Damek.

For all the people who think DailyKos is a far-left, liberal whacko site, this should put that to rest. Markos wrote a screed about the new breed of, as he dubs them, Libertarian Democrats:

[Traditional libertarianism] assumes that only two forces can infringe on liberty — the government and other individuals.

The Libertarian Democrat understands that there is a third danger to personal liberty — the corporation.

…the Libertarian Dem doesn’t believe government is the solution for everything. But it sure as heck is effective in checking the power of corporations.

A Libertarian Dem rejects government efforts to intrude in our bedrooms and churches. A Libertarian Dem rejects government “Big Brother” efforts, such as the NSA spying of tens of millions of Americans. A Libertarian Dem rejects efforts to strip away rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights — from the First Amendment to the 10th. And yes, that includes the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms.

So far, this isn’t much different than what a traditional libertarian believes. Here is where it begins to differ (and it shouldn’t).

A Libertarian Dem believes that true liberty requires freedom of movement — we need roads and public transportation to give people freedom to travel wherever they might want. A Libertarian Dem believes that we should have the freedom to enjoy the outdoor without getting poisoned; that corporate polluters infringe on our rights and should be checked. A Libertarian Dem believes that people should have the freedom to make a living without being unduly exploited by employers. A Libertarian Dem understands that no one enjoys true liberty if they constantly fear for their lives, so strong crime and poverty prevention programs can create a safe environment for the pursuit of happiness. A Libertarian Dem gets that no one is truly free if they fear for their health, so social net programs are important to allow individuals to continue to live happily into their old age. Same with health care. And so on.

And somebody said “I see affirmative action gets left out,” to which Markos responded:

A libertarian society is purely meritocratic. Where there are barriers to that, government can play a role. But it has to be a short-term strategy toward that meritocratic world.

So yeah, there’s a place for affirmative action in some place, but as a means to an end, and not for the end itself.

[...] The bigger barrier to a world of equal opportunity is actually probably education. A lot of disadvantaged communities suffer mostly from shitty education.

Exactly. And that last bit is the important bit that most people against affirmative action either don’t get or choose to ignore, which is why I’m usually cautious about the idea of getting rid of affirmative action.

I’m down with all of this, and I think a lot of other Americans would be, too. If this is where the Democratic Party goes over the next few years/decades, they may well become a juggernaut.

I’m reading through this site about depression and recognizing so many things about myself, it’s almost scary. In reading this, I’m realizing that not only was I just stressed last year when I was having headaches and stuff, it was probably related to depression, and I’m also realizing that this has probably been going on a long time, like, since I moved to New York. I mean, here’s their list of “signs of depression,” with me checking off which ones I experience more than once in a while:

• Exhaustion on waking – check
• Disrupted sleep, sometimes through upsetting dreams – check
• Early morning waking and difficulty getting back to sleep – check
• Doing less of what they used to enjoy – check
• Difficulty concentrating during the day – check
• Improved energy as the day goes on – check
• Anxious worrying and intrusive upsetting thoughts – check
• Becoming emotional or upset for no particular reason – check
• Shortness of temper, or irritability – check

As I write this I’m up to the Understanding Depression part, where they talk about dreams and the cycle of depression. They summarize some of the key ideas on an earlier page:

When you are stressed, your brain works differently. You are more likely to resort to ‘All or Nothing’ thinking, which causes catastrophising, and difficulties in solving complex problems. In turn, this creates more arousal, or stress, and so continues the ‘loop’, increasing the amount you dream, and so exhausting you. This has an additional effect in the way it changes your sleep patterns…

It’s really resonating with me. I do tend to worry a lot, and resort to “all or nothing” type thinking. I can hardly remember thinking differently. I do generally have restless sleep these days, waking up early and not being able to get back to sleep. Without getting into details, recurring strange dreams and bad feelings surrounding them are definitely something I experience relatively commonly.

I wouldn’t say I’m a serious case; in fact, my experience of actual depression only comes up once in a while. But I’m thinking now that the conditions that cause it are pretty much constant, along with the underlying stress. And if I don’t do something about it, I can imagine becoming a serious case. I’m really glad I came across the site, and highly recommend it to other people, as depression is a pretty common experience these days, and even if you’re not depressed, you probably know someone who is, and it’s important to know that depression:

• Is not an inevitable consequence of unpleasant events
• Cannot be explained as a disease
• Is not caused by hormones, or brain chemicals

It has largely to do with thinking styles, to which I can definitely relate, and which the therapist I saw twice last year before deserting was trying to communicate to me, though I just nodded and ignored him at the time.

Most depression is not due to a chemical imbalance, or genetic factors. Low serotonin levels are a result, not a cause, of depression. Despite the prevailing ideas for the last few decades, this is now known to be a fact. This misunderstanding is also the reason why drugs for depression miss the point, and treat the symptoms instead of the causes.

Related to that, some really striking information:

People born since 1945 are 10 times more likely to suffer from depression than those born before.

That is an astounding figure, and it cannot be explained away by people going to their doctor more, or depression being diagnosed more easily, as these were taken into account in the study.

…what it does show clearly is that most depression is non-biological. Depression has biological effects, but studies now show that less than 10% of depression is biologically caused.

The most widely accepted explanation for this sort of phenomenon is that society has changed. Over the past 5 decades, there has been:

• a breakdown in the extended family
• a dispersal of communities
• an increased focus on material wealth
• an overwhelming prevalence of news media
• and an increase in focus on ‘the self’.

All of which, and more besides, add up to a potent recipe for depression.

Along with my own bad thinking patterns (massive introspection, worrying, anxiety, etc.), I think a big problem for me is not having many social connections out here in New York, and not spending quality time with the few I do have. On top of that is my general inability to socialize easily (just not a lot of practice), which tends to keep me afraid of socializing, and therefore not get practice, in a cycle. When I try to do volunteer work or political stuff, I’m stressing myself because, though I’m getting social activity, it’s fleeting and superficial, so it adds to the stress and depression rather than giving me the sense of family and community belonging that I crave.

So anyway. Good site, so far, with actual good information, including some references — and the best part is that it’s not selling anything; it actually gives you the information you need, instead of building up a desire for it and then asking for money to give you a book or something.