I can vouch for the effectiveness of REBT methods to shake off one's emotions. I've used many of those techniques for years and years, before I had ever heard of REBT or CBT or any of it. It didn't take long for my therapists to figure out that I needed to learn how to feel emotion, not rationalize it away, at which I was already a pro.
For people who cannot reason whilst under the influence of their emotions, I can see how that stuff would be a lifesaver. It definitely rules for dealing with anxiety. I only went to one meeting, but it seemed that SMART is built around REBT, the way AA is built around the 12-steps. That's probably why people weren't too open to criticism.
I drive myself crazy thinking about my role in the economic exploitation that keeps this financial empire afloat. Though, now I can say kept. I wonder that also, if enough people feel the way about it that you and I do that they might stand up and say, "F*ck your tax breaks, assholes! Where's my overtime pay???"
Why do people put this intonation on the word "populism," like it's a bad thing?
Have you read Philip K. Dick? He writes scifi, but it's far more political and leftist than say, Isaac Asimov. I would describe him as Orwellian with a defeatist humor. I'm reading everything I can find at the library systems here, and I'm having the time of my life. I don't know why I waited so long to do this...
I'm volunteering at the library right now, with the hopes of scoring a tech gig. How long have you been doing it, and how would you rate it as a career path per se?