazy person brandishing a gun than society would have had
with that same person taking their own life. Now that society is confronting
the issue of killings by peace officers, perceptions are changing. Society is
demanding a higher level of accountability from its peace officers, which seems
to anticipate an expected drop in the numbers of officer-assisted suicides.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bottom line, however, is that a reasonable, rational
person in possession of their own faculties and “of sound mind” may still
choose to end their own life, even with the cooperation and consent of those
closest to them – their family and friends. Whether a person in that situation
runs in front of a train or gets a lethal injection or threatens some police
officer doesn’t really matter, does it? One way or another, someone who wants
to die – maybe even needs to die – is going to figure out a way to do so, and
there’s a poignant beauty in this paradox that states such as Oregon recognize
by legally protecting a person’s right to assisted suicide. Isn’t this a humane
treatment?</div>
<h2>
The Questions</h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The challenge for everyone who cares about the issue of
suicide is to embrace the paradox of life and death. Both are necessary parts
of being human.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In spite of the overwhelming evidence that all of us are
going to die n our society, there’s an implication that death is somehow “bad”
and life is “good.” What would happen if society could put aside its judgment
on life and death for long enough to talk about it objectively? Could this
provide an opening for a more enlightened conversation about the value of a
good life and the value of a good death?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are you aware of the resources available to a person who,
facing his or her own death, seeks a transition that has great meaning and
great authenticity? The resources are out there, and they range from religious
counseling to psychological counseling to all sorts of New Age modalities for
approaching one’s own end of life. It’s a very moving field of endeavor, and it
seems that the people who engage in facilitating the mental and emotional
transition from life to death have been given short shrift in the conversations
about suicide. Perhaps they stay hidden because the perceptions of society in
general are often hostile to these workers, especially regarding suicide.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s the big question of course. Society feels it is somehow
necessarily humane to prolong life and anathema to assist death. “Thou shalt
not kill” runs deep in American ethics. No matter what, suicide in any form is
killing, and disconnecting from a deeply held belief in the sanctity of life is
difficult work. But it is possible to put one’s beliefs on the shelf during
discourse, hear the various points of view, and perhaps even evolve more
effective policy without compromising one’s individual ethics. For example,
isn’t “thou shalt not kill oneself” versus “thou shalt not kill anyone else” a
reasonable distinction for dialogue? I’m not ready to pass laws that remove
penalties for murder, for example, but I’d be willing to hear a wider
discussion of permissible humane choices at end of life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d also be willing to entertain a wider discussion of
permissible choices at the end of hope. Many humanitarian organizations claim
to serve people who have reached the end of hope, but taking a step out of
homelessness and addiction, for example, is often a process that homeless
addicts don’t survive without friends and mentors.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps these questions, if we could at least talk about
them, might help bring society closer to preventing suicide. After all, isn’t
it society that has failed the individuals who take their own life? Isn’t it
incumbent on all of us to be the friend to a person who feels the death grip of
hopelessness, for whatever reason? If we aren’t willing to live like we value life
itself and act to preserve that value, what purpose do we have to live at all?</div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-71026183348635413352015-06-02T14:00:00.002-07:002015-06-02T14:00:36.030-07:00Music in Your Face for PTSD Awareness Month
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There’s monotony about most “healing music” out there: it’s
peaceful, serene and well, quite boring ... to me. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes, it’s relaxing, Yes, it’s all about alpha wave, right
brain transformative experience. And let's be honest: yes, it SELLS.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But is that what we really need?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned in therapy is that
stuffing the feelings I don’t want is destructive to my psyche and wellbeing.
Before therapy, I was too good at doing that: keep a stiff upper lip; suck it
up; forge ahead. But all that suppression wasn’t good for me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Instead of that approach, it wasn’t until I learned to
practice feeling emotions fully – in safety and with support – that I started
to really transform. Everything up to that point was no better than using sticky
tape and baling wire on an open wound.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back to that mesmerizing music…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Congreve">"Music
has charms to soothe a savage breast,”</a> wrote William Congreve in “The
Mourning Bride” in 1697. There’s an enduring beauty to that phrase, and music
certainly does have such power. But what’s not often remembered is the type of
music Congreve must have imagined in his day. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Popular secular music in the early 18<sup>th</sup> Century was
quite unlike music in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century. Back in Congreve’s day, unless
you were in church, you’d hear a sackbut, a lute, possibly a hand drum and
maybe some sort of whistle, accompanied by the sort of low, bowed string
instrument that would become a modern cello. Hardly a peaceful orchestra, as
anyone who’s actually heard an ancient sackbut can tell you. This sort of music
is sometimes used in Shakespearian plays.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps Congreve was thinking more of the early vocal music
just beginning to make its way out of the church into secular society – and
there is some hauntingly beautiful late Renaissance vocal music out there.
Henry Purcell’s compositions are great examples, and they are enchanting when
performed by a modern orchestra. They must have been stunning in Congreve’s
day, too, played on the best instruments available, which weren’t anything to
write home about – by this time, Stradivarius would have made only a few dozen
violins. Musicologists might debate the soothing values of Purcell’s most
sublime works versus modern “healing” music but there’s an “apples to oranges”
problem with doing so that pits the musical hoi polloi against, well, everyone
else… and there goes any soothing effect.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One thing musical healers tend to forget is the
psychotherapeutic fact that stuffing your troubles multiples their bad effects.
Before one can get to any sort of soothing experience, it’s absolutely
essential to let go of the traumatic stuff – the stuff that’s making you
anxious, upset, depressed, whatever-the-feeling-that’s-not-what-you-want.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Playing a didgeridoo and Tibetan bowl for me when I’m all
hopped up on posttraumatic stress is like adding kerosene to a fire. Not soothing.
I understand the alpha wave science, but I don’t want to hear it at that
moment. Instead, I need some heavy or def metal – Alice in Chains or Metallica
– to help me feel the “bad” stuff fully.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So when I’m in that ugly place, I tend to reach for music
that supports the ugly feelings I have. Those feelings – and the music I need –
can be quite savage, so I make sure to use headphones so I can turn it up LOUD
and listen in a safe place where I won’t hurt myself or anyone else (that is,
NOT in the car or on my bike or in any other situation that requires me to
split attention between the rage/anxiety/depression I’m feeling and the need to
operate potentially dangerous equipment).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And then I listen to that sort of music until I no longer
feel the rage/anxiety/depression of whatever triggered me. This speeds up the
process of “getting it out” while preventing my acting out any of the feelings
I don’t want in a destructive way.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ONLY then am I ready for something soothing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I feel it’s a huge mistake to confront rage with “healing”
music. At that moment, it does the rager no good to be met with some
crystal-crunching anthem, and it could actually put the ragee in danger. I
know: if someone gets in my face with “all there is is love” when what I’m
actually feeling at that moment is anything but loved or loving, there’s going
to be trouble.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Think about it: if you want to work out, you need physical
support and pump-you-up music. When you are in the mood, you spin a sexy
playlist. Eventually, your workout (or love-making) are over, and only then is it
time for a different kind of music. So why wouldn’t you support feelings of rage/anxiety/depression
with compatible music – for you – that lets you feel that stuff fully?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To recap:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>1.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>When traumatically stressed, use music to feel
it fully in a safe place;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>2.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Listen and feel that stuff until you can’t feel
it any more;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">THEN (and only then):</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>3.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Give yourself a “healing” music bath using
whatever music brings you down easy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Try it. Write and let me know how it goes.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And spread the word: June is PTS awareness month and every
one of us needs to know how to use music to intervene – it’s easy and powerful.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-32315766364373751802015-05-20T11:54:00.002-07:002015-05-20T12:00:08.109-07:00Doing Something vs Doing Something Effective About Suicide<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>We all want to know that what we do is effective, right?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>What can we effectively do about suicide? </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>We can vote for politicians to “do the right thing” which
normally means that THEY vote to spend more of OUR money … in the War on
Poverty, or the War on Drugs, or government education … or suicide… </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Or... </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>We can learn the skills to intervene when someone we
encounter seems to be at risk for hurting themselves or taking their own life. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>--- </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>We can give to a charity that “does something” about
humanitarian issues like suicide in hopes that we’ve picked the best
organization that will make the biggest difference with our money… </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Or… </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>We can re-learn the interpersonal skills that give us
authentic human connections with our family and friends and co-workers –
connections that can intervene when the stresses of daily life grip us. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>--- </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>We can assume that “something is being done” by behavioral
health care professionals and try to ignore the fact that more people are
taking their own lives today than ever before…</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Or…</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>We can take a realistic, reasoned and educated look at our
own communities and the organizations in them to learn which initiatives REALLY reduce suicide and why, then begin to replicate those
efforts.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>---</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/why-are-rates-suicide-soaring-across-planet?akid=13117.177677.V41mS7&rd=1&src=newsletter1036595&t=3" target="_blank">It is no longer enough to assume that “something is being done” about suicide</a> when so much effort and money has already been spent <a href="http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/why-are-rates-suicide-soaring-across-planet?akid=13117.177677.V41mS7&rd=1&src=newsletter1036595&t=3" target="_blank">without results</a>. It’s
no longer enough to assume that our favorite humanitarian organizations are
able to get out in front of suicide. And it’s certainly high time we understood
that government is NOT about doing what it right because government, while it is
good at making and enforcing laws, has a decades-long expensive track record of failure at effectively
getting out in front on humanitarian issues.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>If you have a friend or family member who’s depressed,
stressed and anxious, what are you doing to intervene? Is it working? If not,
there are resources available to you – such as <a href="http://www.qprinstitute.com/" target="_blank">The QPR Institute</a> and <a href="http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/cs/" target="_blank">Mental Health First Aid</a> – that will help you
be more effective. If so, teach your family and friends how to do what you do.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>That would be doing something effective…for a change.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-4699247567273165432015-05-07T18:30:00.004-07:002015-05-07T18:30:55.305-07:00Is Technology Undermining “Veterans First?”
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We all know that patience with the VA wore thin long ago.
One of the many remarkable results of that impatience is that Vietnam Veterans
of San Diego created what is now known as Veterans Village of San Diego rather
than wait for the VA to get its own act together and truly serve homeless
drug-addicted combat Veterans. Fortunately, Veterans Village of San Diego has
shown by example what can be done when Veterans truly come first.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Doubtless there are many remarkable individuals serving the
VA, but it’s a shame that the VA’s own computer systems limit the effectiveness
of the individuals working there. Part of my life was spent as an IT systems
analyst, and I would like to offer insight and suggestions from my own
experience of the Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) over
the last few months, seen from the point of view of a friend who is a disabled
Veteran.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One example:</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How is it that medical procedures at VASDHS can be cancelled
last minute without notification to transportation services? My friend was told
he had lost transportation privileges because a van came to pick him up for a
procedure that had been cancelled. The cancellation computer failed to advise
the transportation computer, which made more work the human beings serving the
Veteran as well as the Veteran himself. That’s not putting Veterans first.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another example:</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Why is it that my Veteran friend can be called to an urgent
appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice, requiring him to arrange his own
transportation, only to wait hours for that care to be given after arriving on
time as demanded? That doesn’t seem to be putting Veterans first.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yet another:</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How can the VA computer system cancel all transportation
contracts for disabled Veterans without first checking to see if those Veterans
have appointments on the books? This happened today at the VASDHS, and it put a
number of excellent VA staffers into damage control mode. How can that be
putting Veterans first?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally:</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A Veteran trying to respond to chain yanking in any of these
examples is told to call the “Primary Care Call Center.” The capable caring
call center crew has only one way to put Veterans first: send an email message
to the proper Primary Care provider. In this open-ended system, there is no
guarantee that the Veteran will get a response, and the system is useless in
some cases since the only response window offered by the call center is “two to
three working days.” A disabled Veteran without transportation who must be at
appointments with less than 24 hours to respond doesn’t have two to three
working days. In this case, the only thing that is being put first is an
open-ended broken system with no accountability programmed into it.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some suggestions, free for the taking:</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>A)<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Most industry-standard call center software has
escalation capabilities that facilitate human intervention when necessary. It’s
not hard to implement such features, nor is it hard to find capable managers
and team members to use them effectively. Even the most backward third-world
call centers can do this; let’s make it a part of putting Veterans first here
in San Diego, and soon. An in-place escalation process would have smoothed out
the response to today’s transportation cancellation issues.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>B)<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Require human review of computer-determined
actions with a potential negative impact on ten or more Veterans. A human being
could easily apply the brakes before such automatic actions become a train
wreck. This could have prevented today’s transportation snafu, and would also help
keep transportation from being wasted on cancelled appointments. Ultimately,
the underlying deficiency in the computer systems must be corrected; until they
are, let’s put Veterans – not computer systems – first.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>C)<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Require human review of all computer-initiated
appointment notifications where a Veteran is given less than 24 hours to arrive
for care to make sure that the communication to the Veteran is clear and that
any questions the Veteran has can be answered during the notification process.
