Amazon.com: Collateral Damage: The Psychological Consequences of America's War on Terrorism (Contemporary Psychology) (9780275988265): Paul Kimmel, Chris E. Stout: Books
Publication Date: August 30, 2006 | Series: Contemporary Psychology
Color-coded terrorism alerts are issued, then lifted with no explanation. False alarms can, like crying wolf, desensitize people to a real need to be on alert. And that psychic numbing is just one effect discussed in this book by fifteen psychologists teamed up to take a critical look at the U.S. war on terrorism. These experts are led by the Chairman of an American Psychological Association task force charged with pinpointing the effect of our anti-terrorism efforts on American mental health. Together, they present the most up-to-date and intriguing picture we have of the fallout on our own people from our own programs. The text spotlights stereotyping of foreigners, increased domestic hate crimes, fear, depression and helplessness, as well as increased militancy and belligerence, especially among students. Perhaps most disturbing in the land of the free, we also see increasing acceptance of restrictions on our personal freedoms, and acceptance of human rights violations.
Color-coded terrorism alerts are issued, then lifted with no explanation. False alarms can, like crying wolf, desensitize people to a real need to be on alert. And that psychic numbing is just one effect discussed in this book by fifteen psychologists teamed up for a critical look at the U.S. war on terrorism. These experts are led by the Chairman of the American Psychological Association task force charged with pinpointing the effect of our anti-terrorism efforts on America's mental health. Together, they present the most up-to-date and intriguing picture we have of the fallout on our own people from our own programs. The text spotlights fueled stereotyping of foreigners, increased domestic hate crimes, fear, depression and helplessness, as well as increasing militancy and belligerence, especially among students. Perhaps most disturbing in the land of the free, our attention is drawn to growing acceptance of restrictions on our personal freedoms, and acceptance of human rights violations.
Contributors to this collection aim to give us a reality check, looking at what our national reactions to terrorism have been, how those reactions have affected the psyche of our people and whether this has made us stronger or weaker, and more or less likely to be the target for future attacks.
"Kimmel, chair of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Psychological Effects of Efforts to Prevent Terrorism, together with his fellow psychiatrist Stout, present research conducted by the Task Force on the psychological effects of efforts to prevent terrorism and on programs that provide alternatives to terrorism. Contributors discuss the importance of overhauling the diplomatic approach to terrorism; the ways that the US reaction to 9/11 set conditions conducive to hate crimes; the social psychology of punishing antiwar dissent; relationships between threat, ideology, and political behavior; psychological effects of media coverage of the Iraq war; the impact of US activities in Afghanistan and Iraq on terrorist motivation; public mental health; and other aspects of the War on Terror that can explored through psychological investigation."
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Reference & Research Book News
"Collateral Damage: The Psychological Consequences of America's War on Terrorism goes beyond other books which focus on terrorist tactics to consider the long-term psychological impact of terrorism on this country. From the increased stereotyping of an prejudice against foreigners in general and Arabs in particular to increases in domestic hate crimes and depression, militancy and anger, Collateral Damage examines national reactions to terrorism as a whole and is essential for any in-depth college-level military or social science collection."
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Midwest Book Review - California Bookwatch
"[E]xamines the psychological effects of the U.S. government's antiterrorism measures and takes the reader a step back to look at what this campaign has come to mean….[c]hapters provide readers with discussions that view the problem from a social as well as individual perspectives….[r]ecommendations for improving emergency prepardness efforts are sound, especially their call for collaboration instead of competitiveness among mental health providers and organizations in the wake of disaster….[i]ntroductory comments and the constellation of discussions in this book's chapters serve as a clear starting point for a necessary and ongoing discussion and are as refreshing as the child's declaration that the emperor is wearing no clothes. It is good to know that, in a moment of our history when even a supposedly independent press has largely suspended its critical voice, there are still some who will call it as they see it."
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PsycCRITIQUES
Book Description
Fifteen psychologists team up to show how anti-terrorism efforts are harming American mental health, and may well be spurring stronger motivations for terrorists.
Dr. Chris E. Stout is a licensed clinical psychologist and brings a diverse background perfectly tailored to making the Center for Global Initiatives into a reality. He is a Clinical Full Professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, a Fellow in the School of Public Health Leadership Institute, and is a Core Faculty at the International Center on Responses to Catastrophes at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He also holds an academic appointment in the Northwestern University Feinberg Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences' Mental Health Services and Policy Program, and was a Visiting Professor in the Department of Health Systems Management at Rush University. He served as a Non-Governmental Organization Special Representative to the United Nations. He was appointed by the Secretary of the US Department of Commerce to the Board of Examiners for the Baldrige National Quality Award. He holds the distinction of being one of only 100 world-wide leaders appointed to the World Economic Forum's Global Leaders of Tomorrow 2000 - joining the ranks of Tony Blair, Jody Foster, Bill Gates, R. J. Rowling, and Lance Armstrong, and he was an Invited Faculty at the Annual Meeting in Davos. He was invited by the Club de Madrid and Safe-Democracy to serve on the Madrid-11 Countering Terrorism Task Force.
