In search of identity through Foreign Policy

Friday, February 08, 2013

There are researchers and scholars that who will state that our Nation’s Foreign Policies came of age after the Cold War. While there were some very significant Foreign Policy outcomes spawned at the end of the Cold War, our Nation’s modern day Policies were birthed at the end of World War II. Between 1945 and 1949, the United States of America had absolutely no qualms about the direction of its International and Foreign Policies. The dawn of the Nuclear Age brought about a sense of paranoia that would inevitably drive The United States into ways of thinking that came out looking a lot like Colonialism and/or expansionism. The Nation was slipping quickly into exactly the type of Country it had revolted against less than two hundred years earlier.

As Communism and Capitalism banged heads throughout the Cold War, Capitalism eventually came out on top as witnessed by the demise of the Soviet Union. There was, however, a very large menace to Capitalism that had not been corralled by the end of the Cold War. China sat by, apparently trying to stay under everyone’s radar. Oddly enough, it was China, not the Soviet Union, which drove the United States effort against the “Domino Theory” in Southeast Asia during the height of the Cold War. If there is one positive aspect of the Viet Nam War, it was indeed the fact that China could no longer annex the Indo-China Peninsula. As a result, the power brokers, the shadow “movers and shakers”, in the United States were sincere in their beliefs that the Viet Nam War was a success. It was this feeling of omnipotence that then drove the ensuing Foreign Policy of the United States. As an aside, it also drove the Military/Industrial Complex to heights never before imagined.

Where this has led the Nation through the 1970’s to present is to an overriding confidence that the rest of the World wants to be just like the United States. After all, are not immigrants tripping over one another to get into this Country in search of the “American Dream”? The question needs to be asked; what exactly is the “American Dream”? Apparently, there are two very separate “Dreams”. There is one for the proletariat, which is the one we all have had drilled into our heads since we were born. However, behind the scenes, there is another “Dream”. It is the dark, sinister, behind-the-shadows “Dream” that centers on the belief that the United States of America is the true way and that American ideals and practices should be shared with everyone; should be forced on everyone, if necessary. You think not? Just step back and take a look at our Nation’s recent History in its dealings with other sovereign Nations around the planet. Take a good look at Palestine, Bosnia, Serbia, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Take a good, long skeptical look at World events as they have unfolded in recent years. You do not have to read between the lines to see what the United States is up to.

Those two words, Expansionism and Colonialism, keep rearing their ugly heads. It is time for a change: just not the one that has been crammed down our throats. It is improbable that all our History books would be rewritten. It is more probable that the power of Social Media will set this all straight, without cloak and dagger, smoke and mirrors, and lies upon lies. In the face of reality, the Citizens of the United States of America may entertain a dose of the truth about who and what runs their lives, the life of the Nation and, through expansionism, the life of the Planet.

Some thoughts on Socialism & Capitalism

v  Labor comes before, and is the essence of, all forms of capital. Capital cannot exist   

without the primary existence of Labor.

v  From Thomas Jefferson to Abraham Lincoln to Norman Thomas, and beyond, our Nation was born of European Style Socialist Theories and movements.

v   As it happened throughout the 1800’s, the United States of North America wound up enjoying the practice of Marxist socialism more so than than the European Nations it was trying to emulate. Most of the socialist movements in Europe died a quick death.

v  The Industrial Revolution of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s turned the USoNA from its unique brand of Socialism toward its equally unique brand of Capitalism, which have coexisted for over a century.

v  By definition, the USoNA is has practiced exactly the same expansionist behavior that led it into Social and Economic Revolution for its Independence. The evolution from a group of partisans yearning to be free of tyranny has lost itself in the muck and mire of Socialism, Colonialism and Capitalism.

v  It is never a good idea to meld the terms Socialism and Communism. They simply are not one, and the same, and there is a place for both to exist independently.

v  What today are termed our overbearing Entitlement Programs are often referred to as Socialistic. Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, and Worker Disability Insurances were theoretically born of Socialism (Marxism), but were tailored specifically for our own Economic System. These programs are not Entitlements; they are contracts with the working public, employers, and government. These programs are set up as contributory insurance plans. They are not handouts, nor are they free money.

 

 

National Center for PTSD Information

                        NATIONAL CENTER for PTSD

Treatment of PTSD

Today, there are good treatments available for PTSD. When you have PTSD, dealing with the past can be hard. Instead of telling others how you feel, you may keep your feelings bottled up. But talking with a therapist can help you get better.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one type of counseling. It appears to be the most effective type of counseling for PTSD. The VA is providing two forms of cognitive behavioral therapy to Veterans with PTSD: Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy. To learn more about these types of therapy, see our fact sheets listed on the Treatment page.

There is also a similar kind of therapy called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) that is used for PTSD. Medications have also been shown to be effective. A type of drug known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which is also used for depression, is effective for PTSD.

Types of cognitive behavioral therapy

What is cognitive therapy?

In cognitive therapy, your therapist helps you understand and change how you think about your trauma and its aftermath. Your goal is to understand how certain thoughts about your trauma cause you stress and make your symptoms worse.

You will learn to identify thoughts about the world and yourself that are making you feel afraid or upset. With the help of your therapist, you will learn to replace these thoughts with more accurate and less distressing thoughts. You will also learn ways to cope with feelings such as anger, guilt, and fear.

After a traumatic event, you might blame yourself for things you couldn't have changed. For example, a soldier may feel guilty about decisions he or she had to make during war. Cognitive therapy, a type of CBT, helps you understand that the traumatic event you lived through was not your fault.

What is exposure therapy?

In exposure therapy your goal is to have less fear about your memories. It is based on the idea that people learn to fear thoughts, feelings, and situations that remind them of a past traumatic event.

By talking about your trauma repeatedly with a therapist, you'll learn to get control of your thoughts and feelings about the trauma. You'll learn that you do not have to be afraid of your memories. This may be hard at first. It might seem strange to think about stressful things on purpose. But you'll feel less overwhelmed over time.

With the help of your therapist, you can change how you react to the stressful memories. Talking in a place where you feel secure makes this easier.

You may focus on memories that are less upsetting before talking about worse ones. This is called "desensitization," and it allows you to deal with bad memories a little bit at a time. Your therapist also may ask you to remember a lot of bad memories at once. This is called "flooding," and it helps you learn not to feel overwhelmed.

You also may practice different ways to relax when you're having a stressful memory. Breathing exercises are sometimes used for this.

What is EMDR?

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is another type of therapy for PTSD. Like other kinds of counseling, it can help change how you react to memories of your trauma.

While thinking of or talking about your memories, you'll focus on other stimuli like eye movements, hand taps, and sounds. For example, your therapist will move his or her hand near your face, and you'll follow this movement with your eyes.

Experts are still learning how EMDR works. Studies have shown that it may help you have fewer PTSD symptoms. But research also suggests that the eye movements are not a necessary part of the treatment.

Medication

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a type of antidepressant medicine. These can help you feel less sad and worried. They appear to be helpful, and for some people they are very effective. SSRIs include citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (such as Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft).

Chemicals in your brain affect the way you feel. For example, when you have depression you may not have enough of a chemical called serotonin. SSRIs raise the level of serotonin in your brain.

There are other medications that have been used with some success. Talk to your doctor about which medications are right for you.

Other types of treatment

Some other kinds of counseling may be helpful in your recovery. However, more evidence is needed to support these types of treatment for PTSD.

Group therapy

Many people want to talk about their trauma with others who have had similar experiences.

In group therapy, you talk with a group of people who also have been through a trauma and who have PTSD. Sharing your story with others may help you feel more comfortable talking about your trauma. This can help you cope with your symptoms, memories, and other parts of your life.

Group therapy helps you build relationships with others who understand what you've been through. You learn to deal with emotions such as shame, guilt, anger, rage, and fear. Sharing with the group also can help you build self-confidence and trust. You'll learn to focus on your present life, rather than feeling overwhelmed by the past.

Brief psychodynamic psychotherapy

In this type of therapy, you learn ways of dealing with emotional conflicts caused by your trauma. This therapy helps you understand how your past affects the way you feel now.

Your therapist can help you:

§  Identify what triggers your stressful memories and other symptoms.

§  Find ways to cope with intense feelings about the past.

§  Become more aware of your thoughts and feelings, so you can change

   your reactions to them.

§  Raise your self-esteem.

Family therapy

PTSD can affect your whole family. Your kids or your partner may not understand why you get angry sometimes, or why you're under so much stress. They may feel scared, guilty, or even angry about your condition.

Family therapy is a type of counseling that involves your whole family. A therapist helps you and your family to communicate, maintain good relationships, and cope with tough emotions. Your family can learn more about PTSD and how it is treated.