This may mean that the automated notification system won’t work in some cases;
until that’s done, let’s put Veterans first.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It seems obvious that the human capital needed to implement
these suggestions is available; I witnessed it today doing damage control and
it seems obvious that excellent staff would be much happier re-deployed out in
front of a problem rather than reacting to the fallout from one. It also seems
obvious that if a third-party civilian like myself – and I’m not a rocket
scientist – can notice such things, they must already be painfully obvious to
many others.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How about it, VASDHS? Doable?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-25879624315058100962015-04-30T18:33:00.003-07:002015-05-04T08:22:54.975-07:00A Call for a New Reponse to War<style>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday afternoon I attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for
the opening of a new exhibit at the <a href="http://www.veteranmuseum.org/">San
Diego Veterans Museum and Memorial Center</a>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.veteranmuseum.org/event/vietnam-retrospective-50th-anniversary-vietnam-war">Vietnam
-- A Retrospective on the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War</a>. I was the
invited guest of a United States Navy disabled Veteran who served in the “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Riverine_Squadron">brown
water navy</a>” and was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained March
1, 1968, when his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_Boat,_River">PBR</a>
was blown up by a mine and hit by a rocket. I’ll call him Joe (not his real
name).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were many Vietnam Era Veterans in the audience,
including three South Vietnamese nationals. When they were introduced, I had
the first of many gut-wrenching responses that continue until today, some 24
hours after the event itself.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I sat there, I felt such shame that the United States had
brought dishonor to these three gentlemen and their homeland. Forty years after
the fall of Saigon, and I was embarrassed for what my country had done to
theirs – or failed to do for theirs, depending on one’s perspective. That shame
has been gnawing at me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
So I did some research.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
From another longtime Navy Veteran who served in Vietnam,
I’ve learned that, back in the day, the San Diego Veterans Day Parade included
French and Russian Veterans of WWII who were living in the area, and that
today’s parade regularly includes Veterans of the South Vietnam military. <a href="http://vva472.us/">The San Diego Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of
America</a> has intentionally reached out to non-US Veterans of war as a
gesture of goodwill and healing. This makes some kind of sense to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I’ve also learned that as a part of the US Vietnam campaign,
a significant number of United States naval assets were turned over to the
South Vietnamese Navy beginning in Fall of 1968. The South Vietnamese Navy, as
it turns out, seems to have had some North Vietnamese sympathizers in the ranks
– not uncommon based on other books I’ve read including John Stryker Meyer’s “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Across-The-Fence-Secret-Vietnam/dp/0974361801">Across
the Fence</a>,” – and some of these assets were turned against the United
States.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Joe, my Navy Veteran friend, has knowledge of some of the
events where American forces confronted their own ships and weapons in the
hands of South Vietnamese forces they thought were friendly, so you can imagine
his response to the presence of South Vietnamese Veterans in the audience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The paradox is that offering dignity to our former brothers
in arms is noble AND righteous resentment towards those of their countrymen who
turned against us is warranted.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I just can’t square the two truths. That’s the second
gut-wrencher.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The third happened when we were invited in to view the Vietnam
exhibit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
My uncle was a B-52 pilot during most of the Vietnam Era.
Although San Diego is primarily a Navy and Marines town, all branches of
service are represented in the Museum’s Vietnam exhibit, and the Air Force was
pictured with the usual photos of planes in flight and massed on the ground.
For the first time I could picture where my Uncle spent much of his time during
those years – years when he would record cassette-tape letters home to his
family and mine. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Normally I wasn’t allowed to listen to those tapes, but one
time when my parents were out I listened to one. My uncle describes a night
bombing mission over Hanoi – probably one sortie from the famous Linebacker
operations ordered by President Nixon that Christmas. Many of my uncle’s
buddies were shot down by North Vietnamese SAMs (surface to air missiles) and it
was obvious from his voice that his expectation of survival wasn’t great. He
was so concerned for his crew; they had narrowly missed being shot down that
night when a SAM flew within feet of the cockpit. I can’t recall anything he
said verbatim, but I got a clear feeling that his emotional goodbye to my dad –
his brother – might very well be his last.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
There is a picture in the exhibit of more than a hundred
B-52 crew members during a briefing. I strained to find my uncle in the photo
and couldn’t – there were so many bombers operating at that time – but it
brought back the memory of hearing his voice on that tape, and along with it,
all friendships I have and have had with Veterans of that era. Were there
people in the photo that knew my uncle? Were these some of the buddies he lost?
It hit hard – the third gut wrench of the afternoon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we left the Museum, Joe told me how proud he felt to have
been a part of the afternoon – the group photo of the Vietnam Era Veterans, the
camaraderie of being with buddies he hadn’t seen in years, the bonds that tie
combat-wounded and battle buddies together for a lifetime. There were tears in
Joe’s eyes when he told me how good it felt to finally be accepted for what he
is and has done.<br />
<br />
Fourth gut-wrencher.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Joe emailed me today saying that he hadn’t slept as well as
he did last night in years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep. It’s been 24 hours of
hellish confusion – mental and emotional.<br />
<br />
I’ve talked with a few people about
it including Joe. There’s not much sense to make of such things.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vietnam, and perhaps all United States military excursions
since, seem to be futile. Maybe it’s about an old-fashioned response (war) to a
new-fangled problem, but even the problem escapes the boundaries of clarity. We
can bemoan the political mushiness behind such campaigns, or rankle against the
possibilities that things aren’t what they appear to be (how did World Trade
Center Three actually collapse, let alone the twin towers?), but that seems
wrong-headed in the light of history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the United States had some objectives in Vietnam, one
of them was clearly NOT defending our homeland on our own soil. Our South
Vietnamese brothers, on the other hand, were doing precisely that, and might
have been successful with our assistance had not the United States media
projected as fact what was mostly fiction. But even that perspective is
debatable. As are many facts and fictions in military operations since, right
up to today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
All of this does nothing to relieve the pain in my gut.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The only way I can resolve this is to offer words from
someone wiser. Among his other contributions, Albert Einstein observed:
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different
results.” Without punning on military intelligence (which I do NOT feel is the
issue) or political stupidity (which might be), is it not time that we paid
some attention to Einstein’s notion of sanity?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
We – that is, most of the “free” world – isn’t doing so well
responding to the brutal hurtful people who live here. For many reasons, our
response to the brutal and hurtful must be meted out politely instead of dealt
decisively. That response is, by Einstein’s definition, insane.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
It’s been more than 50 years of insanity, actually.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Peace? Overwhelming force? I don’t know. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I don’t know what the sane response must be, but I do know
that another 50 years of what the free world is doing in the Global War on
Terror (or whatever we are calling it these days) won’t stop the thugs from
looting and pillaging, whatever their reasons for doing so.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
What I do know is that I don’t want to sit beside people who
once fought alongside me – from my country or another – with shame in my heart
for having failed the mission. I don’t want to find myself an enemy by
association. I prefer to wage peace with strength, but my real impact extends only
as far as my family and friends.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I will do what I can. Perhaps if you do so as well we can
make a difference. We aren’t the first ones to think so and we won’t be the
last, but isn’t it past time that we made the effort?<br />
<br /></div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-54079684117333542662015-03-17T16:32:00.000-07:002015-03-17T16:48:14.158-07:00STEM vs STEAM: a Proposal for an Uncommon CoreBe warned: rant ahead.<br />
<br />
I promise there's also a solution at the end. <br />
<h3>
The STEM vs STEAM Rant</h3>
The tail is wagging the dog again. Some committee who's most certainly well-intentioned has determined that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are the ways that government schools ought to approach education, as this <a href="http://www.ed.gov/stem" target="_blank">government website says</a>, "for global leadership." Right.<br />
<br />
If anyone wanted to recall the Renaissance, or perhaps in more recent memory, the various world leaders who could actually perform convincingly on a musical instrument (<a href="https://youtu.be/YqB7UEdhKug" target="_blank">here's video of Bill Clinton playing the sax on Letterman</a>) the notion of STEAM might be more interesting, since including art (the A in STEAM) in a curriculum has been proven to magically enhance the rest of those cerebral pursuits. Evidence for this goes back, well, <b><i>several thousand years</i></b>. There was a time in ancient China, for example, when powerful respected politicians were also poets and sometimes artists.<br />
<br />
This is no time to belabor the dismal record America's government schools have accumulated teaching the arts in primary and secondary education (they have none). Government education offloads that responsibility (yes it <b>is</b> a responsible part of education to at least <i><b>expose</b></i> kids to the arts!) to government-subsidized colleges and universities when it's too late to have an impact on a formative young mind.<br />
<br />
(This is not a blog about how eliminating the arts from government education may have resulted in some of the poorest test scores in generations, except to say that "common core" (<a href="http://www.corestandards.org/" target="_blank">more about that here</a>) can only hope to realize common mediocrity by senselessly excluding the arts. No secret about where I stand on this issue!)<br />
<br />
We're also not discussing the abundant evidence in most of Western and Eastern Europe and Asia for a more, er, benevolent focus on the power of a solid arts curriculum. It doesn't take a STEM scientist to look around and take note of the nations who have excelled in STEM since the 1960s: that last major STEM government program America has to offer is still named NASA but its exploits have been eclipsed by the technological prowess of such nations as Japan, South Korea and China, not to mention private companies who can hire STEM folks from oversees. Even our good friends in the former Soviet Union still recognize the value of government-supported arts academies. It doesn't matter that American companies like Apple have built convincing sustainability at the intersection of technology and liberal arts because of the ignorance of that fact at the United States Department of Education.<br />
<br />
Here in my own backyard, Qualcomm, the biggest single employer of STEM-savvy folks for miles around, can't find any of them at local universities. No DoE STEM edict is going to change that overnight, or even in this generation. There's a reason that search for the origins of matter is taking place at <a href="http://home.web.cern.ch/" target="_blank">CERN</a> (Europe) rather than a stone's throw from Silicon Valley at <a href="https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/" target="_blank">SLAC</a> (California).<br />
<br />
Another mistaken fascination with STEM has to do with buzzwords like "interdisciplinary" or "multidisciplinary." It's trendy right now to look at the fractures between subjects as taught in government schools and attempt to recombine them simply by saying that they are now interconnected (by what magic did that happen?) and that all teaching staff will teach a holistic curriculum that crosses all disciplines. How to accomplish that without art has yet to be explained, but since no one currently making the rules really seems to understand the value of an arts education, it's probably to be expected.<br />
<h3>
A Possible Solution </h3>
What's the answer?<br />
<br />
We've been throwing more and more money at government education for so long without results that perhaps it's time for a cat wrangler.<br />
<br />
That is, we know there's no shortage of teachers for music, fine art, dance, theater, poetry and creative writing. There are probably plenty of successful STEM folks out there with more than a passing interest in the arts (how well did Albert Einstein play the violin?). Let's bring some of the leaders in the STEM world into contact with the leaders in the Arts world and let them drive a convincing wedge into the boneheaded government bureaucrats behind "common core." Let's explain, using little words, how learning Art develops young brains better than any other curriculum known to man. Imagine where Steve Jobs could have taken Apple if he had stayed with his early music lessons, or where any ADHD kid might be able to go in education if instruction from an accredited Suzuki music teacher was made mandatory (did you know that most professional, working drummers are ADHD?).<br />
<h3>
Music </h3>
(I know music, and this is in no way meant to slight the other arts, but rather to encourage you to write your point of view from whatever artistic discipline you inhabit.)<br />
<br />
If you look carefully at the intersection of arts and technology, you're going to find an incredibly talented resource pool: music therapists. Most of the board-certified music therapists with an active practice today could also be deployed into primary and secondary education to great effect. Why music therapists? They have the training to know how to marry people skills with musical ones to serve the purpose of advancing a patient's health and well-being. Think of the at-risk kids you might know stuck in government schools: are any of them autistic? Music therapists are excellent at dealing with autistic kids.<br />
<br />
Do you know any kids with learning disabilities? Music can be adapted to teach facts, improve memory and speed up the learning process. Then there's the amazing brain-building capabilities music has that integrate movement, sight, hearing, thinking and touch like no other educational tool can do. Learning music can teaches science through vibration, technology through recording and editing, engineering through either theory, composition or mastering a satisfying recording and mathematics through rhythm, time signatures and note values. And that's just off the top of my head. Fine artists, poets and writers probably have a few insights on this as well. <br />
<br />
There are some amazing humanitarian organizations filling up the government school's missing arts education gap. There are probably more than a handful close ot where you live. Would any of those NGOs be interested in helping put the A into STEAM? You bet they would!<br />
<br />
Am I making my point? Are you beginning to see the magic of STEAM and the fallacy of STEM?<br />
<br />
Let's get this snowball rolling downhill. It's time to put ART back at the core of education.<br />
<br />
<br />Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-19766374969455692582015-03-04T11:18:00.002-08:002015-03-04T11:18:36.545-08:00Preventing Veteran Suicide with Connectedness
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #345a8a; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 181;"></span></b>It’s hard to consider all the aspects of suicide without
recalling the very public <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Qu%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c">self-immolation
of Thich Quang Duc</a>, the Buddhist monk who sacrificed his life to protest
government mistreatment of Buddhists in 1963. This symbolic and ancient act of
defiance inspired many others during that era, including a few who used suicide
to protest the war in Vietnam.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are all aware of the astonishing frequency of Veteran
suicide these days, but did you know that, in some cases, the Veteran intended
his or her suicide to be an act of protest? In most cases, however, Veteran
suicide appears to be an act of frustrated desperation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if one aspect of Veteran suicide is the martyrdom of
war?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While it may feel noble to want to prevent one from taking
his or her own life, I would like to boldly suggest that preventing all Veteran
suicide may be misguided hubris.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Logically, if we truly intend to end all Veteran suicide, we
ought to end all war. Clearly, while threats such as ISIS exist, there’s no way
to end all war.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how do we embrace both the desire for an end of war and
the reality of its existence? How do we both stand up for peace and pay the
cost of battle? How do we attempt to prevent some types of suicide while allowing
the pathos of “suicide as protest” or “physician-assisted” end of life? The costs
of war are as old as war itself: post-traumatic stress, sexual trauma,
traumatic brain injury, loss of limbs, and loss of life itself. Normal human
responses to such things include suicide and even “assisted” suicide (whether
by physician or peace officer), just as they always have.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, in some parts of the world, the peaceful human protest
of oppression and war also includes suicide, just as it always has.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I write this with great sensitivity to those of us who have
a personal belief that suicide is “wrong;” I myself believe that violence is
wrong, especially violent death, whether or not it is self-inflicted.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, if we suspend judgment for the purpose of a thought
experiment, and allow the paradox of both “good” and “bad” suicide, perhaps we
can reach a new kind of compassion for those who are suicidal, regardless of
whether we agree with their choice of death or not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Evidence suggests “connectedness” is a factor in preventing
suicide. My understanding of “connectedness” is the kind of one-to-one
association you might have with a peer, colleague, mentor, friend or, perhaps,
a therapist or religious leader or teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is in contrast to the deeper kind of “connectedness” in a committed
relationship such as marriage, but let us keep our thought experiment at the
more detached level of “human connection.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We know that members of a military unit are highly
connected, both for task and support purposes. This high degree of
purpose-driven “connectedness” changes dramatically when warfighters become
civilians, and to a lesser extent when combat deployment ends, since the
original purpose for the connection (war) is missing. One could conclude that
becoming disconnected from one’s fighting unit is itself a risk factor – but
not the only one – for suicide.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As loving and connected as some military families are, the
family cannot replace the connectedness of the military unit. A family clearly
has a different purpose, and its human connections serve that purpose as
opposed to the purpose of war. A highly connected family helps minimize
suicidal risk in its own way, but does not remove the risk.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As one who has thought carefully about suicide – both in
terms of taking my own life and as a survivor of those who have taken theirs –
I want to say how grateful I am for having a loving and supportive family
around me. I also want to note that, at my most vulnerable, I had no desire to
share this with my family. That feeling of utter aloneness, for me, was the
riskiest place in my journey. Like the warfighter returning from deployment or
the newly minted Veteran, at my most vulnerable I felt cut off from everything
I needed most to keep going. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am also grateful also for the talk therapy I had.
