al gore and attachment theory?...

In his book " the assault on reason" Al Gore happens to work this very important theory, revived of late from Bolwby's work in Great Britain. He conveys an understanding to a proces that people who study this stuff can find interesting and also explainable to others in a way that makes sense.

So attaching to people is online as soon as birth occurs. The in the womb attachment is powerful as well. We bond with someone who is our primary caregiver. Most likely its a mother. When the infant has needs that must be met he conveys them and if they are consistently attended to then the child learns that when it conveys needs he is taken seriously, sowing the seeds of a sense of person who's needs will be provided for. Next case is an ambivalent response on the part of the caregiver. That scenerio provides an inconsistent attachment response creating doubt in the infant that its needs are listened to and valued. The value of the needs creates the inner self of self worth. If its inconsistent, then future attachment becomes ambivalent filled with potential for anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other concerns of the psyche. Lots of people live ambivalent lives. Then the worst case scenerio of the attachment theory is none at all. With no one to reflect back emotion or bonding with the infant, the infant resorts to internalization of the lack of needs being met. This can result in much internalized anger and repressed ability to express emotions. He even suggests that quite a bit of the prison population could fit into this 3rd category but no research exists that he is aware of.

Al Gore also visits the future of repairing the government after the trainwreck of Bush/Cheney leaves town. He believes that the future of restoring "an informed citizenry" to the govt is through the internet. Now he does have personal stake in the success of the internet in general but I do like his political explanation for people who blog. He writes "generally speaking, bloggers are concerned citizens who want to share their ideas and opinions with the rest of the public...Blogs allow for public discourse without the public ever needing to gather in a single public place. As a result, blogging is becoming a major institutional force capable of influencing national politics."

That's pretty cool validation for continuing...