Where's OUR Dr. Phil?

Just the other day I was zapping my way through the Dutch TV channels.

It's not an unusual thing really: In The Netherlands too, American television shows are shown widely. In fact, one actually can learn of some of these shows. Ofcourse there are also some useless productions.

But seeing Uncle Sam's country only as the place to be for 'extralarge things' (Menues? Large! Cars? Large! American tummies? Big!), hamburgers, Hollywood, the KKK (not the PKK's former alias but the white supremacists) and a president who from time to time gives the impression of being the world's most powerful and influent stand-up comedian, would be a little unjust...

Indeed, The States actually distribute some useful products too, which are worth applauding for. Especially, one of US's creations, an eligible doctor, deserves attention here. His name?

Dr. Phil.

In the States as well as outside the US, Dr. Phil McGraw is known for his expertise in psychology. Dr. Phil became famous through talkshow-host Oprah Winfrey's show and now has an own show where he heals the diseases in societies all over the world...

In between preparing for class, working around the house, writing and being sentenced to the loud hardcore music of my deaf neighbour (I don't know if he's really deaf, but I'm guessing here, keeping the loudness of the truely hart warming music in mind), I told myself to turn on the television.

At first I couldn't find it due to the covering dust, but eventually I turned it on with the intention to learn something...

I was glad that I actually went to all of the trouble!

I saw Dr. Phil.

A special edition of his show was on by the name of 'House of Hatred', in which Dr. Phil had invited six of his patients to stay for a couple of days in the Dr. Phil House. The patients were convicted to eachother and were obliged to live together for a short period of time.

Ofcourse the interesting fact of all of this was that these patients weren't the world's most friendly and loving characters towards eachother. In fact, Dr. Phil brought six people who totally differed from eachother together when he obliged a lesbian woman and a straight person, who just couldn't stand eachother's sexualities; a black and a white rasist and a 600 pounds weighing mister and a rather small person, both hating respectively obese and thin people, to stay in the same rooms.

Some tests were to be taken in the House of Hatred.

Dr. Phil made the six patients confront eachother with their thoughts, sit together, communicate, get to know eachother and eventually get hatred out of their systems, respect other lifestyles and beliefs, and live in peace with all human beings as well as themselves...

Although there were many confrontations along the way, Dr. Phil succeded...

“Dr. Phil changed my life”
“I have no problems with homosexsuals anymore”
“Before I wouldn't greet anyone except for white people, now, I live in peace with everyone”
“Before, I thought that obese people where just lazy, now, I've learned the truth”

Yes indeed, a succes for Dr. Phil; he showed how results where to achieved by confronting persons who hated eachother's guts, and by this giving the oppurtunity to learn more about the other side, and eventually accept and respect it.

The only ingredients needed are getting to know eachother and understanding, with the goal to eventually live in peace together.

To be honest, Dr. Phil's project reminded me of another community.

Does anyone know the community I'm speaking of here?

Sidar Bengin Epozdemir
sidaro4@hotmail.com
www.cakbini.com


Sidar Bengin Epozdemir is a 20 year old Kurdish journalist and writer from the Netherlands. He runs a weblog by the name of Çakbînî (optimism in Kurdish) and writes and has written in Dutch, English and Kurdish for various journals and online-newspapers such as Netkurd.com, Avestakurd.net, Rizgari.com, KurdishMedia.com, Azady.nl and Cakbini.com.