Fortunately, I was having therapy before and after my moment of crisis. Sadly
for many suicides – people who may have been helped by talk therapy – reaching
out for help doesn’t always happen. Even with the therapy I had, when my moment
of crisis came, I did not pick up the phone and call anyone, let alone my
therapist, and I suspect that process of isolating oneself is typical of many
in the same position.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is evidence supporting the fact that suicide rates are
dramatically lower when a therapeutic modality is in place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For active duty soldiers, a recent <a href="http://consumer.healthday.com/general-health-information-16/military-health-news-763/type-of-talk-therapy-may-cut-suicide-rate-among-u-s-soldiers-study-696503.html">study</a>
found that the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) modality reduced suicide
attempts among high-risk patients [sic] by 60% over a two-year follow-up
period. (Another citation of that study can be found <a href="http://kuer.org/post/study-finds-therapy-helps-prevent-suicide-military">here</a>).
(While such post-trauma studies are necessary, I suspect a more powerful
therapeutic intervention for suicide would be possible if we could find a way
to introduce CBT tools to high-risk warfighters <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">before</i> they encounter stressors.) The question, to me, is not so much
the modality, but whether offering this form of one-on-one “connectedness” to
the “patient” was of itself the reason for the drop in suicide attempts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here in the San Diego County, California, Veterans Services
world, we find peer mentoring to be a powerful indicator of a program’s
potential for success, whether the objective is expunging a DUI in Veterans
Treatment Court, successfully serving time in a Veterans-only cell block in a
jail without recidivism, being treated for addiction in a Veterans-only residential
facility, or training a newly-hired Veteran using the buddy system. This makes
sense; peer mentoring is a powerful reminder of the military unit where both
mentor and mentee enjoy common success in pursuit of shared goal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s possible that, since Veterans are highly trained human
connectors, removing the “connectedness” factor from a Veteran’s day-to-day increases
his or her risk factors. Instead, if a program provides a framework for a high
degree of human connectedness, Veterans thrive. So how do we get out in front
of the risk factors, perhaps even before a new recruit goes to boot camp?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are a number of programs with a focus on resilience already
at work on military bases and in the National Guard and Reserves. This is
absolutely necessary! There are also several programs training civilians to
better interact with Veterans professionally, therapeutically, and as
co-workers. One of my favorites is <a href="http://www.psycharmor.org/#psycharmor">Psycharmor</a>. Conversely, there
are also programs that teach or remind Veterans of the nature of non-military
civilian “connectedness” such as <a href="http://www.nvtsi.org/">The Reboot
Workshop</a>. Why do these programs exist? To teach all of us how becoming more
effective connectors – as peers, mentors or friends – improves the success of
our endeavors.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Returning to our thought experiment, let us ask: how
effective we are as peers, mentors or friends? If you or I were to grade
ourselves on the scale of the “connectedness” we offer, how would we measure
up? Let’s be clear: we aren’t interested in the number of digital connections
we have on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or the latest behavioral healthcare
app on our mobile devices. We are talking about real live one-on-one human
beings sitting across a table from each other, maybe not saying anything, but
sharing some sort of authentic bond.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A Veteran buddy whose job is peer outreach was assigned a
particularly difficult case: a recent, young Veteran who had many unseen combat
wounds. Every week for more than a month, my buddy met his “case” at a coffee
shop for an hour. Normally, my buddy told me, the “case” would just sit there, avoiding
eye contact and messing around with his smartphone. It took many weeks before
the “case” even looked up. One week, the “case” looked up at my buddy, made eye
contact, and said: “You know, you’re OK.” That was the moment when effective connectedness
became possible. If we are to believe the evidence, that was also the moment
when the “case” took a step away from risk and towards reward. The lesson here
is that sometimes it takes a lot of “showing up” before any useful opportunity
for change can happen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope this discussion helps crystalize the potential for
each of us to become better connectors. I happen to believe that listening to
or making music together helps improve connectedness. Other powerful examples
include structured groups, be they faith-based, therapeutic or “12-step” style.
What do you believe? Can you use your beliefs to strengthen your skills as a
connector? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your skills are useful far beyond someone “at risk” of
becoming a “case” – the world needs you to use those skills now, with everyone
you know and everyone you meet. I think you will find that being a better peer,
mentor or friend has rewards that go well beyond lowering the suicide rate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At least one highly responsible military leader agrees with
this approach. Army General Martin E Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, recently signed a letter to all transitioning service members in which
he encourages them to become leaders in their communities. I would like to
share that short letter with you because it shows great sensitivity to the
issues Veterans face that is the nexus of the points we have been discussing
here. It also has the welcome expectation that civilians such as you and me
will do our part as well.</div>
2 February 2015<br />
To All Who Have Served in Uniform Since 9/11,<br />
You and your families stepped forward as
volunteers when our Nation needed you, and you excelled. For over a decade of
war, you demonstrated the courage, resilience, and adaptability that are the
hallmarks of the American military. Thank you for wearing our Nation’s uniform.<br />
Your dedication to those serving on your
right and left has been unwavering, and your commitment to a cause greater than
yourself has been inspiring. Be proud of what you have done for your country
and for those people in other countries who share in the dream of a better
future.<br />
Over the last 13 years, you have written
a new chapter in American military history while honoring the legacy of the
generations of veterans who served before you. Their sacrifices paved the way
for our welcome home—we build our legacy on their shoulders. It is appropriate
to recognize and thank them as we join their ranks.<br />
It is also appropriate to follow the
example they set when they took off the uniform. Those previous generations of
veterans understood that they had an opportunity—and a responsibility—to
continue serving. Your generation will also help guide our country’s destiny.<br />
While the transition to civilian life
brings new challenges, the American public stands ready to welcome you home. As
a veteran, your country still needs your experience, intellect, and character.
Even out of uniform, you still have a role in providing for the security and
sustained health of our democracy. No matter what you choose to do in your next
chapter, you will continue to make a difference. The opportunity for leadership
is yours.<br />
We trust that you will accept this
challenge and join ranks with the business leaders, volunteers, and public
servants in your communities. You have made your mark in uniform and represent
the strength of our Nation. We know you will do the same as veterans, setting
the example for the next generation of veterans to follow.<br />
We thank you and your families for your
service and for your continued dedication to the United States of America. It
has been our greatest privilege to serve with you, and we look forward with
pride to what your future holds. We know it will be extraordinary.<br />
<div align="right" class="rteright" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sincerely,<br />
Martin E. Dempsey, General, U.S. Army, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff<br />
James A. Winnefeld, Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff<br />
Raymond T. Odierno, General, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff of the Army<br />
Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine
Corps<br />
Jonathan W. Greenert, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations<br />
Mark A. Welsh III, General, U.S. Air Force, Chief of Staff of the Air Force<br />
Frank J. Grass, General, U.S. Army, Chief of the National Guard Bureau<br />
Paul F. Zukunft, Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commandant of the Coast Guard</span></div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-40888763126889031342015-02-23T20:23:00.001-08:002015-02-23T20:36:12.835-08:00Suicide and Compassionate CareFor the last three years I’ve had the honor of being a personal
advocate for a Vietnam Veteran and good friend. There have been a number
of, well, “questionable” circumstances at the Veterans Administration
Medical Center (VAMC) with regard to his care. By that, I mean that
someone who is more knowledgeable than me would question the care my
friend has received. But this post isn’t about that. It’s about
something else – a larger issue that encompasses both health care and
compassionate care.<br />
<br />
Full disclosure: my relationship to my friend
is not regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act since I have no legal responsibility nor active role in “protecting”
his privacy, and this post has been written with his full understanding
and cooperation.<br />
<br />
Not once in the three years that I’ve been close
to my friend’s situation has anyone ever said to him “I’m so sorry.”
Those three words are just missing from the lingo of government health
care professionals. Let me give you an example.<br />
<br />
I was able to make
a referral for my friend to the director of our local Vet Center.
Because I’m familiar with the many issues for which my friend needs
care, I provided a high-level summary of some of the questions my friend
is attempting to answer as he nears end of life, strives to provide
adequate care for his wife (who suffers dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
and has been physically abusive to the point of breaking most of the
bones in my friend’s lower left leg), and does his best to continue to
receive care from the VAMC.<br />
<br />
The local Vet Center, which is one of
the best in the nation, simply offered my friend referrals to other
sources of assistance. I understand that this is how things are done,
but the fact is that at no time did my friend receive any kind of
empathy.<br />
<br />
Sadly, it seems that a lack of empathy from our
government has reached epidemic proportions. It’s not hard to say “I’m
sorry” and really mean it. I do it a lot…and I’m just a piano player.
Seems reasonable to me that highly trained professional caregivers with
lots of letters after their names ought to be able to say it too. But
no: that’s not what my friend experiences. Not from the VAMC; not from
his Congressional Representative’s Veterans liaison; not from the Vet
Center; not from the folks caring for his wife; not from the folks
checking up on him (he’s presumed to be “at risk” for suicide); not from
the various other people engaged in my friend’s other numerous public
assistance issues.<br />
<br />
Granted, my friend will probably die from a
number of things most of us will never encounter – complications arising
from exposure to Agent Orange for example. Although he’s in his
mid-sixties, he will probably die sooner than most of those in his
generation. That alone, to me, is a cause for compassion. Even as I
honor his military service in a terribly mistaken conflict, I’m very
sorry that my friend will probably pass away before his time. I’ve told
him this. I feel that someone needs to.<br />
<br />
So let me offer a few tips
to the pros, staff and volunteers in government (and "non-profit")
health care who may have missed class when such things were discussed.
These few words go a long ways toward making your inability to provide
assistance less insulting.<br />
<ul>
<li>If there’s nothing you (or your department or organization) can do, please begin <em>every</em> explanation of this fact with these words: “I’m so sorry: I wish there was something I could do to help….”</li>
<li>If you (or your department or organization) can only offer limited assistance, please begin <em>every</em> explanation of this fact with these words: “I’m so sorry: there’s not much I/we can do….”</li>
<li>Finally, if you are the bearer of really bad news, please please please begin <em>every</em> conversation with your patient as follows: “I’m so sorry to be the bearer of bad news….”</li>
</ul>
This
is not hard, doesn’t require an advanced degree, and takes a lot of the
bite out of being a government caregiver with a huge waiting list
trying to do his/her best. Those of us on the outside feel <em>your </em>pain too.<br />
<br />
The
point is that, in many ways, offering one’s humanity to another appears
to be a lost art. When we had education in etiquette such things were
simply part of the skills most humans learned; these days, not so much.
