TODAY’S “NORMAL” WAS YESTERDAY’S “ABNORMAL”

TODAY’S “NORMAL” WAS YESTERDAY’S “ABNORMAL” By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist Everyday our traditional accepted values have been changed by adding many abnormal thoughts and behaviors to the acceptable list. Divorce was considered a failure of two people who were not sufficiently mature enough to compromise and to reach an agreement to satisfy both. It was much more of a rarity than it is today. People who had severe mental dysfunction are no longer put in a lockdown facility to receive therapy but are now released back to their neighborhood home. Often, they go back to bizarre or criminal behavior. Today many are medicated and allowed to roam the streets even after being charged with serious crimes and erratic behavior. They often are released on their own recognizance. This lack of punishment is a missed opportunity for changing the thinking and behavior of these anti-social people. In our ultra-woke culture the goalposts have been moved to readily accept divorce. The impact on the children has been downplayed and the benefits of reentering the dating world is sugar coated. The media embraces joining the newly divorced playing field. Divorce has even become chic without noting the devastating effects on the family, especially the children. Similar formulas were devised to entice others to be seduced into entering new lifestyles and modes of living. Homosexual and bisexual relationships became more acceptable to too many. A whole new crowd seduced others into new lifestyles. The benefits of becoming a member of these once shunned communities increases their ability to become more accepted in our more “tolerant and caring” culture. Normal and abnormal are constantly changing while moving away from our former traditional society. Our society is transitioning towards a lifestyle with few to no traditional rules. This means a person can try out new, once forbidden behaviors, to see whether it would be advantageous to them with little or no condemnation from others. There is little stigma to what once was considered deviant and abnormal behavior that has now morphed into normal. These once frowned upon behaviors are now protected classes of behaviors and are treated as “so-called” normal. It is unclear whether an action will have positive or negative results as our acceptance grows into pretty much anything that was once considered taboo behavior. Being married to the same person for one’s entire life has changed into a series of relationships for one’s adult life. Punishment that in the past often began in infancy is now frowned upon in most child rearing literature. “Gentle parenting” has replaced traditional parenting where rules were enforced to teach the child to have limits and be obedient. Instead, the focus of the new approach is on not traumatizing the child for serious issues later in their adult life. “I was spanked for taking a cookie from the cookie jar and am unable to get over the trauma of it.” Our “woke culture” psychologically has made us all victims of our imperfect past. Instead of us overcoming the past, we wallow in it. Instead of solving our own issues, we go to professional therapists who help us make daily decisions instead of assisting us to become our own problem solvers. Traditionally independent individuals are becoming extinct. Sadly, the US citizens have become less independent and more led by experts in the medical and omnipresent media. Many of us are no longer taught to be heathy, strong, independent people. The “woke” victimization world presently shows us how to rationalize our pathetic choices rather than making, in the short run, harder but more advantageous ones. Our new normal has become everyone having unsolved problems that they do not have to solve but only find unusual nontraditional solutions. It can be any interest, but it should dominate one’s life to fill in the emptiness that would have been filled with the traditional family life. It can be increasing one’s assets, gambling, frequent relationships, or anything no matter how short since it fills the time regardless of the long-term results. In other words, live for today and don’t worry about tomorrow. What was abnormal in the past is normal today. Living with large debt instead of delaying gratification until one can afford the purchase, self-medicating instead of receiving professional help, and seeking medical advice from people who have a history of failing in their own life are not good life choices. The traditional values of the past led to stability and more wealth. Doing whatever feels good at the time leads to decay and failure. The choices are there for all of us to evaluate the benefits or liabilities. Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers and blogs, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN and the latest book entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can see many of Dr. Maglio’s articles at www.drmaglioblogspot.com.