“We succeeded in taking that picture [Earth from Space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. 1/7 #March4Justice #Auspol
The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, 2/7
every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there — on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam. 3/7
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. 4/7
Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. 5/7
Our posturings, the imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. 6/7
To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

— Carl Sagan, speech at Cornell University, October 13, 1994 7/7

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More from @drlouisehansen

9 Mar
“If sanity and insanity exist, how shall we know them? We may be convinced we can tell normal from abnormal; evidence is not compelling. A great deal of conflicting data exists on reliability, utility, meaning of "sanity," "insanity," "mental illness," and "schizophrenia.” 1/31
As early as 1934, Benedict suggested normality and abnormality are not universal. Thus, notions of normality and abnormality may not be quite as accurate as people believe they are. To raise these questions is in no way to question that some behaviors are deviant or odd. 2/31
Nor does raising such questions deny the existence of the personal anguish that is often associated with "mental illness." But normality and abnormality, sanity and insanity, and the diagnoses that flow from them may be less substantive than many believe them to be. 3/31
Read 31 tweets
8 Mar
“The idea that the brain can change its structure and function through thought and activity is, I believe, the most important alteration in our view of the brain since we first sketched out its basic anatomy and the workings of its basic component, the neuron. 1/20 #March4Justice
For four hundred years mainstream medicine and science believed that brain anatomy was fixed. The common wisdom was that after childhood the brain changed only when it began the long process of decline; 2/20
that when brain cells failed to develop properly, or were injured, or died, they could not be replaced. Nor could the brain ever alter its structure and find a new way to function if part of it was damaged. 3/20
Read 20 tweets
8 Mar
Why I switched from ‘self-esteem’ to ‘self-compassion’? Traditionally psychologists thought the hallmark of psychological wellbeing was self-esteem. A high self-esteem; you love yourself. A low self-esteem; you hate yourself and might even want to die. 1/16 #March4Justice
However, the problem(s) with self-esteem is how do you get it? To have a high self-esteem in Western culture you have to be ‘special and above average’. If you said I was an average psychologist that’s considered an insult. So where’s the problem(s)? 2/16
It’s a logical impossibility for all of us to be above average. This has led us to puffing ourselves up and putting others down. This has led to bullying, fear, prejudice, racism, etc. Self-esteem is also problematic because it depends on external factors. 3/16
Read 16 tweets
7 Mar
Why the obsession with Thornton’s mental status? Higgins' alleged serial rapist checked into a mental health hospital, Reynolds took medical leave, Porter opted for a psychological assessment. If I was anally raped I’d want therapy. I’d also want you to respect my choices. 1/14
I’d also want the media to report facts: Reading a book does not equal professional therapy. Thornton did not have recovered memory therapy. Recovered memory therapy is controversial, it has been debunked, its developer used it to conceal his own sexual misconduct. 2/14
Where was the media on that? Instead they describe an unrelated book as ‘controversial’: ‘The Body Keeps the Score’. Truthfully, this is actually one of the best books I’ve read on trauma. Bessel van der Kolk helped pioneer some of the trauma therapies we have today. 3/14
Read 15 tweets
6 Mar
“Too many of us believe women lie about rape. In fact, they rarely report it.” Source: Julia Baird, journalist, historian, broadcaster and author. Ms Baird hosts The Drum on ABC TV. 1/28 #March4Justice #GraceTame #BrittanyHiggins #KatharineThornton #Auspol
“For centuries we have upheld the hoary myth that women lie about rape. This is why it matters so much that Linda Reynolds shamefully called Brittany Higgins a “lying cow” in earshot of a group of people in her office.” 2/28
“The Defence Minster said she was not referring to her former staffer’s rape allegation but other statements Higgins made regarding the poor response from her superiors. It matters because when you call a person a liar, you undermine their credibility on all matters.” 3/28
Read 29 tweets
5 Mar
Important thread: “‘Rule of law'? For Porter and PM it's the rule of ignorance: Christian Porter and Scott Morrison's appeals to 'rule of law' ring hollow, barrister Geoffrey Watson writes.” Source: New Daily. 1/17 #MarchForJustice #GraceTame et al. #Auspol
“The appeal for protection under the “rule of law” made recently by Scott Morrison and Christian Porter is not only a bad argument, it tends to undermine the rule of law.” 2/17 #MarchForJustice #GraceTame et al. #Auspol
“At its heart the rule of law is simple. It reflects the idea that in a society like ours there is a presumption that we live and co-exist under a system of identifiable laws – hence John Adams’ famous aphorism that we live under “a government of laws and not men”. “ 3/17
Read 18 tweets

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