New Morality - and My Son's Mental Health

Hello again.

I will deal with Tom's health first, but go on to the morality issues second - linked with the re-elected US President Bush and the Christian Right. Apparently a lot of right-wing bloggers in the USA were influential in the US election...

As to my son, Tom - he has been out of hospital for about 12 days now. He is getting on all right (mostly), but not all the services we had hoped for have been set up, or can be realised. Once he is out, the appointments dry up. But he is able to attend a drop-in centre at the local mental health hospital where he goes for outpatient consultation - this is paying off. They offer art therapy, pottery, drawing and creative writing. He observed a Tai Ch'i class (am not sure if I have spelled that right). Our Jesus Army church is against other spiritual systems such as yoga (though I used to do that 10 years ago) - so he viewed it with suspicion, But he is interested in doing things that will help him keep relaxed and mentally OK.

He was turned down by the alcohol support services at ASCA, even though before his recent breakdown (and drink binges) he was having weekly couselling there. This may not be offered now. He is due to visit the Camberwell Rehab. centre on Nov. 15th - but there was a warning that they too may not accept him - due to the confusion between his mental illness and his alcohol problem. As I said before, he falls down between two stools: it is a Catch 22 situation, that when he is offered something, this is later withdrawn. I have begun attending an advice group for the families of mentally ill patients - a carers' group. It meets fortnightly and should give me more ammunition to fight Tom's "corner". It would be good if D., my partner (Tom's Dad & my husband), could go along with me sometimes.

One thing Tom has problems just now is attending our church - he finds the ministry to intense, and also feel rather alienated from it (perhaps as he had been absent for a while in hospital). The church did their best to keep in touch with, pray with and support him. But twice he has "blown up" at meetings, and now feels it better to keep away for a time. He still worships at home, and may return briefly to a local church where he was baptised - St. Stephen's, for Sunday services. He says he'll return when he can cope with the JA's style of strong worship and brotherhood. Others too have 'battles' - one key, dynamic young brother, C.R., has recently moved out of our community house (B C) and is in great inner conflict about this. He is a church youth leader, so it is significant if he cannot keep on board. There are many spriritual battles going on, as the London MJA is moving on towards a new centre. Another guy (a young Iranian) has been away for a while; others come and go.

Now to the American right. As the above shows, I am a Christian - even born again - but just cannot go along with the tenets of the "American Christian Right". I was leftish and a Labout party member in the past. Recently I had moved towards the Liberal Democrats in the UK, but still with sympathy for Labour (I just don't like all that Tony Blair has done). I would be Democrat if I lived in the USA. I believe poverty, class inequality and social injustice of all sorts are much greater evils than abortion or gayness. The charismatic Evangelical Church is against homosexuality as being a sinful act, according to the Bible. But many people whoa re gay have much inner ocnflict; they are caring, but just make different relationships, and have different attractions. I think if they are loyal and faithful inre lationships, then that is good enough. This ties in with my former Anglican beliefs more (though the Anglican church is divided on this). As to abortion - I might have had one when younger - but it never had to happen; though I had a natural miscarriage at 3 months, before Tom came along. I think early abortions (up to at least 3-4 months) may be justified, but late ones are not - and not after the time a viable baby could survive (at 6 months). This chimes with some Christian thinking, but not all. Some feminists want late abortion to be legal - I would not accept that. But I would not vote on this as an election issue. Stem-cell research is an even more difficult issue to judge - I will not go much into that. It involves detailed scientific knowledge; I am aware that it can save lives and ameliorate some other people's lives (eg. those who are paralaysed below the neck, like the late Christopher Reeves was).

Bush got in, in the US, because so many Christians put these sexual/moral issues first - and others put national security first, in the sense that Bush was the "strong man" who wa fighting terrorism (but failing, wasn't he?). This seems to be a form of "light (or "lite") Fascism", as some commentators have said. One UK columnist, Professor George Monbiot, in The Guardian (our newspaper) says that the Americans are now opting for the "Puritanism of the rich". Other disagree - after all, the Puritans originally were both God-fearing and careful to help the poor; they despised affluent, lazy living. In some ways Oliver Cromwell (who ruled the UK in C.17th) was an admirable if ruthless figure; Milton the poet was a truly great writer. Both were conceivably the epitome of Puritanism (though John Milton was an thinking intellectual). The Levellers and Diggers of that time were extreme environmentalists ("back to the land"), farmers and "proto-communists" - believing in simple community living, and sharing all property. A bit like the Jesus Army community house lifestyle today (in UK)! The "Ranters" wandered around, shouting about holy visions they had seen, but living poorly (they were also sexually promiscuous sometimes), sleeping rough and existing on handouts.

I am a sociologist and psychologist academically - but have a good knowledge of history, though I now teach criminology. The earlier pre-industrial period has always interested me. Bush's C.21st North America is very different from the C.17th in England or even the early Pilgrim Fathers - there are forces of big capitalism behind it. The "neo-conservatives" are mostly not Puritans, but wealthy, either atheistic or from a different religious group. I hav enothing against the various ethnic groups; the Chritian Right is mostly white "WASP" or disgruntled Roman Catholics (originally Irish or Scottish, or from continental and Central Europe). End of socio-political history lesson for today! I shall end now - we are about to eat...

If you have read this - goodbye, and thanks for doing so. You don't have to agree with me! Cheerio till next time.

Love and peace - Tigey