In family therapy, each person can express his or her fears and concerns. It's important to be honest about your feelings and to listen to others. You can talk about your PTSD symptoms and what triggers them. You also can discuss the important parts of your treatment and recovery. By doing this, your family will be better prepared to help you.

You may consider having individual therapy for your PTSD symptoms and family therapy to help you with your relationships.

How long does treatment last?

CBT treatment for PTSD often lasts for 3 to 6 months. Other types of treatment for PTSD can last longer. If you have other mental health problems as well as PTSD, treatment may last for 1 to 2 years or longer.

What if someone has PTSD and another disorder? Is the treatment different?

It is very common to have PTSD at that same time as another mental health problem. Depression, alcohol or drug abuse problems, panic disorder, and other anxiety disorders often occur along with PTSD. In many cases, the PTSD treatments described above will also help with the other disorders. The best treatment results occur when both PTSD and the other problems are treated together rather than one after the other.

What will we work on in therapy?

When you begin therapy, you and your therapist should decide together what goals you hope to reach in therapy. Not every person with PTSD will have the same treatment goals. For instance, not all people with PTSD are focused on reducing their symptoms.

Some people want to learn the best way to live with their symptoms and how to cope with other problems associated with PTSD. Perhaps you want to feel less guilt and sadness. Perhaps you would like to work on improving your relationships at work, or communicating with your friends and family.

Your therapist should help you decide which of these goals seems most important to you, and he or she should discuss with you which goals might take a long time to achieve.

What can I expect from my therapist?

Your therapist should give you a good explanation for the therapy. You should understand why your therapist is choosing a specific treatment for you, how long they expect the therapy to last, and how they will tell if it is working.

The two of you should agree at the beginning that this plan makes sense for you. You should also agree on what you will do if it does not seem to be working. If you have any questions about the treatment, your therapist should be able to answer them.

You should feel comfortable with your therapist and feel you are working as a team to tackle your problems. It can be difficult to talk about painful situations in your life, or about traumatic experiences that you have had. Feelings that emerge during therapy can be scary and challenging. Talking with your therapist about the process of therapy, and about your hopes and fears in regards to therapy, will help make therapy successful.

If you do not like your therapist or feel that the therapist is not helping you, it might be helpful to talk with another professional. In most cases, you should tell your therapist that you are seeking a second opinion.

 

Date Created: 01/01/2007 / Reviewed/Updated Date: April 25, 2012

The National Center for PTSD does not provide direct clinical care or individual referrals.
Please see: Where to Get Help for PTSD

PTSD Information Voice Mail: (802) 296-6300
Contact Us: ncptsd@va.gov
Also see: VA Mental Health

 

Defining PTSD

When a traumatic event occurs, there are a number of levels at which that specific trauma can be experienced.

There are those who only hear of it.

 

There are those who see the aftermath via electronic device, or print media.

 

There are those who may find themselves geographically close to the event.

 

There are those whose job it is to report on the event.

 

There are those whose job it is to pick up the pieces.

 

There are those who are actually “in” the event.

 

And, there are those who experience trauma more than once, and sometimes in rapid succession for some duration of time.

The wonderful folks who send us off to war have never had much of a stomach when it comes to cleaning up with the aftermath of war. Cleaning up the mess is a little too ugly for the Lords of War. So, they not only try to sweep the mess under the carpet, but they also start  to give the mess clinical, fluffy names in hope we won’t really have to deal with the treatments, and those afflicted will walk off into the sunset with a big bottle of pills in their hand. There is currently one big problem with that line of logic. The number of war ravaged of PTSD sufferers has swollen to an almost unmanageable size.

It would be fair to place myself somewhere between Layman and Expert on this subject, and I will try to stick to these seven categories. I am certain there are more levels, and sub-levels, that one could list. It is within categories #5, #6, and #7 ,above, that the vast majority of PTSD sufferers lie, and they are the ones who need the most urgent and intensive care.

The lines of clinical demarcation are beginning to blur, when it comes to an apt description of “PTSD”. There are factions forming inside, and outside, the Psychological and Psychiatric sectors of the Veterans Administration, each with their own moniker and justification; such as, “Munchausen’s Syndrome” (fantasy) (hypochondria to elicit sympathy), “False Memory Syndrome”, “Post-traumatic Stress Disorder”, “Stolen Valor”, “Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome”, “Post-traumatic Growth”. And, now; “Moral Injury”.