It’s as if our whole vocabulary for being human beings has been
corrected politically, or legislated out of use (by HIPAA, for one
example) or simply ignored in the face of overwhelming demands to do
more with less. Clearly this is unacceptable.<br />
<br />
Human beings are,
first of all, human. We are not numbers. We do not fit into neat
cubbyholes labeled with various diseases, disorders and issues. In case
anyone hasn’t noticed this recently, take a look at social media. You
will find there that most of the many billions of us who are online and
don’t care who knows that we are all distinctively unique.<br />
<br />
I
understand that government is trying hard to be compassionate when it
comes to health care, especially for Veterans. I also understand that
there are limitations on government, since it must do its best for the
most and cannot by its very nature respond to each of us on a personal
level. If you have any doubts about this, write to a few of your elected
officials – for any reason – and take note of how you are treated. If
you are invited to have a one-on-one coffee talk with any of them, you
are a very lucky individual.<br />
<br />
When it comes to caring for Veterans,
there seems to be one thing that works: mentoring. Mentoring, at its
heart, is human kindness. It is one human being caring enough about
another to extend a genuine, compassionate connection. That simple act,
offered consistently over time, has done more for the Veterans with
issues than any other program offered by a government agency or
humanitarian program ever will. Why? Because simple human kindness
offers meaning to someone who might not have much meaning left in his or
her life.<br />
<br />
We know from solid psychological evidence over the
centuries that people with a reason to live won’t kill themselves, and
will have a hard time permitting needless killing of others to take
place. This could be an insight in the current trendy effort to “end
Veteran suicide.”<br />
<br />
We ought to know that removing compassion from
care also removes a reason to live from the cared-for. I feel that’s
criminally neglectful. Don’t you?Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-61997964148891896232015-01-20T18:54:00.001-08:002015-01-20T18:56:21.728-08:00Is Suicide Honorable?It's time we asked the question: could suicide be an honorable choice?<br />
<br />
I'm very sensitive to this issue. I've faced taking my own life. A close friend of mine took his own life. I've felt the hurt and failure not being able to intervene. I've watched people around me suffer the inexplicable loss of a loved one and I've suffered right along with them. I've felt the loneliness and isolation and desperation that comes at the end of one's rope. I've rationalized and cogitated and gone nuts trying to explain/understand/empathize and I still come up with nothing.<br />
<br />
Is it possible that taking one's own life is a reasonable choice? When it becomes impossible to live with yourself and hope is gone, suicide seems like a good option. I know. It's not a cop out nor is it an excuse. The tragedy happens only to those left behind. I know that too: I was left behind.<br />
<br />
When you're in the place of ending your own life, anyone who offers an end to the tunnel could be just a false hope. If your resolve is strong enough, you jump off the bridge anyway. If you respond and don't jump, it means the human connection is bigger than the disconnection from all humanity forever. There's honor in that, too.<br />
<br />
This is the ultimate paradox: life and death can co-exist and both could be paths of honor.<br />
<br />
I don't have the answer.<br />
<br />
But it's time we discussed the question.Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-87858953839921039192014-12-04T11:39:00.002-08:002014-12-04T11:39:49.272-08:00Is Government the Answer to Military Suicide?I'm a big believer in doing what can be done to stop suicide, especially among VMGR (Veterans, Military Guard and Reserves). So I feel torn by <a href="http://iava.org/press-release/new-veterans-rally-for-bipartisan-suicide-prevention-bill/" target="_blank">Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans of America's petition drive</a> to get Congress to "do something" about it. Clearly, there are some actions Congress can take, but I can't believe that America's government is really willing to tackle military suicide at its root cause: war.<br />
<br />
Please don't misunderestimate this. Countries of liberty like America need and deserve a strong defense. But the thread that connects that fact to the reality of what America and other liberty-loving nations fear, and how those fears somehow make intervention in so many parts of the world an American problem -- this is not at all clear.<br />
<br />
How well would you do your job if you weren't passionate about it? Maybe I'm just unique -- I know many people who slog through a passionless workday because the paycheck somehow makes it worthwhile. From what I know of non-mercenary military paychecks, it's hard to see how money alone can be enough to keep America's service members coming back day after day.<br />
<br />
Serving in uniform takes a special kind of commitment; Congress has done what it can to grapple with that fact, but government is just not a capable humanitarian organization. Ask any Veteran trying to get care at a VA Medical Center, or trying to claim rightful benefits for service-connected injuries. The government just doesn't serve its injured warriors well. If government even came close to being effective there wouldn't be a need for the thousands of non-governmental humanitarian organizations serving Veterans much better than government.<br />
<br />
So, while I applaud IAVA's initiative, and while such things clearly "call attention" to the poignant problems, it's foolhardy to ask Congress to do any better at solving them. Much more effective would be petitioning Congress to help stop the rudderless worldwide military action that's caused so many military suicides and overloaded the Veterans Administration. Petitioning Congress and the President to let the military do what it does best by setting a clear military objective and then getting out of its way seems like an effective and reasonable way to exert influence.<br />
<br />
The Congresses and Presidents we've elected since Vietnam have proven they aren't capable of directing a war well. That's not their job, after all. If we really wanted to "do something for the Veterans" it would be most effective to elect politicians who stand down and trust career military leaders to prosecute military action.<br />
<br />
Perhaps that would bring America closer to a time of peaceful defense, rather than random military involvement in global politics.<br />
<br />
America earned some of its lessons of liberty with blood and inglorious sacrifice. Other nations America respects may deserve their own opportunity to learn those lessons, too, in whatever way they choose, rather than under American's "protection" and influence. This course of action won't leave warfighters watching their hard-fought objectives falling back into the "wrong" hands, wondering what their sacrifice was for, worried that it was all for naught. No one who's worn a military uniform ought to be forced by their government to confront those questions, but that's the government America has until and unless we vote to change it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-85838436431415153352014-11-22T09:51:00.000-08:002014-11-22T09:51:07.914-08:00Response to the Religious "Unrest" in Old Jerusalem<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Poets are sometimes called upon to write what arrives in thought. This is one of those poems.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<b>The Wreck of Grace</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<i>sin (n): an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law</i></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
They tell me Jesus died for our sins<br />Yours and mine<br />These eviscerated bodies we’d rather not claim.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Jesus left room<br />For acts not so divine<br />Turning off the lights, for example,<br />Might transgress divine law<br />Since he called the light good<br />But there’s nothing immoral about darkness<br />Or what happens there…mostly.<br />Do I waste his time<br />Praying for light<br />When I might meet him<br />Here in the dark?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
He made me perfect, not sick...<br />How can a perfect creator<br />Form people of faith<br />Call them to his will –<br />To murder non-believers<br />Sick in immorality?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Accept that?<br />How can I forsake all other ways except<br />This shipwreck of grace –<br />Perfect tomb of skeletons<br />Broken in some zealous abyss?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
My faith wants food<br />Fire<br />Breath<br />Children, parents, friends<br />Light and dark<br />Sound and silence<br />Music, dancing and quiet rest.<br />A place<br />Saved for some ascetic hippie<br />To sit down in our circle<br />And speak to us<br />Of God.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-3831921572937716792014-11-20T11:37:00.001-08:002014-11-20T11:37:20.758-08:00Can Wealth Really Help?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5QMBrEDIEAPAnbo6Tp5r3qWVwY7fJmnoR-KNFPu2IP41yia3RnFai6_jGdT-bWVwXIkPCgoETo9Gbnz66j2U6Sme1ZCY-N9I4rlU9LwNHgpa9ZG9PM8SnUtEJLTRDppHCL3L3A__D0g/s1600/worldpoverty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5QMBrEDIEAPAnbo6Tp5r3qWVwY7fJmnoR-KNFPu2IP41yia3RnFai6_jGdT-bWVwXIkPCgoETo9Gbnz66j2U6Sme1ZCY-N9I4rlU9LwNHgpa9ZG9PM8SnUtEJLTRDppHCL3L3A__D0g/s1600/worldpoverty.jpg" height="257" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This simple chart illustrates the impact of wealth creation through free enterprise. About 35% of the world's population lives in China and India, and both countries' economic reforms in the last twenty-five years have had a dramatic effect on wealth distribution. The common factor in economic reform that results in less poverty? Unleashing capitalism.<br />
<br />
In contrast to the narrative of those hostile to capitalism, the World Bank <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/measuringpoverty/publication/a-measured-approach-to-ending-poverty-and-boosting-shared-prosperity" target="_blank">reports</a> (October 9, 2014) that: "The poorest parts of the world are precisely those that are cut off from the world of markets and commerce, often because of government policies."<br />
<br />
A Wall Street Journal <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/douglas-irwin-the-ultimate-global-antipoverty-program-1414972491" target="_blank">piece</a> written by Douglas A Irwin (November 2, 2014) titled "The Ultimate Global Antipoverty Program," makes the observation that "world-wide income inequality -- measured across countries and individual people -- is <b style="font-style: italic;">falling</b>, not rising" (emphasis added).<br />
<br />
There is hope for wealth creation, and great potential for that increased wealth to benefit those who need it most, whether they are bootstrapping themselves out of "third world" status or creating, funding and running a humanitarian organization to do what government can barely manage to do.<br />
<br />
Clearly, governments that seek self-preservation through increased control and expansion of services stand in the way of both freedom and capitalism -- shackling an entrepreneur in either the public or private sector ought to be a crime. Currently-trendy scare tactics of income inequality requiring some form of government intervention to level the paying field only work on the uninformed. Instead, we ought to be celebrating the effect that economic freedom has had worldwide and supporting those willing to create wealth, whether for commercial or humanitarian purposes.<br />
<br />
For more about how capitalism could help the humanitarian sector, please visit the <a href="http://charitydefensecouncil.org/" target="_blank">Charity Defense Council</a>.<br />
<br />Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-35601173932121873682014-11-03T18:34:00.001-08:002014-11-03T18:34:40.913-08:00Music for Military Family Month<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s distressing to watch news reports claiming this or that
“new treatment for PTSD” can help Veterans. There’s nothing new about our human
response to trauma: we are properly hardwired to react strongly to disturbing
experiences and images. If there is any kind of disorder associated with
post-traumatic stress, it is the disorder of attempting to suppress a normal
human response to violence, trauma or mental/emotional abuse. Progressive health
care professionals are quite right to refer to “post traumatic stress injury,”
which is a more accurate and ethical term.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead of attempting to “treat” post-traumatic stress, wouldn’t
a better approach be more holistic? Would it not be healthier for our human
systems to work to integrate a traumatic experience into our human fabric in a
healthful way – to allow the horror to become a part of our psyche in a
healthful and useful way rather than burying the trauma as some unacceptable
event? This stuff actually happened to us – it’s not some imaginary thing that
can be blocked out mentally or emotionally! Shouldn’t that fact change how we
deal with trauma?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prolonged exposure to traumatic experiences can dull the
system to exactly how terrible traumatic triggers are, but it does nothing to
remove the triggers. We are hardwired to respond deeply to horrific events. Do
you or anyone you know enjoy watching movies that scare the living daylights
out of you? In small doses, terror can actually be fun…for some of us. But
there’s a limit; after that, we tend to store up the accumulated psychic
wreckage of repeated trauma until our responses to even very banal events
trigger crazy behavior. This is how we work, folks, so we’d better learn to
deal with it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fortunately our human systems include built-in capabilities
that help us process or responses to extreme trauma. Yes: we can eliminate the
harmful effects of horror and reshape our psyches in a less trigger-prone direction.
Have you ever experienced, either by choice or involuntarily, a
once-in-a-lifetime event that changed you forever? As you look back on that
impossible-seeming event, do you feel now that you could relive it, probably
with a lesser effect? That’s your hardwiring taking over – making you conscious
of a dramatic change that’s happened to you. If you could tap into that
hardwiring to help process trauma, would you?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is not new: human beings have been using awareness of
our internal systems for centuries, perhaps millennia. Martial arts, especially
the romantic notions of some ideal ninja warrior, illustrate ways we can train
ourselves to access the deep inner world of our hardwired responses to terror
and anguish. Fortunately there are other more practical ways. Yoga, which
prepares the body for meditation, is one way that the body and mind become
quiet and ready for opening to the psychic integration of traumatic experience.
But one doesn’t need training as a ninja warrior or yogi to access human
hardwiring for dealing with traumatic stress. There’s an easier way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Direct access to the subconscious world is available using
music. Music that moves you beyond the obvious level of “like” or “dislike” –
beyond “enjoy” or “hate” – has the ability to connect you to the part of your
traumatic response where the work of integration begins. Terms for this process
include “washing away the pain” or “letting go” or “feeling free of the terror,”
but these are very limited ways of describing what really takes place. In the
inner work of both intentionally triggering and holistically assimilating a
traumatic event, music can provide a cleansing bath in which horror’s harmful
effects are transformed in a neutral buoyancy of acceptance and relief. Both
psychologists and spiritual teachers have terms for this process, and it is
highly valued in both practices as a turning point towards wholeness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have had several such musical moments – psychic epiphanies
if you like – in my life. Sometimes it feels like my flesh is crawling, or skin
tingling. Sometimes I have been unable to stop weeping for many minutes or even
hours. Sometimes I get the creepy coldness of sheer terror; sometimes it feels
like I’ve let go of some impossibly heavy weight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can jack into this musical response in your system; it’s
simple and effective. First, choose a piece of music you love – it doesn’t have
to be music that triggers a trauma response, but it must be music that moves
you deeply in some way. Next, give yourself uninterrupted time – your response
may take a while or it may happen very quickly. Then, set your intention to
stay with the music until you feel a change and LISTEN.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The last time I was seriously suicidal I decided to listen and let the music work on me. (I’ve been
letting music work on me while I play the piano for many years, but this time I
decided NOT to play.) That night I chose to listen to a piece of piano music by
Rachmaninoff – Etude Tableaux Opus 39 number 2 in A minor, a song I learned to
play as part of my music degree – which holds much meaning for me. Using
over-the ear headphones, I took my feelings of suicide with me to a comfortable
chair, put the track on repeat, told myself I was safe and that I wouldn’t
allow anything to happen until I had changed, and I just forced myself to sit
and listen. I don’t know how long I sat there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After some time I know that my feelings of rage and
hopelessness simply shifted, or melted, and I just began to weep. While I
didn’t know what would happen next, I knew then that I wouldn’t kill myself. I
wept for hours that night, and woke the next day with a renewed interest in
life and possibility…exhausted, but changed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m still exploring the trauma I’ve accumulated over 50+
years, and learning to understand the changes all of it has made in me. Therapy
has been useful to supercharge that process, and I feel like I could take up the
work or put it aside at any time, but there is a sort of beauty to learning
about the traumatic scar tissue that’s built up in me over my lifetime. It’s
not so much recalling the events – sometimes I don’t consciously know or
clearly understand what they were. The process feels more like re-touching the
place that was once hurt; reminding myself that this injury, too, is a part of
who I am. As I continue this work, I feel as if I do know myself more fully,
but the most important result has been the relief that comes from knowing that the
hurt place I’ve just touched again is OK. That helps me to feel more OK. Many
times I can find those hurt places quickly with music; many times they appear
and integrate into whatever limited wholeness I have. Sometimes the
understanding or change in the pain comes like a deeper meaning for the particular
song that revealed it to me. It’s an ongoing journey, this learning about my
many responses to trauma. Music has always been one of the tools I turn to and
I’ve learned others, like yoga, drumming, meditation, tapping, even an amazing
physical tool called Trauma Release Exercise. There’s a lot I can do to mind
myself on my journey with pain and trauma, and I take every opportunity to do
so.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes: music can also help integrate my response to other
intense feelings. Like me, you’ve probably retained musical memories from
significant events throughout your life. The good ones come back to visit as nostalgia.
We can take our intention deeply into those pleasant memories using music and
often gain satisfying additional depth from them. I like to share music with
those I love. Have you ever thought about why you made a new mix tape or
playlist for your significant other, or to accompany a road trip, or take you
through a workout? Expand on that: share your music more widely with collective
intention – with family, friends, your co-workers, your unit. There’s a
powerful beauty to sound-tracking your significant moments that can also infuse
your day-to-day productivity, mental/emotional health and even your physical
stamina and mental prowess.<o:p></o:p></div>
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November 2014 is Military Family Month. It’s my
wish that military families would share some music together this month, perhaps
even make some music together or sing together. What could it hurt? And what it
might help! Drum together, go to a sporting event and sing the national anthem
together; whether you’re serving active duty or a Veteran, teach your family
the words to the song for your branch and then sing it together. If you’re a
little crazy like my family, put on some disco and dance together. The sky’s
the limit and it’s time to soar.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As the Marines say, semper fi. This is stuff you can do NOW.
