I want to congratulate you on your excellent column (Life’s a Beach) that is printed in the DE Wave. I have a Ph.D. in Child Dev. and Family Relations from PSU and taught 37 years at [a university] and find … Continue reading
Author Archives: D3 Support
Resenting Being Honest Doesn’t Make Sense
I received a question from a DrHurd.com reader who asks if a person is obligated to deal honestly with a person who has been proven to be dishonest. The writer suggests that dealing honestly in a situation like this would … Continue reading
Why Happiness Eludes So Many People
Human beings have a tendency to project impossible wishes onto figures that they deem to be capable of impossible things. Some project these wishes onto parent figures — actual parent figures, or imagined ones if their real parents disappointed them … Continue reading
Walking on Eggshells and Marriage Do NOT Mix
Dear Dr. Hurd, I am a gay man. My partner of two years and I got married in Massachusetts after being together for about a year. I thought everything was perfect, but things have changed. He criticizes everything I do. … Continue reading
The Psychology of Disguise
It’s a rare Halloween season where I don’t get a few inquiries about the psychology of costumes and disguise. The mystical foundations supposedly stem from the ancient belief that if you disguise yourself on this special night, a confused Grim … Continue reading
Why Not Support Ron Paul if You Love Free Markets?
Dr. Hurd: I’ve read your previous commentary on Ron Paul and I agree with your criticism of his foreign policy. However, I have so far been supporting him anyway because, in my judgment, the government’s financial behavior seems to be … Continue reading
Pro-Business and Pro-Market are Not the Same
Steve Jobs reportedly warned President Barack Obama that he would not be back in the White House for a second term unless he adopted more business-friendly policies, according to a new biography of the Apple Computer co-founder. “You’re headed for … Continue reading
If You’re Lost, Maybe This is Why
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Empty Promise of “Rehab”
The notorious and documented failures of drug and alcohol rehab (made even more public by Hollywood’s perpetually neurotic glitterati) can be attributed to a single, primary factor: The addict only addresses the symptoms—the act of abusing alcohol or drugs. However, … Continue reading
Why Democracy Can Be Just as Bad as Qaddafi
There are two types of dictatorship. One is rule by a dictator; the other is rule by one’s fellow man. The death of Libya’s Qaddafi is a reminder of the first. Qaddafi, like so many other one-man dictators, ruled his … Continue reading
Why Shouldn’t the Poor and Middle Class Pay Taxes Too?
Some people criticize Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan for the wrong reasons. Advocates of wealth redistribution complain that it raises taxes on the lower and middle working classes. This is true. Many of them will actually have to start paying some … Continue reading
More about Pity and Contempt
A reader kindly emailed that she liked my recent article where I answered a question about pity actually being contempt. She makes it a little more personal by asking if self-pity is also self-contempt. Affirmative again. It follows logically that … Continue reading