i went to therapy and all i needed was sci-fi

David Gerrold - A Day For Damnation

"There isn't any such thing as sanity. What there is, is the ability to be appropriate to your situation. It's your concept of sanity as a condition to be achieved that's driving you crazy; you think you're not there...Sanity isn't something that you are. It's something that you do."

"Sanity is nothing more than a function of your language skills...You've been looking in the wrong place. You've been looking at people you think are sane and trying to figure out what they have. Try it the other way. Look at someone who doesn't have it and see what quality they're lacking. Look at the damaged people...How do we know they're damaged? They can't communicate effectively...People who can't interact with others appropriately...are perceived as damaged."

"...you don't have to be damaged to be inappropriate. We're all inappropriate to some degree or other. Usually it's because we don't have all the facts available to us. Sometimes we just haven't learned better. But most of the time, being appropriate is a function of listening to what's going on and responding to what you hear, not what you think you hear."

( and the kicker: )