The word syndrome is explicitly a pattern, or set of repeating symptoms, and carries with it a demeaning and insulting connotation.  I have never seen growth occur from any traumatic experience(s). I don’t think people “grow” from killing other people; from seeing dead bodies strewn at their feet; from the smell of burning flesh ; the smell of gun powder. I have recently run across yet another terminology for this mental disorder: moral injury. This categorization shows how far the Rulers of the Mental Health Community are willing to go in their unspoken desire of getting rid of the damn problem.

I have also come to realize that finding a “cure” for PTSD can be as elusive as a greased pig at the County Fair. The front line caregivers all too often have a recognizable visage of pure frustration when certain treatments just don’t seem to work. I know, first hand, that these first responder Clinicians feel that they have failed. In the long run, how can you expect anyone to succeed when facing the stiff headwinds of a Country bent on pushing this ailment into oblivion?

The Lords of War have forgotten that the very group they are trying to silence is willing to go back to War on this subject. The Veteran Community can muster its collective strength, stand up, and say, “enough is enough”. Go no farther the PTSD.

Don’t touch my junk!

I am trying very hard to make the arguments about cutting, or not, spending on two Government benefits. Social Security and Medicare are being tossed around like a rag doll, and all the stuffing is coming out. Our elected officials and the News Media refer to these programs as “entitlements”, as if they are a form of welfare and something to be looked down upon.

I am not going to rant and rave about a Congress that can’t even show up for work on a daily basis. I will not rant and rave about the hundreds of billions of dollars we pay for these “no show” jobs through our tax donations. I will not rant and rave about a Citizenry that refuses to hold their elected Official’s feet to the fire when it comes to honoring contracts.

I will, instead, rant and rave about the fact that our Federal Government will be in serious breach of contract, if anything small, or large, is cut from these two programs. Beside the fact that there will shortly be a slew of additional folks on the Social Security and Medicare “rolls”, there is the flip side of that equation. There will be vastly more potential job opportunities opening up as hundreds of thousands of “baby boomers” come to the end of their careers, and slide into retirement.

The mechanisms designed to aid our Senior Citizens through their remaining years are Social Security and Medicare. These two Programs are run by the Federal Government, but they are in no way paid for by the Federal Government. How can this be, you may ask? This can be solely for the reason that these two Programs are legal contracts between the working Public and the Federal Government. These Contracts are identical to the Contract you might encounter when signing up for Life Insurance. The deal is that you pay a certain amount of money over a certain amount of time into a fund that in turn promises to pay you a certain amount of money at a certain, predetermined time. This is assistance in connection with your expendable income, once you have hit that predetermined point in time (retirement age).

How does all this relate to our Nation’s Treasury and our current financial situation? In a nut shell, it doesn’t relate to our fiscal crisis one bit. Are there some much needed reforms for each of these two Programs? Yes, most definitely there are reforms that can and should be implemented, and very soon. I don’t think too many people can effectively argue against either of these questions. The question that is arguable is that of how the Federal Government treats these two Funds. Are they going to honor their Contract with the American People, or will they continue to be in breach of said Contracts? That’s correct. They are currently in breach of both contracts. Social Security has been “borrowed” against in past years to shore up other, not so well funded, Programs, and Medicare has been grossly mismanaged and defrauded.

Where does leave the U.S. Citizen transitioning from the working days into their retirement days? It leaves that sector of our Society in a very precarious position. Luckily the money is still there in sufficient amount to fulfill the Contracts. However, if any looting occurs to either one of the Programs, the American Public has every right to file a Civil Law suit against the Federal Government on a myriad of grounds.

Two of those “grounds”, as mentioned, would be “BREACH OF CONTRACT” and “MISMANAGEMENT OF FUNDS” (fraud) (embezzlement), etc. The scary part of this situation is that we are upon it right now, and no one seems to be going to bat for the common, working folk of this Country. And, in a sense, why should anyone stick his/her neck out for us? We don’t seem to be able to do that for ourselves, now, do we? If this Problem goes unaddressed too much longer, there are going to be some Senior Citizens with very short fuses. That, my friends, could get ugly.

Hutch Dubosque is a retired Manufacturing Engineer who has taken up writing Socio-Political commentary using social media. He has a B.A. in Journalism and an AAS in Energy Technology, and is a current member of the Academy of Political Science, among other pertinent organizations. Mr. Dubosque is also the Vice President of the PTSD Alumni Association of Northport, NY, Inc.( a non-profit organization assisting Veterans).