It isn't normal

  Are we going to say that anytime someone commits a crime that they are suffering from a mental disorder? It seems to me that is exactly what I keep hearing. The defense is always, my client has a disorder. Now if it can be established that you have a disorder you can't be held accountable for your actions. In fact, it becomes incumbent upon society to empathize, counsel and empower that individual to recovery. So is antisocial behavior a disorder? Is civil disobedience a disorder? Is every thief a kleptomaniac? Sounds silly doesn't it. Yet, that's is what I hear all the time these days and I'm expected to accept all of that. I shouldn't judge! Well, then why do we have judges at the core of the judicial system? 

  What is sanity? "the ability to think and behave in a normal and rational manner; sound mental health." That's what the dictionary says. So what is normal and rational? Well that has to be judged according to the society in which you are living. Who gets to judge? Those that are trained to recognize that inability to behave in a normal and rational way? Yes, that is the only thing we have. Is it a disorder when we choose to disobey civil authority? I'd say it was normal enough to do so, we have all chosen that in one way or another. Was it a rational choice? It very well could have been considering our situation or circumstance at the time. Normal is what people do and it varies by the individual. What is normal to you may not be to me. We are left with rational. What is rational?  "based on or in accordance with reason or logic." That's what the dictionary says. Who decides what is rational? Those trained to recognize that? Reasoning is certainly a very subjective thing. Logic is dependent upon reason. The reason could make a bad choice logical. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." (Star Trek) 

  Having a disorder is having a mental illness. Strangely that isn't the perception today though. You can suffer from a disorder but that doesn't mean you have a mental illness; not really. Isn't that the thinking? Yes it is just a temporary thing, not your fault and you shouldn't be held accountable for that. Well, as long as you have some outside influences you shouldn't be. Influences like drugs, alcohol, or you are feeling marginalized, neglected or being picked on. Then, it isn't your fault at all. All your bad choices were rational and logical given your circumstance. And we all know we are all victims these days. No one is free from that! If you are fortunate you are a survivor. You survived despite all the obstacles before you. Whew, it's been a battle. 

  Well the truth of the matter is this, what is normal changes with every generation. The rational choice is based upon what is normal. Our reasoning is affected by all of that. When I was a young man if I went and applied for a job with very long hair, wearing shorts and sandals with tattoos on my neck or face I couldn't reasonably expect to be hired unless it was a job in a side show. That's certainly not true today, those attributes would increase your odds today, the employer fearing litigation should they refuse. As a man if I showed up to work in a dress and heels back then it would have been perfectly normal to be fired on the spot. It would have been reasonable and rational to suggest I have a mental illness, a disorder! The "book" used by the experts back then would have confirmed that. But, we have rewritten the book on all of that. It's perfectly normal today.

  I have learned that aging is really nothing more than adjusting to the norms. It can be a very uncomfortable thing. With age comes infirmary, we all know and expect that to happen. For some it happens sooner and others much later. It is the mental acceptance of what is normal, what is rational and logical that cause the most discomfort however. There are those that don't commit to ideas, ideals or ideologies as readily as others. We sometimes call those folks, eccentric, well in the old days we did anyway. Today we call them progressives or liberals. Those folks just go with the flow, with whatever the latest trend happens to be. They will grasp the new normal readily enough and attempt to justify that. Age is just a number and normality a state. And today, in my opinion, things just aren't normal. I miss that.