Going along with the surrounding flow is a major force behind how we’ve found ourselves stuck in political cogjam.The following short vignette is a more whimsical example of how unwittingly going along with group-held beliefs sometimes has us doing or thinking things that miss some important internal logic.
Enjoy! See if you can set aside the political, and appreciate the cultural irony. That in itself represents a major step beyond cogjam.
IF CAT LADIES RAN THE WORLD
They call me the crazy cat lady.
You betcha. Crazy like a fox, believe me.
Nobody can have too many of those furry little friends. But rules and regulations turn our lives into a disaster. How do you peacefully settle in with your collective with rule-mongers pounding on your door, insisting on knowing what’s in there? It’s as disgraceful as constantly hounding presidents to reveal the status of their stashes of choice.
We have a right to privacy. And we should be free to expand our collectives as we see fit.
I could support an even larger family if cat food and cat litter weren’t so spendy. As a dedicated collector my taxes should rightfully be cut from 35% to 15%. It would promote even more of my faithful stewardship. It’s only right that people like me and the wealthy be entrusted with such advantages. We truly appreciate the value of our collectives. Others only squander them.
They simply do not understand. Like when those who are blessed with new litters only give away those sweet balls of fluff, who are soon neutered into an unproductive stalemate. Where is justice? It’s no better than so-called “philanthropists.” Many gather collectives even larger than Mr. President’s. Then they give away huge portions, requiring little or nothing in return. They just don’t get it—the worthiness of expanding, the critical overriding principal of “more.”
My invitation to the White House will turn up any day now. He owes me, you see, for the faithful counsel I’ve tweeted him over the years. In return, I plan to be so bold as to seek his counsel. There is a conundrum he has escaped, and I have not.
You see, treasuring my collective has earned me the distasteful label of “hoarder.” It’s true I’ve got more kitties than fit in my lap at once. In that respect, I suppose one might propose that my collective is bigger than what I personally can fully take advantage of.
Impressive collectives like Mr. President’s are likewise more than he could ever need. But for some reason, he and those like him have no need to hide their continuing pursuit of wealth. The approach is the exact opposite of the philanthropy mindset. And they’re quite open about their seeking more.Yet nobody accuses them of hoarding. More often than not, people seem to applaud them, or say they wish that they too could hoard such a collective.
Hopefully our future Oval Office tea for two will include discussion of that bit of genius, whatever it is that spares the financially wealthy such scrutiny. And then perhaps, just perhaps, we cat ladies can more openly run the world.
others. You may also have picked up on changes in how you yourself feel, or how you interact with others.
“What makes cogjam a mental health ‘disaster?’ For that matter, why is anything defined as a disaster? We hear those ruled by black or white thinking use the term to describe anything they find at all unfavorable.
That’s what cogjam is about: a man-made disaster, but for the most part unintentional. Yes, there could be abusive sociopaths out there who purposely try to perpetuate it. It would certainly be a good way to keep others sufficiently traumatized so as to be able to manipulate them.
which the fight or flight response was intended. We’d never know it, though, considering how politicians so often let gut reasoning take the lead. But look at it from their perspective. As far as their careers go, opposing political opinions may well represent life or death. Given the complexity and expense of election campaigns these days, our representatives no longer simply look out for the interests of their constituencies. They are in the unenviable position of also needing to satisfy those who finance their campaigns, which usually isn’t individual voters. Plus, they need to walk the line of party affiliations.
The needs and aims of these three factions may not coincide. The resulting conflicts of interest hack away at politicians’ increasingly precarious stumps. It’s a no-win situation, and probably terrifying for any elected official who values staying in office. The temptation to give in to gut reasoning must be profound, indeed. And as long as the status quo for election campaign practices continues, it’s a safe bet that cogjam will always be riding shotgun. 
th fear-based behavior, interpretations and conclusions drawn when we’re all worked up may or may not be our best. When battling through the heat of the moment, the temptation to accept a logical hypothesis as reality rather than something to be checked out can be powerful indeed. But putting the cart before the horse in this manner is actually a form of rationalization.
Chapter 13 – “Healing the Herd”: