Solomonia Archive: Is James Carroll Suffering From SAD?

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

James Carroll writes another of his columns full 'o questions in today's Boston Globe, although he does eventually make an actual point.

He seems to be feeling a bit depressed, and imagining that we're all feeling the same.

[...]An answer is apparent this very day in Iraq. The distance between what is and what ought to be is so vast there that only an act of communal self-blinding can keep Americans ignorant of it. The dark national mood has many causes, but one cries out to be reckoned with immediately. The Iraqi war was a pack of lies, and Washington's war on terrorism is a cynical manipulation of fears for the sake of power. So far, the citizens of the United States have willfully participated in this Bush-led charade. We have done so out of the very insecurity they tell us not to feel, as if the charade, however much it wrecks the world, will protect us. But our underlying sadness indicates what we need to know.

America was not meant to be like this. We are no longer ourselves. The bad weather will not end until we face this cold truth and change it.

Thanks for the concern, Jim, but I'm feeling fine. I'm a bit worried about you, though, and I have a couple of suggestions.

First, there's what we could refer to as "the nuclear option":

However, you may prefer a more natural, homeopathic remedy. I suspect the problem may be "SAD," or "Seasonal Affective Disorder." It has been a long, cold winter, and true Spring has been long in coming. It just rained all through Memorial Day weekend. If that's not enough to drive you right into a funk, I don't know what is.

So, may we recommend some theraputic SAD devices, like the "Sun-a-Lux® Combo":

Or even this convenient light visor!

The important thing to know is that there is no need to go on feeling the way you are, dragging both yourself and those around you down further and further. Help is available!

Update: Hub Blog counts the questions!

Posted by Solomon at 4:16 PM on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 | Comments (1)
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1 Comment

#1 anonymous | October 30, 2008 3:40 PM

I agree. In 2007 James Carroll seems very Sad or depressed. The other night I watched Carroll's DVD - Constantine's Sword which he co-produced and appears as the commentator. Throughout the story his presence seems marked by sadness. He looks very "down in the dumps." A clue to his sadness(or depression) may be his admitted strained relationship with his successful and now deceased father. In the film, even when Carroll was younger and shown as a priest he looked sad and troubled. There is no joy. I was struck by his foreboding nature which caused me to doubt the historical accuracy of his DVD. I found out through my own reading that Constantine's Sword is not an accurate depiction of the historical facts. Among others, I just read a Jan 2001 review Of Constantine's Sword (the book) by Robert P. Lockwood. Lockwood debunks most of Carroll's facts; in fact almost all of them. A clue to the apparent distortions in Constantine's Sword may be Carroll's continuing internal conflict. I thought he was unfair to his mother's memory and his father in the film. Carroll may wish to seek the services of a physician or a psychoanalyst. There are plenty of shrinks in Boston. It would help him write better and put to rest any on-going conflict with his dad. This is just my observation and reaction to Carroll's DVD. I felt sorry for him