Our public memory
by Jack GrantOn the way in to work this morning, I listened to the podcast of “‘My Lobotomy’: Howard Dully’s Journey” which was broadcast on the NPR show All Things Considered yesterday. It is not a news story, and it illustrates exactly why we need public radio. It shows the aftermath of a complex story that started with a man who had good intentions that later morphed into something indescribably monstrous.
Go listen if you can, read it if you don’t have the software, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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I heard that segment yesterday - I started off being fascinated by it, and ended up on the verge of being horrified by it. Good intentions are not always enough. Good intentions are often, probably usually, not enough. Knowledge, wisdom, and independent assessment are important pieces of almost every puzzle, and they were all missing to some degree.
By Harry on 11.17.05 18:01
I listened to that as well and it was indeed shocking and something I was unaware of.
By Ron Beasley on 11.17.05 18:34
Blech. That’s awful. I ended up reading it peaking through my fingers. How horrific.
By Bou on 11.17.05 20:21
I agree that story was outstanding; I was incredibly moved when I heard it and listened to it twice since.
I’m not as sure that it’s an example of why we need public radio. For it to be that, it should have been done in 1954 when Thorazine made the procedure obsolete but Dr. Freeman “refused to let go” and kept on performing them.
This is in no way to take away from NPR - though I’d like to see NPR stay non-profit but give up government funding, which opens it up to criticism and political pressure.
Rather my point is to illustrate that I’d like public media willing to serve the underserved, when it’s not popular or safe. Kind of as portrayed in the Edward R Murrow movie out right now, Good Night and Good Luck.
By joe on 11.18.05 22:20