It’s safe. It’s effective. It works to strengthen bonds between brothers,
sisters, parents and families. Every one of us deserves that, and no one need
wait to start having that NOW.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-55958058851521921872014-10-21T20:37:00.002-07:002014-10-21T20:37:29.313-07:00Beyond the "Sea of Goodwill" -- a call for private-sector leadershipIn a <a href="http://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/CORe/After_the_Sea_of_Goodwill.pdf" target="_blank">white paper</a> published October 2014 titled "<i>After</i> the Sea of Goodwill: A Collective Approach to Veteran Reintegration," the Department of Defense makes a plea for private sector versus government leadership. This is courageous.<br />
<h3>
<br /></h3>
<h3>
Background</h3>
By way of background, I'd like to quote directly from that white paper:<br />
<br />
"In 2010, the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff published a white paper called 'Sea of Goodwill: Matching the Donor to the Need,' which called for community action teams to address the [Veteran] 'reintegration trinity' of education, employment and access to health care. These needs are most prevalent as Veterans and their families reintegrate into civilian communities."<br />
<br />
In the four years since "Sea of Goodwill" was published, doing Veteran reintegration well continues to be the hottest topic at Veteran Services organizations, public and private agencies engaged in the sector and at philanthropic funders. Everyone wants the same thing; doing it more effectively remains in many ways elusive.<br />
<br />
There have been valiantly organized attempts to raise the bar. Here in San Diego, the <a href="http://sdvetscoalition.org/" target="_blank">San Diego Veterans Coalition (SDVC)</a> has done a good job of sifting through the hundreds of humanitarian and for-profit organizations serving Veterans, and connected many of the effective ones with government agencies, beginning to realize a cooperative economy of scale. Expert navigation portals such as 2-1-1 San Diego, have provided a tech-savvy backbone for connecting Veterans and families with available services. The SDVC model is now being replicated in other states. The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sdmilfam" target="_blank">San Diego Military/Family Collaborative</a> has achieved similar results working with active-duty Service members and families.<br />
<br />
Largely at the direction of funders such as <a href="http://www.sdgrantmakers.org/AboutUs/MemberCollaborations/MilitaryFamilySupportWorkingGroup/MilitaryTransitionSupportProject.aspx" target="_blank">San Diego Grantmakers</a>, the San Diego Veterans Coalition and Military/Family Collaborative have combined efforts to create a road map for Veteran reintegration now known as <a href="http://www.sdgrantmakers.org/Portals/0/AboutUs/MFSWG/MTSP%20Overview_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">Military Transition Support Project</a> or MTSP. This formal collective impact project is well-funded and expertly staffed and includes organizations ranging from those mentioned to the US Navy and elected officials, the latter jumping on board to help take credit for work largely done prior to their participation.<br />
<br />
Respected scholarly institutions, among them University of Southern California's School of Social Work and Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families and Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, have examined Veterans' reintegration needs. There have been formal and informal calls for, as Syracuse University's paper calls it, "<a href="http://vets.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/National-Strategy-PublicationFINAL.pdf" target="_blank">A National Veterans Strategy</a>." The white papers and reports, developed along the same lines and during the concurrent timeframe that the San Diego Veterans Coalition and Military/Family Collaborative were taking shape, generally describe and underscore what has been learned in the collaborative field about the work remaining to be done, how to do it well, and how business models must change to achieve that.<br />
<h3>
Today's Veterans services</h3>
<div>
There continue to be many hundreds -- some put the number at more than 4,000 -- tax-advantaged humanitarian non-governmental organizations with an interest in service to Veterans. Most operate on shoestring budgets with minimal staff. Unknown to some, much duplication of program efforts exists. Common to all is duplication of administrative and financial effort. Also common to all is increased competition for funding.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
It seems clear that, if government were doing the best possible job to deliver Veterans services, none of these NGOs -- or perhaps vastly fewer of them -- would be needed. Case in point: the Veterans Administration Healthcare System recently admitted that traveling more than 40 miles to reach a VA Medical Center could be burdensome to some Veterans, so it collaborated with private health insurers to extend non-VA Medical Center care to Veterans so as to adequately meet this need.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the big picture painted by "<a href="http://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/CORe/After_the_Sea_of_Goodwill.pdf" target="_blank"><i>After</i> the Sea of Goodwill</a>," it seems that the Joint Chiefs have also begun to realize the limitations of government. While they agree that, to have collective impact, many of the issues explored by the reports, white papers and successful collaboratives will need to be played out nationally, the following rather surprising admission lies at the core of what will make Veteran reintegration successful:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"<b>The creation of a comprehensive, government-led Veterans strategy may be a bridge too far. Critics might suggest that the government is not the solution or that it cannot move quickly enough, but those are no (sic) reasons to disregard the need to seek an alternative solution. We believe that long-term, sustainable success in a national Veterans strategy is more likely if the effort is <i>embraced and led by the private sector,</i> which can often more faster to address exigent need....</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>"Free of both the political and bureaucratic constraints inherent in Federal government, private sector stakeholders have a unique opportunity to lead the country toward a structure that offers functional cooperation, cross-sector collaboration and an integrated network."</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
(emphasis added)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This begs the question of whether the private sector can respond any better than the government, since there are still significant barriers to success in both cases, but I agree with the Joint Chiefs' assessment of leadership for this effort: it needs to -- some might say must -- come from the private sector.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Why?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Federal government is intended to be deliberative, slow to reach a decision and prudent in execution of the decisions reached. There is a reason for the government's proliferation of funding for studies: a study doesn't compel the government to do anything, while the politicians and bureaucrats commissioning these studies can claim "support" for issues of importance to their constituencies. As good as the ideas or data may be, government is ill-equipped to act expediently outside of its deliberative, political process, and a government agency is not, by and large, supposed to be the epitome of efficiency and customer service. If there is any doubt about the prior statement, look only as far as the latest "crisis" being addressed by the government: has government actually been able to make positive sustainable change on any perceived "crisis" in recent memory? Take, for example, the recent change in leadership at the Veterans Administration; what expectation of improvement makes this change any different from the last?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Private entities have a much different motivation to provide effective, well-managed services that delight their customers. Whether working for profit or for tax-advantaged charitable purposes, private organizations have the ability to be measured by their success in a way that governmental organizations do not: competition. As a customer, if I get less than satisfactory service from Organization A, I'm free to investigate what Organization B can offer me. I don't have that choice at the Department of Motor Vehicles, or the Child Support Services Agency; Veterans don't have that choice at their VA Benefits office nor do they have that choice at the VA Medical Center (although Veteran health care may be opening up just a bit as noted above).<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Need for Leadership</h3>
<div>
Depending on one's political affiliation, most of this blog may seem either obvious or ridiculous, but that's not the point. The point is that, when the Department of Defense recognizes that doing the right thing for Veterans is important, it cannot be ignored. This goes beyond DoD telling the VA to get its act together; <b>DoD recognizes the security risks inherent in doing the Veterans services job poorly</b>. That is, taking good care of our Veterans encourages potential military recruits who might otherwise choose to walk away from putting their lives on the line due to poor health care options after active duty. Taking good care of Veterans puts active duty service in the forefront of career choices because an informed civilian sector understands the skills and abilities -- including leadership -- that a Veteran brings to civilian service. Taking good care of Veterans strengthens the social fabric of the nation. All of these things enhance the cohesive structure of America's great experiment in representative democracy. DoD's charter to maintain a strong national defense lies at the heart of its call for effective private-sector leadership in Veterans reintegration services.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The most effective NGOs in the Veterans services sector already have wide footprints. They have reached this level of ability and influence for one reason: they outperformed their competitors. That's how the private sector works: you've got to be good to survive. Veterans know which NGOs are effective and why, and when a Veteran trusts the services of an NGO, that's the best possible recommendation any organization can get. The challenge now is for the leaders of those effective, sustainable NGOs to come forward and do something many of them are neither designed nor inclined to do: collaborate.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Respected former VAMC Director and co-founder of the San Diego Veterans Coalition, Gary Rossio, likes to quote Harry Truman's adage that "it's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit." That's true in a sense, but in a bona fide collective impact model, such as the MTSP, <i>everyone</i> cares about doing the job well and <i>everyone </i>will share the credit...if the job is well done. Something else Gary likes to say is even more to the point regarding competition in the Veterans services sector: "No one has ever lost business by collaborating." Gary ought to know: he is the principal consultant on the Michigan Veterans Coalition and was part of the team that set up SDVC as well as the Veterans Coalition in San Antonio, Texas.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The difference between networking and collaboration ought to be obvious: knowing your competition, even on a first-name basis, is much different than working side by side with it. Collaboration <i>demands</i> that we work alongside similar or even directly-competitive organizations to achieve more than either one us could do alone. Collective impact goes even further: we actually agree to share customers and resources in pursuit of the big goal -- and expect credit and additional business to accrue to all organizations participating!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Military Veterans understand collective impact. It's inherent in military training. Unit commanders are trained to maximize effectiveness of their team AND to closely integrate their team to the entire campaign with assiduous attention to cooperation and coherent action. Leaders in the private sector of collective impact projects could benefit from this understanding: there's no place in collective impact to undercut teams with whom you are cooperating, even if they come from organizations you would call "the competition" on any other day.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's hard to find leaders who think about the entire sector of whatever their enterprise may be with a mind to cooperate with their competition and maximize everyone's results. But that's what's needed. "<a href="http://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/CORe/After_the_Sea_of_Goodwill.pdf" target="_blank"><i>After</i> the Sea of Goodwill</a>" presents both the framework and the need for exemplary leaders. These leaders will be incredible people. They will think about the success of every organization as it means working together to provide the best possible solutions to Veterans reintegration. They will reach out to include organizations who may be less effective as well as organizations with exemplary effectiveness. They will be able to mitigate the issues between organizations, government agencies, politicians and perhaps even the for-profit sector so that the combined mission stays in the forefront of every decision.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It seems self-evident that the private-sector leaders the Joint Chiefs are calling upon to truly and finally change Veterans reintegration for good will themselves be outstanding Veterans.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-44606197965772731552014-09-28T15:42:00.001-07:002014-09-28T15:42:41.214-07:00Here's Looking for You<div class="MsoNormal">
I hate the cruel ease of our airport<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
romance-free zone ripping us apart<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
curbside kiss fractured by a barking cop<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
you spin away, sexy in running shorts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
angry for your own reasons,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the goodbye I want crushed deep into my gut unpunctured<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
as you wrestle into sloppy traffic,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
miss me standing around unfriendly baggage<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
two fingers on my lips, maudlin, not wanting to turn<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
toward the sterile confined journey away from you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
not wanting to remember how it all ends:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
only after we admit how much we missed<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
only after you collect me at this same curb<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
only after you come toward me through the mist of distance as you
do<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
eyes gently softened<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
only after that, when I have been back for hours or days<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
is it safe to be home with you<o:p></o:p></div>
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again</div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-40810800814072801752014-09-27T18:04:00.003-07:002014-09-27T18:04:46.687-07:00First ObamaCare Disorder Identified<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, the American Psychiatric Association recognized a new
mental disorder which afflicts subscribers of subsidized health insurance
policies as mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka
“ObamaCare.” The disorder, commonly known as PPACAD (Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act Disorder) or simply “OD” (ObamaCare Disorder), is a
precursor to and some cases a trigger of other more severe disorders, including
depressive and anxiety disorders, trauma and stress-related disorders, and some
conduct and substance-related and addictive disorders.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The existence of a classifiable mental disorder directly
related to obtaining care for, among other issues, mental disorders, is a new
development in the annals of care,” said Dr Jameson Timothea Hiott,
spokesperson for the Association. “The surge in our case work nationwide
coincides with the launch of ObamaCare, and anecdotal evidence is so strong
that we have moved quickly both to formally identify PPACAD [PEE-pa-cad] as a
treatable disorder and launch a nationwide preliminary study of its grip on participants
in the new health insurance coverage offered under ObamaCare.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some estimates put the spread of PPACAD at 70-80% of all
ObamaCare insureds, although many Medicare and Medicaid recipients may have
correlative symptoms. “It’s simply too soon to know how widespread this
disorder may have become,” said Dr Hiott.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The pharmaceutical industry, represented by a coalition of
public relations Vice Presidents from many of the biggest drug makers,
including Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi, Roche, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, released
a statement indicating that many of their best-selling products are already in
clinical trials for intervention with symptoms of PPACAD, which range from
acute anxiety to severe depression, schizophrenic episodes, and elevated desire
to overeat, drink heavily and, in some cases, suicidal ideation and loss of
libido. “We’re confident that we can address these new symptomologies with our
existing products,” the statement read in part, “and that the psychiatric
industry will move quickly to prescribe responsible use of proper
pharmacological treatment for the many people afflicted with this new
disorder.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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In a related story, the Veterans Administration Healthcare
System and Department of Defense have launched an emergency study of a
PPACAD-related symptomology that may be related to high coincidence of suicide
and elevated susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder among Veterans
and service members.</div>
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At press time, officials of the Health and Human Services
agency and the White House were too high to be available for comment.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-64356156856242737402014-09-25T10:36:00.005-07:002014-09-25T10:36:49.453-07:00Taking the FlakIt's been a rough couple of weeks. The Great SoCA Heatwave of 2014 (we have no air conditioning at the house) was followed by the Great MicroCell Thunderstorm of 2014 (which blew off one of our skylights and rained torrentially both inside the house and out). Picture Yours Truly after two very hot, humid sleepless nights on the roof with screw gun and a migraine and you'll have an idea of what it was like....<br />
<br />
So how do I take the flak? Not too well. When I get really stressed, not much helps. The night before the cloudburst found me pacing the back yard to get air moving to try to cool down, which hurt my head less than sitting still, while wondering if my other symptoms were heat-related or hormonal or something else. There's a craziness that grips me when everything seems to be closing in mentally and emotionally, and with the addition of the heat and headache things got very intense. And immobilizing.<br />
