There will always be another Timothy McVeigh. However, with notoriety and fame, he or she will get younger and younger. Evil or good, fifteen minutes of fame is what matters in our celebrity oriented society. McVeigh ritualized Waco. Now we ritualize him. We are McVeigh’s puppets, giving him exactly what he requests. Does this make sense? Not only does execution as deterrence not work, but in modern society its application masks more primitive motives of “justice.” The assertiveness of minority of relatives in McVeigh case and willingness of officials to acquiesce, allows a glimpse of what is being acted out. However, I suspect, that little, if any of this is their awareness. Attorney General Ashcroft is as pea brained about human unconscious as Prosecutor Starr was about Kinsey and sex.

As a psychologist it is my responsibility to look at unconscious, collective unconscious, and evolution as it applies to McVeigh and families who will witness his death. Simply, what we have here is a case of revenge, not justice. Can there be harm from witnessing his death? “Yes.” It is estimated that it can take many people from three years with help, to five, more, or never without help to get over trauma of an automobile accident. Many of loved ones of 168 people who died must be experiencing more than trauma endured after an automobile accident. Many are suffering Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, which can get worse under such conditions. No one knows how he or she will ultimately react. Kathleen Kennedy Cuomo was only eight when her father, Bobby Kennedy was senselessly shot and killed. She has said that even then, her only wish was that they did not kill killer so that another family would not have to suffer. Turn other cheek? Not exactly. But, to rise above our primordial instincts makes us human. Let us try to behave so.

Life is too hard to do alone,

Dr. D.

Dorree Lynn, PH.D.

Dr. Dorree Lynn is co-founder of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Psychotherapy and a practicing clinician in New York and Washington, DC. Dr. Lynn served on the executive board of the American Academy of Psychotherapists and she is on the editorial board of their publication, Voices. She is also a regular columnist for the Washington, DC newspaper, The Georgetowner. Dr. Lynn is a noted speaker and well known on the lecture circuit.

Her new roommate was someone she had known in her old school, but they had not known each other well. The girls, or shall I call them young women, made most of their own arrangements and although they lived in different cities figured out how to drive several thousand miles they needed to go together.

My husband endlessly and obsessively fretted and worried about details that he knew they would have to deal with. He made lists that girls barely paid attention to as he worked out banking and travel links, downloaded map quest, and tried to instill a sense of order, all with little acknowledgment or thanks from qausi independent females. Our other children had been far more generous in their responses to our efforts, as had she in past, so girls’ behavior was difficult to take.

I focused on stressing academics, lecturing as little as possible and I tried to keep in check and remain silent about my constant terror surrounding their journey. ‘Do you have your charger for your cell phone’ was about as verbal as I got. Did I say it one hundred times, or just think it? I am not sure.

Finally big moment came. A good-bye celebratory lunch and off they went. Relieved, that they were on their way, I wanted to applaud how well my daughter had done. As her car pulled away, all too familiar feeling came over me. My heart broke and well-remembered September tears rained down my cheeks. She may be almost all grown up, but she’s still my baby. I imagine I will smile and cry during these bittersweet moments forever.

The house is quiet now -- and clean. Order has been restored. I tell myself I like quiet. And, I do. So why do I find reasons to go into her empty room so often? I guess I miss her presence, chaos and all. I imagine I always will.

Life is too hard to do alone,

Dr. D.

Dorree Lynn, PH.D.

Dr. Dorree Lynn is co-founder of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Psychotherapy and a practicing clinician in New York and Washington, DC. Dr. Lynn served on the executive board of the American Academy of Psychotherapists and she is on the editorial board of their publication, Voices. She is also a regular columnist for the Washington, DC newspaper, The Georgetowner. Dr. Lynn is a noted speaker and well known on the lecture circuit.