Dr. Stout is a Fellow in three Divisions of the American Psychological Association, past-President of the Illinois Psychological Association, and is a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies of Practice. He was appointed as a Special (Citizen) Ambassador and Delegation Leader to South Africa and Eastern Europe by the Eisenhower Foundation. He is the Series Editor of Contemporary Psychology (Praeger) with and "Getting Started" (Wiley & Sons). He most recently produced the critically acclaimed three volume set The New Humanitarians. Dr. Stout has published or presented over 300 papers and is finishing his 35th book. He has written extensively on psychology, medicine, technology, and humanitarian issues. His works have been translated into 8 languages. He has lectured across the nation and internationally in 19 countries, and visited 6 continents and over 75 countries. He was noted as being "one of the most frequently cited psychologists in the scientific literature" in a study by Hartwick College. He is the 2004 winner of the American Psychological Association's International Humanitarian Award, 2006 recipient of the Illinois Psychological Association's Humanitarian Award, 2008 recipient of the Psychologists for Social Responsibility Award, and the was the 2009 International Psychologist of the Year, awarded by APA's Division 52, International Psychology.
He has served as Chief of Psychology, Director of Research, and Senior VP of an integrated behavioral healthcare system during a 15 year tenure. He served as Illinois' first Chief of Psychological Services for the Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health-having made him the highest ranking psychologist in the State of Illinois and a committed reformer of psychology within the governmental setting. He also served as Chief Clinical Information Officer for the State's Division of Mental Health in 2004-a Cabinet-level position. He is the first psychologist to have an invited appointment to the Lake County Board of Health. The breadth of his work ranges from having served as a judge for Dean Kamen's FIRST Robotics competitions, to serving on the Young Leaders Forum of the Chicago Community Trust. He founded the CenterforGlobalInitiatives.org and SummitsforOthers.org, both focused on global health projects. His humanitarian activities include going on international missions with the Flying Doctors of America to Vietnam, Rwanda, Peru, and the Amazon; War Child in Russia; having worked with the Kovler Center (for Refugee Survivors of Torture), Amnesty International, RWJ Foundation, the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, and Psychologists for Social Responsibility. He founded a kindergarten for AIDS orphaned children in Tanzania and continues as a consultant. He also was a delegate at the State of the World Forum in Belfast. He is a signatory to the UN's 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He is the inventor of the "52 Ways to Change the World" card deck. He is listed in Fast Co.'s Global Fast 50 nominees and in Richard Saul Wurman's "Who's Really Who, 1000: The Most Creative Individuals in America." He currently serves on the Illinois Disaster Mental Health Coalition, the Medical Reserve Corp, and he is a member of the APA Disaster Response Network.
Dr. Stout was educated at Purdue, The University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, and Forest Institute, gaining over twenty-four awards and four scholarships; including, the Purdue Distinguished Academic Performance Award, the Purdue Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award, and Valedictorian of his doctoral class. He obtained post-doctoral experience at Harvard Medical School as a Fellow in neuro-developmental behavioral pediatrics. He was awarded "Distinguished Alumni of the Year from Purdue University" in 1991, Federal Advocacy awards from AAP (1997) and APA (1998), APA's Heiser Award (1999), and IPA's Distinguished Psychologist of the Year (1999) in addition to over 35 other post-doctoral awards.
He also produced award winning Public Service Announcements. He has been interviewed on many radio, cable, local, and national television programs (e.g., CNBC, CNN, WGN, NBC, PBS, NPR, Medical Rounds, Chicago Tonight, CL-TV, Oprah, Eye On Harvard, Christina, Bertise Berry, et al), and by numerous publications (Time, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Women's Day, Modern Healthcare, Associated Press, Child Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Windy City Sports, NorthShore Magazine, Monitor on Psychology, ...). He coined the term "Emmortality" and numerous registered service-marks. He was an American Delegate and presenter at the 1st International Conference on Unconventional Computing. A unique and distinct honor was his being named one of ten Volunteer's of the Year by Pioneer Press in 1999, for his global efforts, and both the Senate and House similarly recognized his work by proclamation of "Dr. Chris E. Stout Week."
His current interests are in the multidisciplinary aspects of global psychology and healthcare, complex systems, and battling mediocrity. He's an ultra-marathon runner, diver, and avid (albeit amateur) alpinist, having thus far summited three of the world's seven summits, Mt Rainier, and Mt. Whitney (tallest in 49 states), and founded SummitsForOthers.org. His greatest joy comes from being with his best friend and wife, Dr. Karen Beckstrand and their two children, Grayson and Annika.
This review is from: Collateral Damage: The Psychological Consequences of America's War on Terrorism (Contemporary Psychology) (Hardcover)
This is a book which consists of essays by academic psychology professors which portray all the bad effects that fighting against terrorist organizations which have attacked the U. S. can have on the American people. Nothing is said about these attacks because the entire focus is on the bad effects fighting such a war will have on the populace. The fact of the matter is that--quite unintentionally, I'm sure--these authors have recorded what dhimmitude looks like up close and it ain't pretty. These people's own psychology shows us just how terrorists intend their use of terror to work. Everything focuses on how wrong it is to fight terrorists, which comes down to arguing in favor of giving in to terror and instead indicting the very U. S. administration that was engaged in fighting these people. The real evil is--of course--the administration of George W. Bush, and the real perps are American citizens who refuse to be terrorized. Watch out--liberals academic and otherwise are already the the "fifth column" within this country, and this book is an excellent introduction to the kind of betrayal that the Islamist terrorists are trying to induce in America. I give the book three stars because of its usefulness in delineating the enemy of America within America.
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This review is from: Collateral Damage: The Psychological Consequences of America's War on Terrorism (Contemporary Psychology) (Hardcover)
COLLATERAL DAMAGE: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF AMERICA'S WAR ON TERRORISM goes beyond other books which focus on terrorist tactics to consider the long-term psychological impact of terrorism on this country. From the increased stereotyping of and prejudice against foreigners in general and Arabs in particular to increases in domestic hate crimes and depression, militancy and anger, COLLATERAL DAMAGE examines national reactions to terrorism as a whole and is essential for any in-depth college-level military or social science collection.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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