<br />
Oh, and I ought to mention I've also been doing some very intense (and very helpful) trauma release therapy for the last year or so, and the rawness of that work hasn't really made me the most charming person to be around of late.<br />
<br />
I know my little problems pale in the face of some folks' stuff. There's no attempt here to compare or contrast; when YOU are the one hurting, what matters is that YOU hurt. I can't imagine what it feels like to recover from military combat stress for example, nor can I guess why my best buddy took his own life when everything seemed so good "on the outside" -- is there ever a good reason for suicide? So please understand: all I can do is write from my own experience and hope it may help you in yours.<br />
<br />
So how did I get through? Music? Drugs? Breathing? 911? I thought about each one and discounted each in turn. It was too late at night to play the piano, even though that sometimes helps the headache, and too hot anyway. The normal headache remedies won't stop a migraine, especially a two-day-old one, and I don't have a prescription for migraine meds. Pot's not a good idea in that situation either. One of the other symptoms of that heat wave (for me) was constricted breathing; attempting to deep breathe through my mouth wasn't having the effect I wanted and I was so short of breath anyhow that yogic breathing was also useless. Calling 911 was a pipe dream: power was out in our neighborhood and there were so many sirens all around that it probably would have been hours before anyone responded to a heavy breather with a migraine and symptoms of heat exhaustion.<br />
<br />
I don't know how I got through. I've tried to piece those two days together a couple of times, and the things I recall are separated by grey chunks of time I can't remember. That night I think I eventually crawled onto the bed and just stayed still until morning...and it was cooler that following morning.<br />
<br />
That's when the real work started. The headache was minimal. I could think clearly again. I realized I'd probably been scary to my family for a couple of days. I began to look forward to my next therapy session. I arranged my plans to allow for a lighter schedule so I could do some internal repair work, both around the house and inside my psyche. I started to feel human again.<br />
<br />
In my experience, this process seems to be fairly common. We don't always know what the key to resilience was, even after coming through a rough spot, but standing on the new hill and looking back we begin to reassemble how we got there. Sometimes we learn something new about the journey; sometimes not. I think this process is just part of being human -- a clue about ourselves that helps us face the next heavy going with a bit more confidence than we had before. I know: it's not an elegant, evidence-based intervention that can be packaged for use worldwide, the way health care professionals like to have it. But it's happened to me a lot and, I suspect, to many more besides me who kept going over impossibly stubborn obstacles. That spidery connection to those of you who have been there and done this encourages me, looking back at things now.<br />
<br />
If there was a way to reach out and offer thanks to the nameless, faceless ones who persevered in their adversity and somehow connected to me in mine, I'd take it. I'd like to shake their hands; perhaps pray together; offer some sort of thanks for the unsung inspiration their survival offered me.<br />
<br />
We've had some plumbing issues around the place, and one of the technicians whose been out to clear the blockages more than once actually spent some time talking with me late into one evening. On that night, weeks before the heat wave and a couple hours into the job, things got cleaned up enough to relax and just sit back for a few minutes. Turns out, Sam the plumber (not his real name) has kids like me, has faced a certain amount of adversity in life like me, worries about the same sorts of stuff...is human, like me. After trading a few stories, Sam, who's much more than a plumber, offered to pray with me. It's been forever since that happened in any sort of spontaneous way in my life, and I was surprised but accepted gratefully. Sam's prayer was precisely what we both needed, and we both knew it.<br />
<br />
I think back about that now, grateful that The Universe (or whatever you name it) sends me encouragement, provided I'm humble enough to accept it, that can sustain me in ways I might not realize I need. Writing this, I'm surprised I didn't remember Sam sooner. I can't tell you that, during the heat and the storm and the stuff I fought during those most recent hellish days, it was Sam's prayer that sustained me. In a way it doesn't matter as much as knowing that someone -- a stranger in many ways -- offered a caring gesture to me just because we humans need it. Perhaps because we deserve it.<br />
<br />
That kind of currency never devalues. In my book, it's the kind of wealth I crave. Money doesn't have the sustaining effect of the human threads that connect me -- my family, my friends, guys like Sam, the homeless folk that attend my music classes, the Veterans living in both pain and honor, the caregivers who work hard with dignity to keep the hurt at bay -- to you, when you're wounded. Those connections are the ones that let us take the flak, endure the wounding, meet the next day, keep showing up. Persistent, reliable, committed, perhaps dogged, knowing that there will be rest eventually. Whatever the exchange, it's not bought with money. It's an investment of character, or honor, or love, or of all three, and its only dividends are paid forward.<br />
<br />
That's something worth living for.<br />
<br />Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-1395607760768830902014-08-19T19:08:00.001-07:002014-08-19T19:08:15.911-07:00Winning the War for Wealth(From time to time, I'm motivated to write more broadly on issues that matter to me. This is one such blog entry. As a board member of the tax-advantaged humanitarian organization, <a href="http://www.guitars4vets.org/" target="_blank">Guitars for Vets</a>, I have a personal interest in how increasing the world's wealth could benefit such humanitarian organizations, and while I may not be right all the time, I hope my perspective helps make you think more carefully about creating and using wealth wisely.)<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The leaders of thought and of action grope their way forward to a new life, realizing, sometimes dimly, sometimes clear-sightedly, that the life of material gain, whether for a nation or an individual, is of value only as a foundation, only as there is added to it uplift that comes from devotion to loftier ideals." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Teddy Roosevelt, 'The Man in the Arena,' a speech delivered at the Sorbonne, Paris, France, April 23 1910</i><br />
<br />
<br />
The centennial of the start of World War I and President Teddy Roosevelt's speech at the Sorbonne triggered me to think deeply about the popular -- almost fashionable -- criticism of wealth. While it's heartening that some fabulously wealthy individuals such as Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet have risen to the nobility of their fortune and give generously to resolution of the great ills in the world, it troubles me that the culture of today has blurred the line between wealth and greed, and that influential individuals and organizations spend much of their effort demonizing the creation of the wealth necessary to solve the issues that face us in the early 21st Century. Even more tragic is the fact that so many of today's political and popular leaders, sometimes possessed of great financial resources themselves, encourage the sort of social dependency that, while keeping them in power, creates a society incapable of rising to the demands of productivity, let alone wealth.<br />
<br />
Here's a simple question: are you wealthy?<br />
<br />
Being wealthy means lots of things, but for today, let's say that <b>being wealthy means you don't have to work for a living</b>. That is, you receive an income that will continue without your having to put any effort into producing it, which frees you to pursue your chosen work without the demands of earning a living.<br />
<br />
So, are you wealthy?<br />
<br />
By that definition, not many of us would say "yes." This definition excludes folks on government assistance, if only because there <i>is</i> effort involved in staying qualified for such assistance AND if your total income reaches a certain level the assistance ends.<br />
<br />
So...be honest: are you wealthy?<br />
<br />
I'm not. So here's a follow-up question: would you like to be wealthy? I would.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the somewhat Puritanical baggage of frugality we Westerners carry, added to the Industrial Age mentality of "working for a living," has put America, one of the world's richest nations, in an economic snarl. That is, we are taught that work is good, and while we gripe about working for "the man" and sometimes resent entrepreneurs for the amazing riches they produce, not many of us know how to create -- or keep -- real wealth.<br />
<br />
A couple of my family members have just begun the "financial planning" process. You can save and invest 10% of everything your earn for a lifetime and become somewhat financially independent; this is the straightforward ethos most financial planners teach and it can work quite well, but it's not wealth by our definition here since, for much of the time, you're still working for a living.<br />
<br />
Most of us who work for a living know about <a href="http://taxfoundation.org/article/tax-freedom-day-2014-april-21-three-days-later-last-year" target="_blank">Tax Freedom Day</a> and how much of what we earn (about 30%) never reaches our own pockets. It seems that America is a place where government regulations dis-incentivize wealth; why would the government want us to become wealthy, especially by the definition we're using here? That is, a taxpayer who doesn't have to produce income doesn't pay taxes, which is "bad" for the government, right? But let me ask: If I gave you a 30% raise right now on the condition you would spend <b>all</b> of it on humanitarian causes, would you give that money to the government to spend as it sees fit (yes: government is a humanitarian cause), or to a humanitarian organization closer to home? Maybe a church or a favorite charity or a school? I'm guessing, if you had the freedom to do so, you would use your money more wisely than the government would.<br />
<br />
Now think about this...<br />
<br />
If the government really wanted our help, it would help us all become wealthy, right? As all of our incomes rise toward true wealth, tax revenue to the government would also rise...why doesn't the government get that? I'd rather earn $1,000,000 per year than $100,000, wouldn't you? So what if the government gets $300,000 or even $400,000 of my million; they only got $30,000 of my $100,000! If I get wealthy, the government also increases its revenue by ten times (or more), just as I have. Why wouldn't government want <b>THAT</b>?<br />
<br />
Why wouldn't YOU want that?<br />
<br />
Oh...you DO want that? Me too.<br />
<br />
But there you and I are, working for a living instead of building true wealth.<br />
<br />
What's holding us back?<br />
<br />
Actually, nothing.<br />
<br />
There are a lot of excuses for not producing true wealth. Politicians have their list; your employer has a list; even you and I have our lists of reasons why we aren't producing true wealth. None of them are valid. Really.<br />
<br />
Other than the excuses we invent or the excuses others give us, there's no reason at all why the next wealth-producing success story shouldn't be YOURS. You and I and many others have spent a lot of time doing what we "should" to earn a living. In fact, we've been at it for so long that we sometimes forget that wealth is available to anyone who wants it. Wanting wealth and actually achieving it are two different things, and it's a sad fact of the human condition that we have not yet evolved to be able to build wealth consistently. Wouldn't wealth building be a worthwhile humanitarian effort? And doesn't a successful humanitarian effort require resources...wealth?<br />
<br />
It's fashionable these days to demonize corporations, especially when they appear to be wealthy and appear uninterested in humanitarian effort. Corporations that serve humanity's need for heat and light through exploitation of natural resources, or serve the world's need for weaponry, or that help enable financial leverage or bring economical consumer goods to many people tend to bear the heaviest of attacks for their perceived greed and indifference to humanitarian causes. But those who do the demonizing tell a one-sided story that serves only their purpose by failing to inform us of the useful structure a corporation provides for a business -- a structure that can outlive those who participate in it today in service of its longer-term business goals, that can assume both responsibility and liability for its larger needs, that can be a social force in a community through offering jobs and humanitarian programs that help raise the general standard of living around it, long after those running the business today have retired.<br />
<br />
The biggest terrorist in the war on wealth is fear of greed. We are beaten over the head with fear of greed regularly, especially in the political battleground of ideas. Most wealthy individuals and wealthy corporation are NOT greedy. In fact, history shows quite the opposite: most wealthy individuals and corporations are quite philanthropic. There are even anti-greed laws that force the fortunes of the wealthy to be redistributed to humanitarian causes a little bit at a time after the wealthy individuals die. Smart corporations manage their wealth wisely, just as smart individuals do, and the best of both make certain that their wealth is used in service of some greater humanitarian good.<br />
<br />
It's not greedy to want to be wealthy. Why? Because wealth is NOT a "zero-sum game." If wealth was truly finite, how can we explain the Internet boom of the 1990s or the oil boom of early 20th Century or the vast growth of wealthy individuals and businesses that has taken place since the start of the Industrial Age? Every one of the wealth-creating economic expansions in the world has helped raise the standards of living of everyone around it! That fact negates the zero-sum thinking about wealth. True wealth is created, not by printing more money, but by creating something so desired by so many of the rest of us that we will figure out how to exchange some of our resources for it. Most of the time, that exchange is made using money; sometimes the exchange is for goods or services of the same value; more recently there have started to be virtual forms of exchange such as Bit Coin. The method of exchange doesn't matter so much as our ability to offer something of value in that exchange. It's a misunderstanding of wealth to think that it is limited by how much money exists in the world, and that for me to be wealthier demands that someone else become poorer.<br />
<br />
Here's an example to help clarify how this works.<br />
<br />
You know that all the smart electronic gadgets we use have miniature computers inside them. These computers physically reside on small bits of stuff which are called "chips" in the industry. You may have heard of companies like Intel, Broadcom and Qualcomm -- these companies deign and build the chips (and the computers on them) that make all our smart phones, tablets and computers work. These chips are in toasters and automobiles and airplanes, too. We all seem to want stuff that needs computer chips these days, so the companies that make them have grown bigger to provide all of us with the smart gadgets and ultra-efficient devices we think we need. As more an more of us demand them, computer chips have become more and more valuable.<br />
<br />
The computer-chip companies employ a lot of us who don't mind working for a living -- exchanging our time for the resources we need to exchange for food, a place to live, transportation, etc -- to make the smart products that so many of us want. And do we want them? We sure do. A family that chooses to equip its elementary-school-age kids with smart phones and tablet computers and still manages to have the resources for food and shelter is Exhibit A of the wealth creation cycle. Consumer materialism fuels corporate wealth. It also helps corporations keep prices competitive, be more honest about their profits, treat their workers fairly and be good community citizens. Take a good look at the economic growth in the emerging industrial nations of the world over the last couple of decades: in them, poverty is on the decline, individual (versus collective) determinism is on the rise. Why? For one reason, because smart corporations realized that building factories to make computer chips in developing nations was a smart idea. Our developing nations' brothers and sisters have benefited from materialism, and have now begun to build wealth of their own on their own. There is a definite economic pattern of growth to this process, and that pattern has repeated itself over and over throughout the development of the modern world.<br />
<br />
With me so far?<br />
<br />
Businesses -- corporations -- like people, have to provision themselves with supplies, build factories to make their products, provide resources to the workers who make the stuff, pay taxes -- somewhat like you and I do. They must also make sure the world knows about their products, fix things that go wrong with their products, keep their buildings and equipment in good repair -- again, something like you and I must do. In this sense, corporations are a lot like people, and face similar choices about things like wealth and where to shop for the most economical supplies to do what they do. Corporations also face the same wealth terrorists, such as fear of greed. In short, a corporation, like a person or a family, must concern itself with whether to "work for a living" or "be wealthy." Corporations that decide to just "work for a living" don't concern themselves so much with continuing to deliver something of value over the long term; corporations that truly care about making sure they deliver the best possible value over the long term in their computer chips -- or whatever their products may be -- tend to thrive, since they attract more and more happy customers willing to exchange their resources for stuff that uses computer chips etc etc etc.<br />
<br />
Hang in there -- it's about to get really good...but we must deal with greed before going on.<br />
<br />
One person can get very lucky and have a great, valuable idea that produces a lot of wealth in a hurry without much apparent effort. The Internet taught us about that. Another person can have a great, valuable idea that takes many years' hard work before it ever produces an income, let alone true wealth. Whether you choose to go it alone or build a long-term business, the path to wealth is still open to you. The only difference is whether you fly solo or create a structure that includes many others with you on the road to wealth.<br />
<br />
If you choose to build a business, you may find yourself taking a much longer view of its sustainability. Sometimes this long view can be misperceived as being greedy. We all know it takes a lot of "money in the bank" to sustain just one person after retirement; a company hopes it will never "retire" so it must plan (and save some of its earnings) for its future if it hopes to survive over time. (Caveat here for the sort of business fads that often surround new industries such as some of the losers in the Internet boom of the 1990s -- we're not talking about billionaires with no real product whose start-up website was launched explicitly to be purchased by Google or Amazon, or that raised millions only to close up shop within a few months or years.) Whether it's a person or a corporation working on wealth the objective is still the same: being wealthy means you -- or your corporation -- no longer have to work to earn a living.<br />
