Buzzer

Dar Williams' new CD, Promised Land, was released this week. I just downloaded it and haven't listened to all the tracks, so can't provide a complete review, but I did do a double take when I started processing the words of the song "Buzzer." I haven't digested all the lyrics yet, but what made me chuckle--because only Dar Williams would do this--is that the song is about Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments.

In the early 1960s at Yale University, Milgram conducted a series of experiments to gauge participants' obedience to authority. Recruits from the community (all men in the first round of experiments) came to the lab thinking they were going to be participating in a study on learning. An unwitting subject and an actor were paired in each session. First on the agenda was assignment to roles by a fixed (though random to the subject) draw. The subject always was assigned the teacher role and the actor the learner role.

Once roles were assigned, the learner went into a room where he was thought to be hooked up to an electric shock machine. The teacher, our subject, was placed at the controls where a simulated voltage meter ranged from 15 v (labeled: slight shock) to 450 v (labled: Danger! Severe Shock). The teacher was told to teach the learner a list of words and to shock the learner whenever he failed to correctly learn. For each mistake, the voltage was increased. Of course, the confederate was never really shocked, but he did scream in pain, and his pleas were more desperate as the teacher gave more powerful shocks. When the teacher would turn to the experimenter, in a white lab coat, and inquire about the learner, the experimenter would say things like The experiment must continue, Please go on, or, The experiment must go on. In most cases, the teacher submitted and continued to shock the learner. Of the 40 participants, no one stopped before he reached 300 v. Fourteen of the 40 refused to administer shocks at various points past 300 v. That means 65% of the participants (or 26) went all the way to 450 v. These results were surprising to the research team--they fully expected subjects to disobey at some point in the experiment.

What does this mean for us? Despite the fact we want to be heroes, we are, statistically speaking, much more likely to obey authority and follow the crowd. The power of the situation can be overpowering, and thoughful reflection and deliberate action are neccessary to live our best values.

Reference: Milgram, S. "Behavioral Study of Obedience" Reprinted in Violence in War and Peace. pp. 145-149.

EFA Birthday Bash!

Make a note of the dates: September 15th to September 30th

In honor of the Birthday Bash, during this period, I will be accepting the 20% off Coupon in my shop. My code is AIMEE. Just put that code in the 'Notes to Seller' box on your order and DO NOT pay for the item. I will send you a revised invoice! You can visit my shop, Aimee Dars Designs, to receive your discount on all of my items!

PLUS! there are over 170 shops that are currently signed up to accept the 20% off coupon here at Etsy including the EFA TEAM STORE.For a complete list of those shops stay tuned at the EFA website. You can use my code AIMEE in any of those participating shops.

It's a great time to stock up on holiday presents for your friends, family--or yourself! Please visit the EFA stores during our birthday celebration!

World Suicide Prevention Day

Wednesday, September 10, is World Suicide Prevention Day. Around the world, each minute 1-2 people die from suicide, and in developing countries, suicide is a leading cause of death among teenagers. World Suicide Prevention Day is designed to bring attention to the high costs of suicide as well as promote understanding of suicide behaviors and awareness of effective prevention.

At Ithaca College, the Counseling Center is sponsoring a number of activities surrounding World Suicide Prevention Day and National Suicide Prevention week, including a talk by Carlo Troise who lost his only son to suicide. A full listing of activities is available here.

DawnWatch on Palin

Karen Dawn, of DawnWatch, has an extensive alert and call to action regarding Palin's nomination and the opportunities it provides to bring animals into the conversation regarding the upcoming election. Dawn explains, "Sarah Palin has so far shown a level of hostility to animal interests that is well outside the norm. Her presence on the ticket therefore gives us the chance to let it be known that such a stance matters, and that to most people, both Democrat and Republican, it is a negative." Please read her entire discussion here.

DawnWatch is entirely nonpartisan and will not tell you for whom to vote, but I am not constrained by that position, and I will tell you to vote for Obama, for the animals, for social justice, and for the environment.

McCain's VP Choice Bad for Animals

Please, please, reconsider voting for John McCain if he is your top presidential pick. His Vice Presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, is a disaster on all the issues that matter to me, and I hope matter to you: social justice, the environment, and, most close to my heart, animals.

Michale Markarian, of the Huntington Post, discusses how both VP candidates fair on animal issues here. I strongly encourage you to read his article and consider if you want Palin to represent you in the White House.

Some of her positions:

• Polar Bears should not be on the endangered species list (She opposed the listing, and when the Bush Administration put the polar bear on the list, filed a lawsuit against it.)
  
• Hunters should receive bonuses for the aerial shooting of wolves (She spent $400,000 of state money on a PR campaign to support her position.)
• Trophy hunting is a valuable sport

She is not the kind of leader we want for the nation.