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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2001)
P a g e 1 6 T h e lN D E P E N D E N T , November 21, 2001 latters to the Editor From page 2 In the last ten years or so, there has been a sad confusion of terms and the psychological ideas from which they have arisen. Healthy shame, for ex ample, and pathological - sick - shame, are not the same thing at all. The function of healthy shame is a part of our con science, what Joyce called “the agenbite of inwit” or nipping of our inner wisdom, the still small voice. It is, in part, educated into us by the family and the so ciety to which we belong, which recognizes certain rules of be haviour and makes infractions payable through co n se quences. Pathological shame is no longer about what we have done, but rather has twist ed conscience to believe that it is who we are that is unaccept able. This has stretched to in clude the idea of “embarrass ment" as some sort of abuse. Em barrassm ent is what we have all felt on a new job, in a new place or trying something w e’ve never done before. It is a sign that we are stretching our boundaries or in other terms, we are learning. As I tell my students again and again: There's nothing wrong with mistakes! On the contrary, if you aren’t making mistakes, you aren’t learning. These distortions have cre ated a victim culture in this country which can only sink us further into the abyss of petti ness, spite and lawsuits, which, to my mind, look exactly like “ I’m gonna tell my Mommy on you! And you’ll see then!” A pat tern which continues to avoid responsibility until there is no one left on whom we can blame our failures. What happens when these “sensitive” children go out into the real world? Into the military (God forbid!), or into the strug gles of the everyday life we all know? I can give you one an swer. They are the millions of workers who arrive late, take extended breaks, “forget” a few numbers in the important data they are taking down, and even crash their cars into those of in nocent people and then an swer, “Whaateverr.” Again and again, these spoiled children abdicate their responsibilities and cause innumerable mis takes, delays and even disas ters. If they haven’t been taught to care early on, to carry their minds a little further into the fu ture and to see the conse quences of what they do, they may answer as did one of my students when I asked him what he wanted to do “when he grows up” (gets out of high school). “ I want to win the Lot tery,” said Jimmy. Forgive me for going on to such lengths. I didn’t intend to write so much, but the passion I have brought to this letter is a glimpse of the passion I bring to learning, to teaching and to everything I do. Carol Sawyer (temporarily advanced- placement Spanish teacher Vernonia High School P.S. Let me clarify that an “expatriate” is not an “ex-patri ot.” On the contrary, from the Latin “ex” for “outside” and “pa- tria” for “country” , the average expatriate, an American living, or as in my own case, and that of several generation of my an cestors, perhaps even born and bred on foreign soil, may have the deepest and most pa triotic of American roots. TH E SPAR TREE B reakfast - L unch - D inner D aily S pecials We appreciate your support Closed Thanksgiving W inter H ours : T u -T hu 6 am -7 pm • F r -S at 6 am -8 pm S unday 7 am - 5 pm 62467 Nehalem Hwy. N. (Hwy. 47) Vernonia • 503-429-0191 Forest Resources Directory MIKE PIHL LOGGING CO., INC. Jfc SPECIALIZING IN PRIVATE TIMBER FREE ESTIMATES W 503-429-1470 M obile: 503-789-1268 • Fax: 503-429-0252 «TO . «LCt— 1010 Bridge Street • P.O. 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