<br />
Most wealthy corporations, of course, continue to operate rather than closing up shop, although I'm quite certain there have been times when Amazon or Google or Intel or Qualcomm could have decided: "We've done about enough. Let's just shut the doors and live on the wealth we've created." Of course, they didn't do that (or haven't yet) because there's a fundamental secret about creating wealth that's not always obvious: creating wealth is fun, and people like having fun!<br />
<br />
No one starts a business because they hate doing the work. People who create wealth enjoy doing it, whether they are investors, businesspeople, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, writers...any activity that leaves a signature of wealth will have folks engaged in the work who are truly having fun.<br />
<br />
It's challenging to do the work of producing wealth, yes. It can be excruciating. But those who keep at it do so because they really enjoy it -- because it is fun to create, make or produce stuff that other people delight in acquiring and using. The danger is that when fun become fanaticism, good wealth can become greed. It's easier to be selfish and greedy than to use one's moral fiber to live Teddy Roosevelt's exhortation and use wealth only as a foundation on which to build for the greater good.<br />
<br />
Building a corporation through growth benefits everyone engaged in the business of the company: it's employers, suppliers, customers -- everyone. Meeting new demands in the computer chip industry has been a meteoric process, and you can bet the creatives engaged in it are having the time of their lives. The challenge in growing a company is to keep everyone in the business just as fired-up about what they do as the first few folks were when the business was launched. It's a tough challenge.<br />
<br />
It's true that most of us work for a living because we must, and that the intrinsic rewards in work that is fun or challenging aren't always "realistic" when we choose the occupation that will support us and our families. We're taught to make sacrifices, to be frugal, to hang in there and things will gradually get better if we are patient and keep sucking up to the man. Doesn't have to be that way, but that's the best we've collectively got right now. If we admit this low standard of career, it's no surprise that we've also given ample space for fear of greed to work alongside us in our less-than-wonderful job. "Saving for retirement" becomes the goal rather than wealth and a lifetime of productive and useful work. We begin to think of ourselves as a small cog in some giant machine that rules our destiny, rather than as a small but vital force for good. We become slaves to some other destiny, rather than the one that burns inside us, even if feebly, and, like a slave, we begin to feel consumed by the master that owns us and begin to forget our freedom to chose the work we love and want.<br />
<br />
This choice of slavery to a job works against us, opening space for criticism of "the man" and the work itself, lowering our naturally productive spirit, shutting out the potential for wealth. In this state, it's easier to believe the lies told about wealth, easier to fear the wealth traitor, greed, easier to take a handout than to offer one, easier to give up a little more freedom every day than to work harder for a way to true self-sustainability. Sadly, slavery to one's job has become the definition of self-reliance in many ways. How far such a person has fallen from the ideas Teddy Roosevelt spoke about in his brave speech to the Sorbonne!<br />
<br />
America, Roosevelt said, was built by intrepid and hardy folks who weren't afraid of the effort required to tame a wild and unknown continent. America was brave enough to establish for itself an experimental form of government, and clear-sighted enough to understand the pitfalls of such an experiment. America grew to become a world power by being brave and clear-sighted on the world stage, and led many other nations to righteous victories in the first half of the 20th Century. Leaders in business, government and humanitarian causes did these things because they wanted to -- because they were glad to accept the challenges and took righteous pleasure in the solutions. America beckoned the world to its doorstep, and those of a similar mind came to America and thrived. In many ways, Roosevelt laid out the welcome mat for the immigrants that helped sustain America's Industrial Age midlife. The midlife crisis of the last half of America's 20th Century has not yet resulted in a new American zeal.<br />
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America, and much of the developed world, now finds itself in something of a morass of morality regarding humanity's wealth. The best example of this may be the Puritanical expectation that a humanitarian cause ought to be run on a shoestring because this means most of the resources are spent on the actual cause itself. Unlike the presumed "greedy" corporation, it's said that humanitarian leaders ought to expect to work for next to nothing because it's a measure of the humanitarian organization's success and sincerity that meager salaries somehow indicate that much more good is being done. When a struggling for-profit corporation's chief executive offers to work for a dollar a year to turn things around, and money isn't the object because such an executive is usually already wealthy, don't we all admire his or her sincerity? In truth, it's not immoral to be wealthy, and whether you lead a humanitarian or for-profit organization, it's no more noble to work for a dollar or hundreds of thousands of them, provided what you do is much needed by humanity. Strangely, our popular morality about wealth is that it's OK to earn millions of dollars as CEO serving the materialistic needs of the consumers of computer chips, but it's greedy and wrong to earn millions of dollars as CEO of a humanitarian organization that educates the world about how to relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Isn't that just exactly backwards? When this moral question about wealth is resolved, perhaps America's midlife crisis will be, too.<br />
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This is where a discussion of sustainability become meaningful. America's ability to declare war on unrighteousness was successful in a couple of instances: World Wars I and II. It can be argued that the Cold War was also righteous and its end was a victory of sorts. But America has lost every domestic humanitarian war it has declared -- as well as most of the foreign ones since World War II -- because of its clear lack of moral authority to wage them. Prohibition is a good example, so is the War on Drugs. Both of these "wars" increased crime and violence as illicit industries to supply the contraband substances grew and prospered. The end of Prohibition wasn't the end of gang violence in America, and the end of the War on Drugs won't be either. The point is that Americans have collectively ceded their power of finding and implementing solutions to a government that wasn't designed to do that. America's government was designed to facilitate, not sustain. American ingenuity has always been the sustainer of America, and when Americans take back their problems from their government, I believe America will find its way through its midlife crisis. I look for a time when humanitarian organizations offer more cost-effective programs than those offered by the government -- programs that don't require the government's involvement to implement nor operate.<br />
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We're coming close to the end of this discussion. Hang in there.<br />
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Along the way to reliance on government for solutions, Americans have agreed to confiscatory rates of taxation to support the government's programs. What began as a wartime zeal for righteous action has morphed into a mistaken assumption that government can that it could "run like a business." Being a government, however, and having no marketable product or service to offer, the government's only source of revenue (taxes) was not tied in any meaningful way to the wants of the people it served, which means government is fundamentally unable to operate with anything close to businesslike efficiency. There's no denying that many Americans feel strongly about the success of government programs and would gladly contribute 30% or more of their earnings to sustain them, but the tit for tat of just giving money to the government and hoping that it is used well isn't as directly understandable for most of us as giving money to a supermarket to buy food. Americans have come to believe that their government is not greedy, not wealthy, and able to make better use of the tax revenue taken from Americans than Americans can themselves. There is, thankfully, a finite amount of tax revenue that can be claimed by the government, but some Americans have come to believe mistakenly that this means there is only a finite amount of money, and that their share of that money it is shrinking. This thought fallacy ignores the economic fact of our example: the worldwide phenomenal demand for computer chips is causing people worldwide to figure out how to exchange more of their resources for stuff that uses computer chips. A government can strike no such bargain with its citizens.<br />
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A sustainable business must continue to offer products or services its patrons want, patrons who are willing to exchange something of value for them. Most American government programs that offer products or services do so with no expectation of exchange. Money and resources are given to other nations without expectation of receiving services of products of similar value in exchange; funds are provided to Americans who need money to buy food with no expectation of exchange; health care is given at low or no cost to those from which there can be no realistic expectation of exchange. Americans collectively believe this is noble, and that by providing "assistance" as the government deems fit, those who receive the assistance will somehow hasten their ability to make some meaningful contribution to America. This is a Ponzi scheme of the first order. Does anyone believe that the contributions they make to "Social Security" will be enough to sustain them after they have stopped working for a living? The Social Security program was never designed to be that way. Just as Prohibition and the War on Drugs have been expensive and miserable failures of government's attempt at righteous action, so will the War on Poverty (or, we might say, the War on Wealth) also be a miserable failure. A sustainable business does not cede its decision making to the government -- we know from the social experiments of the early 20th Century how disastrous that can be -- and a government that expects people will continue to give an ever-growing part of their earnings to government programs over which they have no control and from which their receive little benefit is a government destined for the ash heap of history. This is the state of America's midlife crisis today.<br />
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Americans' innate ability to conquer the unknown territory is still serving America. America is incubating an incredible number of humanitarian organizations and for-profit humanitarian businesses. Why? Because people have begun to learn that they can build a business to deliver humanitarian services more efficiently than America's government can. The Red Cross is an historic shining example of this fact, and many other humanitarian organizations are doing at the grass roots level what the Red Cross has done on the world stage: convincing those with wealth that the government isn't the only avenue to solving the world's problems. Was it the American government's Center for Disease Control who came up with an effective Ebola vaccine? No: it was the American government's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that stood in the way of human testing for that vaccine. Granted, much of the government research spawned during wartime has resulted in consumer products of great value, but those products are manufactured and sold by private business, not the government which, until the last few years, has wisely decided to stay out of the way of commerce and free trade. Many of those wartime products and services have been adapted to humanitarian causes. Radar, for example, allows thousands of airplanes to traverse the skies every day without colliding, even though the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operates this program on outdated computer equipment. A business or humanitarian organization offering the same service could perhaps be run more efficiently and on more modern equipment, and could potentially work directly with airlines to increase cooperation and improve safety at a lower cost than the government program. Just because something was invented in service of the government does not mean the government is best able to operate or regulate that service for its citizens.<br />
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Certainly those governing America must be worried about the potential for American businesses to do better with humanitarian programs than the government, since success of a private humanitarian organization in a government-dominated sector means incremental loss of government control. Power corrupts, often in ways that appear benign, and releasing government control of a poorly-functioning program is a difficult process. Government officials, both those elected and those in the career bureaucracy, have done an excellent job of growing their power and influence on many humanitarian sectors over the last hundred years or so. They have done this at the expense of those of us who pay taxes -- who work for a living -- without any realistic pressure being exerted to keep their programs running within, say, the restrictions that public opinion places on "non-profit" organizations serving in the same ways. Consider the humanitarian field of education, where the "for-profit university" has become a whipping post for government's failure to provide effective education for the masses. It doesn't seem to matter than some for-profit universities actually achieve results far superior to the government-run universities; all that's needed is one "bad" for-profit school and public opinion can be turned against time-tested positive results in favor of a government status quo that isn't sustainable.<br />
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What does it mean to be truly sustainable?<br />
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A program is sustainable when it funds itself. For example, a farmer raising crops for sale has a sustainable program. Yes, the farmer is at risk for bad weather that could result in a poor harvest, but the same farmer could also have a bumper crop and lay aside funds to help sustain the farm during years of poor harvest. That's a sustainable model...unless a catastrophe strikes. The farmer might collaborate with other farmers to help mitigate the catastrophe, but this is where the sustainable model falls apart thanks to well-meaning progressive idealism. In today's America, the bigger the collaborative, the more pull it has with the government to send a bailout. Sadly, this means that today's family farm gets less help than the corporate farming collaborative, which can easily purchase failing family farms at a discount (a "bailout" from the large collaborative to the small family farmer), and which is sometimes paid by the government NOT to produce anything on its land...and we have an example of how government works to turn a self-sustaining program into one that needs government's assistance and tolerates government control in order to survive.<br />
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Humanitarian programs don't depend on farmers or chip manufacturers so what's the problem? The government can continue to fund its humanitarian programs as long as the government continues to tax us, right? Why isn't the American model of government-funded humanitarian programs sustainable?<br />
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First, because our American government works hard to put the brakes on creation of wealth. That is, from every man and woman who must work for a living, the government is able to take taxes. (If you no longer need to have an income, there is no income tax...but the government still has plenty of other ways to get at your wealth -- that's a subject for another blog.) If you become wealthy, you're worth less to the government as a source of tax revenue, therefore, the government has a big reason to keep you working for the man, in spite of the logic about how the government would get more in taxes if we all had larger incomes.<br />
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Next, because a government program is not answerable to any realistic authority for its success. Do I need to mention Prohibition or the War on Drugs? Prohibition fell under its own weight, and the War on Drugs will, too. Other examples? Privately-funded primary and secondary schools tend to produce better students, measured in terms of college aptitude and eventual productivity, than government schools. A private school that wasn't able to get any students ready for college would probably not last long, but government schools have been providing less-than-useful education for decades with impunity and at great cost, relative to private school costs. Customers of a computer chip maker with an inferior product quickly learn that fact and find another supplier, but government schools don't have to answer to the need for consumer choice provided most of their consumers (parents of the kids who attend the government schools) aren't wealthy enough to have that choice.<br />
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Finally, because the model for government's humanitarian programs IS a zero-sum game. At some point, even if government were to tax us at 100% of our earnings and provide all the stuff all of us need -- food, shelter, smart phones...everything -- there would still be a need in government for more revenue. Government already recognizes this and taxes goods and services arriving in America from other countries in the form of tariffs, or levies sales and excise taxes on stuff we consume, such as gasoline. The point is that, at some future date when government owns everything and takes everything we earn, there won't be anything left to increase the amount government can spend on anything. That's not sustainable. Period. End of story.<br />
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No one wants to get to that point, but so far no one has been brave enough to say so, or to say "Stop!" before it's too late. And it's getting very late. Every time a new billionaire appears, what does government attempt to do? Buy his or her influence through offering promises in exchange for campaign contributions. True, there have been some notable ways that the government has been forced to cede power back to private industry, such as the private launch programs that are now offering more cost-effective portals to space than those available via the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and we can hope that this trend continues since it appears to be sustainable. But there are many more ways that government is able to purchase influence with the largest corporate wealth creators: government contracts for military equipment or humanitarian assistance (think "military/industrial complex" or "Affordable Care Act/Obama Care"); bailouts for the banking and insurance industries (think "too big to fail"). Sadly, there are now several generations of voters who believe that government will provide for their humanitarian needs, starting with the Baby Boomers who should have known better and ending with the entitled Millennials who one would think ought to know better.<br />
