My two new babies. Perhaps I should word that differently, as I’m offering to sell both of them. I should have their new nursery website ready in a week or so.
Mental Illness
As executive director of a nonprofit for those with mental illness, I gave speeches from Washington, D.C. to Berkeley. People kept telling me that I should write a book. My first effort was about 20 pages. Basically, it was one of my speeches. I tried to expand but soon realized that I didn’t know enough to write a full-length book.
I decided to take a year for research. That research extended over a period of 14 years. I was able to completely destroy the “chemical imbalance” model. It began in the 1950s as a marketing scheme. It was catchy, so the drug industry kept plugging it.
Do not fear. This book covers the medical, social, political, economic and other aspects of the illness but is written to the 9th-grade level. Necessarily, there are some medical terms but there is also a full glossary.
Being a dark subject, I tried to light it with a bit of humor, sometimes appropriate, sometimes, maybe not. It will not be a problem for the few who have become accustomed to my putative wit on this blog.
The Constitution
Everyone knows about the Constitution but it is distressing to realize how few actually understand it. One would think that a Justice of the Supreme Court would be well-versed on it. Au contraire, mon frère. I present for your derision, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Weirdly, they were proud to wear the mantle of ‘originalist’ or ‘strict constructionist.’ There was no suspicion on their part that times and situations change. Did they skip over or just fail to comprehend the two methods of altering the Constitution that the Founders included, right there in the document itself?
There are many out there willing to provide you with their interpretation. Some base their take on what they or their teachers misunderstood in grammar school. Some views are twisted to fit a particular ideology. Others try to make it fit their need for control, or profit, or perhaps just patronizing a constituency.
Surprisingly, I too have a bias. I take it from the first three words of the preamble to the Constitution. I even used it as the title of this book. We the People.
The United States began and continues to be an experiment. It is an exercise to determine whether the people are capable of governing themselves. The Founders recognized this. Each also had their reservations about the final product of the Convention. They knew there would be amendments. It was acknowledged to be a compromise. They hoped for various amendments. I am fully aware, that after more than two centuries, this document still hasn’t attained perfection.
However, despite my own reservations, I make every effort to hold to the priority of “We the People.” A friend, who would be characterized fairly accurately as a moderate, read the manuscript for me. He avowed that he liked it but felt that in a couple of places it veered to the progressive bent.
My response was first, that the Constitution itself was perhaps the most progressive political document up to that time. Republics did not have a track record of success. There are monarchies (hereditary governments) and republics (nonhereditary governemtns), At the finish of the Convention, a lady asked Benjamin Franklin what they had given us. He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” The example that likely came to his mind was the Caesars destroying the Roman Republic.
Further, I assured my friend that having been a journalist, a foreign correspondent, back in the days when that was a reputable occupation, my obligation was to report what happened or failed to happen. I was also expected to use whatever familiarity I had with the subject or event to help readers understand. I was to be, to the extent possible, factual.
Also, having begun my academic career in math and a couple of the natural sciences, I was taught that I must accept the reality, whether it supported my opinion or not.
In addition, I bring to bear a degree in history, the extensive use of logic in my various pursuits, having held public elective office and a bit of maturity as I approach the end of my eight decade. The outcome of my efforts and my understanding of the Constitution, the Founders, logic and experience does not leave me satisfied with the document as is, but I hold out hope that we the people will continue to make improvements.
As mentioned above, I am selling these books. They represent a great deal of effort and, though they are just a little less than perfect, I am proud of them. The late John Robert Newbrough, former professor at the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University was kind enough to write the foreword for Why Are You Mad? He stated, “This book has the potential to be the most influential work on the subject of mental illness in a century.” I published the first edition in 2007, 5 months before the advent of Kindle. I updated it and added 30-odd pages.
Now Available
We the People is a quick and easy read. Of about 90 pages (ebook and print versions count differently) 38 ore the Constitution itself. It is there for reference. My contributions do not cover the entirety of the document. I demonstrate how it informs several issues of today.
Why Are You Mad? is available at Amazon. the Kindle Version and the Print Version. Barnes and Noble has the Nook Version and the Print Version. Both sell the ebook for $2.99 and the print version for $18.99. They will be available directly from my website in a week or so for the same prices. the web site is essential books.
We the People is available at Amazon in the Kindle Version for $2.99. Amazon is offering it exclusively for promotional purposes. The Print Version is not exclusive but has hit a slight snag, which should be corrected in a matter of a few days. It will be priced at $8.99. I am working on the Audible Version but no dates have been set.
I would greatly appreciate your reviews, though four- and five-star reviews are preferred, whether you like it or not.
My thanks in advance. After 12 years of blogging, I am finally getting around to money-grubbing. That’s really out of character for a Scot.
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