The Return of Common Sense

The Return of Common Sense addresses how special interest groups and their indoctrinologists have fundamentally changed the core of American society, shifting its public and private policy from a citizen-driven democracy to special-interest elitism, where the narrow needs of a few, however contrary to what most people would consider common sense, are imposed on all. Such self-serving policies, by definition, ignore the broader picture, leaving society to suffer the consequences. We end up with ponderous, invasive mazes like the Internal Revenue Service (whose policies are so convoluted, its own agents do not fully understand them) and force citizens to depend on specialists who themselves cannot agree on a course of action. Such a forced abdication of personal responsibility is clearly seen in Medicine and the Mental Health fields, where a strangling focus by special interests on their perceived needs of the patient disregards the implications to the whole of society. This ultimately undermines the original intent of helping the patient, who after all, must be able to function in society himself. This book will provide you with tools to understand these shifts and help return common sense to our public and private lives. It will explain, in a straightforward manner, how our understanding of human nature influences our choices, even in public policy. Get ready to find out why you believe or behave a certain way, and why some highly intelligent, rational, and caring people, given the same facts, can arrive at such different policy conclusions as those expressed by conservatives and liberals. Discover the neuro-biological underpinnings of the timeless conflicts represented by Hollywood vs. business, or why Suzy is an accountant and Mary an entertainer. Find out why Johnnie is a rebel without a cause; and explore the contradictions inherent in the harmony of nature vs. the madness of crowds issues. Understand how conflicts between concepts of human nature and ways of acquiring knowledge advocated by indoctrinologists in the Mental Health fields, are the cause of the public's confusion and a major contributor of the stigma attached to the same patients they are trying to help. No matter what issue you are trying to understand, this book will challenge you to be generally right and avoid been precisely wrong. About the Author Felix R. Toro, M.D. is a physician specializing in the diverse presentation of behavioral, cognitive and emotional disorders in medicine. He has helped develop multiple programs integrating different disciplines in addressing behavioral healthcare issues, pioneering the Common Sense approach to Psychiatry and Mental Health.