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Like me, many of us are finding that we no longer have the choices we used to have. For example, my income isn't high enough to escape the Obama Care subsidy, so I must deal with social service agency health care for my kids (we call it Medi-Cal here in California), which restricts my choices of heath care to providers that, in some cases, have social media warnings posted online instead of reviews. I understand that Obama Care isn't sustainable, but why don't more voters get that fact, too? If a chip maker never got a favorable review it could only hope to sustain operations if there were no other competing chip makers consumers could choose...and so we have the model for today's national health insurance collaborative.<br />
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I believe the answer to this downward spiral, and the reason I've spent so much time on this blog, is wealth. There is simply no reason to fear wealth, stand in opposition to its creation, legislate it out of existence or demonize those who create it. None of that serves the world. As we have seen, wealth is necessary for humanitarian programs since its excess can be given to sustain them. Wealth is the enabler of the most fulfilling, productive work, since it frees workers to pursue their most rewarding endeavors without the pressure of earning a living. Wealth gives those who have it incredible influence, and, if you are a wanna-be wealthy person like me, wouldn't you want a righteous, wealthy mentor encouraging you instead of a just-over-broke government handout?<br />
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The American idea of wealth isn't unique in the world. There are wealth-builders worldwide. Muhammad Yunnus has demonstrated the potential for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_entrepreneurship" target="_blank">social entrepreneurism</a> in ways that ought to make governments quake in their boots, or at least sit up and take notice. The sustainable ideas Yunnus' <a href="http://www.grameen-info.org/" target="_blank">Grammeen Bank</a> has funded are creating wealth in developing nations. This is BIG. Anyone interested in creating wealth would do well to study just some of the projects in which Grammeen participates. A short discussion of how Grammeen works can be found <a href="http://www.grameen-info.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=128" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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It's time to take action. America is ready to move beyond its midlife crisis. Wealth-building leadership is needed in government, at home, in business, in humanitarian organizations. The mistaken notion that wealth equals greed must morph into the goal of a rewarding life of purposeful achievement animated by those "loftier ideals" Roosevelt claimed for Americans, but which are truly the provenance of the entire world.<br />
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Will you take up arms to help win the war for wealth? I hope you will.<br />
<br />Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-14808944537442594072014-08-11T10:12:00.002-07:002014-08-11T10:15:00.415-07:00Lost -- in memoriam<br />
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...all the poems I lost<br />
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as they passed by --<br />
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trace images glowing against my eyes<br />
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felt only in the corners of vision<br />
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a metaphor<br />
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or paradox<br />
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melts in my hands like quicksilver<br />
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vapors in mist<br />
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aroma of...what?<br />
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spices I can't quite name<br />
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searing my muted tongue<br />
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vaporized seasoned snowflakes...<br />
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wrapping my arms around you<br />
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you, too, liquefy --<br />
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hot tears stain this paper...<br />
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<br />Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-20469190087522341202014-05-27T08:49:00.001-07:002014-05-27T08:49:25.405-07:00Healing with tunes and kazoos -- from U-T San Diego Tuesday May 27, 2014<div class="container" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 22.727272033691406px; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-shadow: none !important; width: 960px;">
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Healing with tunes and kazoos</h1>
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Volunteer get to the heart of music therapy</h2>
</hgroup><div class="byline" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; margin: 1em 0px; text-shadow: none !important;">
<span class="author" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; margin-right: 1em; text-shadow: none !important;">By <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/staff/karla-peterson/" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; color: #444444; filter: none !important; text-shadow: none !important;">Karla Peterson</a></span><span class="time" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; margin-right: 1em; text-shadow: none !important;">6 a.m.</span><span class="date" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; margin-right: 1em; text-shadow: none !important;">May 27, 2014</span></div>
</header><figure class="article-image" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; margin: 0px; text-shadow: none !important;"><a class="lightbox" data-type="inlineImage" href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/27/bill-protzmann-ecs-friend-to-friend/all/?print#lb-photo1333627" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; color: #444444; filter: none !important; text-shadow: none !important;"><img alt="Volunteer music teacher Bill Protzmann, right, leads members of his Friend to Friend class in a round of kazoo merriment. " src="http://media.utsandiego.com/img/photos/2014/05/23/UTI1772814_r620x349.jpg?75d51d0aea2efce5189afce216053cbc530c46a8" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; border: 0px; color: black !important; filter: none !important; max-width: 100%; page-break-inside: avoid; text-shadow: none !important; vertical-align: middle;" /></a></figure><br />
<figure class="article-image" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; margin: 0px; text-shadow: none !important;"><figcaption style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none !important;">Volunteer music teacher Bill Protzmann, right, leads members of his Friend to Friend class in a round of kazoo merriment. <em style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; filter: none !important; text-shadow: none !important;">— Peggy Peattie</em></figcaption></figure><br />
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What does healing sound like? For the men and women in Bill Protzmann’s music-appreciation class at the Friend to Friend center in North Park, it sounds like the melancholy strains of “Taps.” And the roof-raising bounce of Katy Perry’s “Firework.” And when things really heat up, it sounds like the party-time instrumental “Tequila,” as played by a roomful of people honking away on kazoos.</div>
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For Protzmann — the volunteer music teacher who plays the tunes and hands out the kazoos — healing sounds like whatever music people need to make them feel less jumbled-up inside. And when he’s standing in front of his class, the impact is so big, he can feel it.</div>
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“You can see it in their eyes,” said Protzmann, who works for the TetraDym Inc. telemanagement company and has been teaching the weekly Friend to Friend class since 2010. “It could be joy. It could be tears. But there is a deep connection happening. Sometimes I get the chills, and sometimes I cry.”</div>
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Operated by Episcopal Community Services of San Diego, the<a href="http://www.ecscalifornia.org/programs/friend-to-friend/" style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; color: #444444; filter: none !important; text-shadow: none !important;"> Friend to Friend</a> program helps mentally ill and homeless adults with everything from housing and social services to job training and support for independent living. And on Mondays, the Friend to Friend menu includes Bill Protzmann.</div>
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During his one-hour classes, the accomplished pianist and mental-health advocate talks about music and its power to help people help themselves. With the day’s play list cued up on his smartphone and his passion for the subject thrumming like reverb, Protzmann gets to the heart of the songs and their listeners.</div>
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Who likes disco? Who likes rap? How did Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ’n’ Roll” make them feel? What music puts them in a good mood? What music stresses them out? And for every question there is feedback from the crowd.</div>
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One man talks about the soothing use of Eastern music in Sting’s “Desert Rose.” Another student talks about the way “good yelling” songs lift him up. When Protzmann plays “Taps,” heads bow and the mood turns thoughtful. And when the kazoos come out, you can hear the liberating sound of emotional baggage hitting the floor.</div>
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This month, Protzmann’s musical outreach earned him the 2014 Inspiring Hope Artistic Expression award from the National Council for Behavioral Health, along with a $10,000 grant that he will be passing along to Friend to Friend. Although he was pretty priceless already.</div>
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“It can be really difficult to get some members involved socially, and this is a real help for them,” said Stephen Faille, a Friend to Friend vocational rehabilitation specialist. “I have heard people say that time just goes by in that class, and I think it’s because they can fully participate without judgment. There is no way to be wrong in this class. It lets people be themselves and accept themselves, and that’s a good feeling.”</div>
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For the Los Angeles-born Protzmann, playing the piano was always about more than hitting the right notes. Even as a kid, it was about the way it made his piano teacher laugh and cry at the same time. It was a coping mechanism for feelings he didn’t understand and an outlet that kept him out of hot water at home.</div>
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“I was very depressed as a kid, and the only way I could express that was on the piano. If I didn’t, I would act out. Until I went to therapy in my 30s, I didn’t know that’s what was going on,” said Protzmann, 53, who moved to San Diego with his family in 1978 and graduated from Fallbrook High School. “I still have issues, but that’s not the point. I have taken my own experiences of healing and put them into something that is teachable and understandable.”</div>
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His teachable musical journey began in the 1990s, when he combined his piano prowess and his emotional awareness into a one-man show called, “Connected.” Protzmann would play everything from nostalgic pop tunes to comforting classical numbers, and he would talk about how the songs made him feel while encouraging his audiences to think about how the songs made them feel. A comforting good time was usually had by all.</div>
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In 2007, he began performing a new version of “Connected” that emphasized the use of music as a self-healing tool. He did a lot of work with veterans groups, including Guitars for Vets, which provides guitars and music lessons to military men and women dealing with post-traumatic stress issues.</div>
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The Friend to Friend gig started in 2010, and what looked like a tough crowd became a support group that worked for teacher and students alike. For the man with the musical lesson plan, the benefits just keep on coming.</div>
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“Every single time, it’s a healing thing,” said Protzmann, who likes to do a little therapeutic drumming with his wife, Rebecca, and their five daughters. “I love watching people light up around the music. It’s been a wonderful, joyous ride.”</div>
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karla.peterson@utsandiego.com • (619) 293-1275</div>
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Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6568546342942487862.post-81498723022476347482014-05-15T19:27:00.004-07:002014-05-15T19:27:54.159-07:00Charity, Humanitarianism, Wealth and GovernmentDan Palotta's latest book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charity-Case-Nonprofit-Community-Itself/dp/1118117522" target="_blank">"Charity Case"</a> has rocked my idea of what could be done if giving to humanitarian organizations could be improved by just 1% nationwide. He also offers cogent ideas about doing that, and reasons for why we incorrectly evaluate the impact of charity by how money is spent on everything other than measurable progress towards a humanitarian goal. I recommend it highly, but that's not the point of this blog.<br />
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It turns out that, the more people have, the more they feel free to give. I know homeless folks who knowingly give away anything extra they have just to benefit their friends. A homeless buddy of mine bought a six-pack of beer and gave away most of it. Yes, being homeless puts my friend closer to the need, but which of us, if we had $60,000, for example, would give away all but $20,000?<br />
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I wish we could talk generosity on <i>that</i> level. I don't mean calculating all the costs of earning $60,000 and the tax benefits of giving most of it away -- it's the ratio of giving two thirds of every dollar to those in need that interests me. <i>That's</i> <b>real</b> giving. And impractical under the circumstances. But do you see why that matters? My homeless friend is giving at a level -- a rate, if you will -- that is far more munificent than the level -- or rate -- of <i>all</i> of the funds donated to humanitarian causes.<br />
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Somewhere around 2% of gross domestic production is given to charity each year, not 66%. It's been that way for almost half a century. During that same period of time, the government has been taking more and more control of more and more humanitarian organizations, which of course costs taxpayers more and more each year. For example, America's ability to vote for more and more government programs that cost more and more each year is offset by America's need for the many humanitarian organizations which fill the holes in the government programs. It's obviously a self-defeating zero-sum game when viewed that way: earn, be taxed and fund an OK government program; give to charitable programs that augment the government program. As government's needs increase, so do taxes, which are paid first. Less is left over for generous giving as the earner/taxpayer/giver feels the economic squeeze and therefore gives less.<br />
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I believe there's another answer, more in line with giving 66%: Let's become more prosperous.<br />
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America, for example, could elect a government that was all about inspiring new entrepreneurial businesses and making it simple for them to start and sustain themselves. This is the start of prosperity: unleashing aspiring creators to launch sustainable enterprises. Enterprises that can be sustained employ people. There's a huge opportunity right now for entrepreneurs to solve the environmental and social problems of the world and America just isn't the financially attractive or regulatory low-impact place to start a business to do that. But that could be changed by Americans.<br />
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More prosperous people means fewer poor people. We know this from American economic history. Adjusted for inflation and measured in constant dollars, American incomes have done nothing but rise over the long term. America's poor are still wealthier than most the the world's poor.<br />
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Instead of demonizing them, the world could learn some lessons from the mega-wealthy about how to be prosperous. We might learn that the creation of real wealth involves hard teamwork and compassion. We might be able to correct the misdirection that there's not enough wealth to go around so those at the top must have stolen it. Prosperity rests on the assumption that someone is willing and able to make an exchange with you for something you offer. Offer the world enough and you can be quite prosperous. Build a large and willing team to do that and many people can prosper along with you.<br />
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My hope is that more people who are more prosperous will give us a shot at raising the bar on giving. Maybe by more than 1%. Imagine if we could raise it to 5%.<br />
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With that kind of charitable giving, humanitarian organizations in medical and therapeutic fields, educational institutions, environmental causes, social entrepreneurism, the arts, research -- nearly every giving-based organization -- used to raising $1 could potentially raise $5. That would change the game. Government humanitarian programs might become obsolete as well-funded NGOs surpass them in excellence, innovation and value.<br />
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To me, creating this kind of prosperity sounds like a real solution to the humanitarian ills that ail us. This can't be done by printing more money. Instead, let's enable our best and brightest to create organizations that address humanitarian issues through innovative ideas valuable enough to export profitably. Let's clear the way for investors rather than donors to back low-profit social-venture businesses so that they can scale big enough to have meaningful positive impact.<br />
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Clawing at the ultra-wealthy won't create more wealth.<br />
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Unlike natural resources, wealth-producing ideas are not zero sum. They are all around us ready to be put to work. Let's get great ideas working, exchange them for what we need, and help raise everyone's wealth just a bit. Then let's encourage everyone to become a donor to their own favorite charities in a way that will truly make a difference.Bill Protzmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356573267042689382noreply@blogger.com0