Viktor Frankl

I receive a daily devotional.  While it is Christian-based, it does not always coincide with my particular perspective on my spirituality, and it sometimes is a little too conservative and fanatical for my taste. However, part of the reason for receiving it includes to force me to search my soul and expand my boundaries. I am selective of the issues I read, and even more selective of the message I incorporate or adopt for myself.  I have searched for other devotionals, but so far, have not found one suited for what I want.

Recently, the devotional I do receive has consisted of a series of quotes from Viktor Frankl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl.  I remember, years ago, reading his book:  Man's Search for Meaning.  (It has been a long time, however.)  When I started working at the prison, I was reminded about that book, and the meaning it's message can have for the patients. I really need to read that book again.

Recently, I have worked with a large number patients who have very long sentences, and are stressing over this.  Additionally, uniquely, they have been, if not well educated, at least intelligent enough to conceptualize and think abstractly and existentially.  I have referred several to Man's Search for Meaning.  Recently, I spoke to a patient who had recently read the book. While he acknowledged he "got it," he also indicated he could not really generalize it to his situation. I understand this. That is why just reading a book is not the answer for patients. They need the perspective and reflection that a counselor can provide, along with exploring the meaning of the book.  Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, counseling availability where I work is minimal.

However, something is better than nothing, and I am reminded of how important Frankl's work truly is.

Dong the Right Thing, Again

I have written about this before.  I am more and more assured that doing the right thing is so important in our lives.  Even if others do not understand or appreciate it, doing the right thing is important.  I learned had that lesson driven home more than 20 years ago. I did the right thing, and someone I worked with commented that she questioned it, but decided she was glad about it. 

This is so true: in relationships, in politics, in financial matters, in business transactions. In life.

I struggled this week with the appropriateness of an action.  It was a small gesture to acknowledge some one's life situation.  It was not a secret, and in fact was in the newspaper, but not everyone reads the newspaper.  It involved acknowledging a death.  I did what I thought was the right thing.  I received many responses thanking me for informing others.

It was the right thing.

The Game of Baseball, The Game of Life

Today, I went to a panel discussion today with guests from the College Baseball Hall of Fame, at the Texas Tech Museum  http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/event.html.

It was very interesting to listen to the stories, reminiscings, and comments from the panel members, not all of whom were being inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. One such member is James Cooper, the current baseball coach at Grambling State University
http://www.gsutigers.com/staff.aspx?staff=48. Coach Cooper's final comments were very profound.  He said parents should teach their sons and daughters about baseball, how to play baseball, because there is no other sport that teaches them about life like baseball does.   He talked about how they have to be on their own, whatever position they play.

I can extrapolate on that:  Baseball is a team sport, but each player is uniquely held accountable for their play.  It requires forethought, preparation and strategy. It is a thinking man's game.

I agree with Coach Cooper.

Eugenics

I went to a lecture tonight at the Texas Tech Museum http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/ about Eugenics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics, in conjunction with the Deadly Medicine Exhibit http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/deadlymedicine/. The lecture centered around the Buck vs. Bell http://buckvbell.com/ legal case in the United States Supreme Court.

This was a case regarding the sterilization of "less than desirable people." (My quotes.) The United States Supreme Court upheld the decision. 

These things have more or less gone away, but have they?  I can not write the kinds of things that people still think.  It turns my stomach. I just know that we need to be sure we do not give up our rights, and we need to help protect the rights of the disenfranchised, less desirables of our society, or we will end up in a situation like Nazi Germany. (Is that too extreme? I hope not.)

In the guise of anti-terrorist detection, airport screening by TSA ( the Transportation Security Administration http://www.tsa.gov/) has included very intrusive random pat searches. These have caused much outrage in the public, and TSA has responded. They are making some revisions, but keeping some procedures in tact. Some would say the TSA procedures demean human life.

Human life is valuable.  All human life is valuable. No matter how flawed, no matter what way it may be flawed, human life is valuable.  When we behave otherwise in our societies, we are decreased as humans.

We have an obligation to ensure that no matter the circumstance and situation, we place the value of human life first.  There are so many situation of which I can conceive that I may act as if human life was not primary, but it would be for survival of self or another, and weighing the greater good.   So, human life is valuable.