Science
Junkie-Nov. 20, 2011
Back in the days of my misspent youth, addiction referred to
a self-destructive dependency on psychoactive, habit-forming drugs like heroin
and alcohol. But as with so many words in this hyped up era, the meaning
expanded to include, in addition to substances, a variety of behaviors, notably sex and gambling.
Then the concept took on a positive tangent with the publication of William
Glasser’s book, “Positive
Addiction.” Glasser recommended the practices of meditation and distance
running, claiming they could produce a euphoric, life-enhancing alteration of
consciousness.
Speaking from experience as one who has pursued his share of
serial passions, including distance running, chess, and photography, I am
prepared to say that the line between a positive and negative addiction can be
very fine; and it is quite possible, depending on circumstances, to cross the
line from positive to negative, as I did more than once. I would not be
surprised to learn that most all addictions, positive as well as negative, will
be found to have common neurochemical causes at the level of the brain. The
research seems to be trending that way. After all, virtually every experience
alters the brain; and repeated experiences that activate reward circuits appear
to change the brain in ways that lead to the compulsive behaviors we label
addictions. Of course it’s more complicated than that, which means I will have
to revisit the subject very soon.
Junkie is a closely related informal term that can refer to
a drug addict or, according to the dictionary, “a person with a compulsive
habit or obsessive dependency on something.” As in political junkie. By the
way, in case you’re a newer reader who has wondered what TPJ stands for, the
original name of our magazine was “The Political Junkies.” When I started
writing columns here, I chose a pseudonym, “Reluctant Junkie,” intended to
convey the idea that my obsession with politics was forced on me rather than
stemming from any abiding interest or curiosity – except possibly morbid
curiosity, as depicted in this
little satirical masterpiece from the Onion News Network. Anyway, for most
of my life before the Bush debacle, I was pretty much happily indifferent to
politics, although I always leaned left. But then came Bush-administration-induced
nagging paranoia. I mean, what thinking person who valued constitutional
democracy would not have been alarmed by the machinations and serial misconduct
of that organized crime syndicate? And lest you forget, “Bush’s
Brain,” Karl Rove, is still out there, scheming with other members of the
vast, right-wing conspiracy to bring about the utter destruction of all
remaining progressive values.
So I became a reluctant political junkie about ten years
ago. My addiction/obsession was mostly involuntary, bringing few satisfactions
until I started writing a column for The Political Junkies that gave me a forum
where I could express my thoughts, fears, hopes, frustrations and general
loathing for most things political. Then Obama was elected, which still ranks
as one of the most memorable and happiest nights of my life – it’s hard
to beat the combination of relief and schadenfreude! But my happiness was, as I feared at the
time, destined to be fleeting, soon to be replaced by my default
lesser-of-evils mode, which is where I’m stuck now. I keep saying this is a
Paul Revere moment, and I want to ride through the streets shouting, “Wake up
and smell the theocratic fascism brewing on the right; it’s time to take the
offensive rather than remaining mired in the sickening, self-defeating
appeasement of the past three years.” This is no time for finesse: a near-critical
mass of Americans are ready to wage an epic struggle, but they have to be
inspired. Inspired by what? How about something along the lines of Obama’s “The
Audacity of Hope”? Certainly not futile bipartisan efforts which elicit nothing
but contempt from the right-wing warriors.
Okay, that’s enough damn politics for a while. And
considering that I’m more than halfway through this column, it’s time to get to
the point and fess up about my addiction. Besides, there will be many
opportunities in the coming months to rant about politics. Soon we won’t be
able to escape the lies, non sequiturs and ignorance of another presidential
campaign. So let me talk about my current addiction, which inspired my new
pseudonym, “Science Junkie”:
I am addicted to reality.
I know it’s a stretch, but don’t laugh just yet. Strange
though it may sound, reality needs defenders. So I shamelessly used the
addiction shtick to call attention to the fact that despite the proliferation
of “reality” shows on TV, Americans seem less committed to accepting it than at
any time in my memory. Looking out across this vast cultural wasteland, I see
more groups forming enclaves of ideology, setting up online, fact-free zones
where they congregate like holy rollers reaffirming their bizarre dogmas,
ignoring or denying all contrary evidence. And like religious fanatics, they
are turning to vicious demonizing of scientists and other rational experts who
reject their claims on the basis of competent science. The anti-vaccination movement is
a particularly pernicious case in point, but these days any group with
sufficient resources can make outrageously false claims with confidence things
will play out to their advantage.
A major reason they get away with it is because of the
profit-driven complicity of a mainstream news media that has abdicated its
responsibility to pursue facts that might lower ratings or prove embarrassing
to the wrong people. Even when convincing refutations of falsehoods are
published, they rarely attract enough interest to even begin to reverse the
advantages already gained by the charlatans and the sincerely deluded. So while
corrupted news sources are pandering to corporate greed and the lowest common
denominator, there is a highly effective and no doubt lucrative industry out
there utilizing all the proven artifices of mass persuasion. And we are about
to be subjected to a deluge of the very worst of it as the political season
ramps up. But the sorry truth is it doesn’t take that much to persuade
low-information voters who are complete strangers to critical-thinking skills.
This is certainly not what Thomas Jefferson envisioned.
Anyway, that’s the reality I see every day. And because I’m
addicted to it, I can’t look the other way or pretend things are okay or are
going to get better. The tabloid mentality prevails far and wide, and the
discourse – what little there is – sounds more like The Jerry
Springer show than anything approaching civilized debate. I’d bet Jefferson
would be rolling in his grave, if he could.
So while I facetiously call myself a reality addict and a
science junkie, those labels are not far from the truth. On the other end of
the spectrum, I know and read about lots of people who give the impression that
they are attracted to pseudoscience and other forms of woo because they are
unscientific. And they’re not all dolts: many fairly bright individuals seem to
take perverse pleasure in rejecting or opposing the findings of scientific
“elites.” I have to think Republicans bear much of the responsibility for this.
If so, I’m sure they’re proud of it.
Next time: a look at some of the worst reality deniers.