Dave Muskera, M.A.
I live with my cat "Tazzy" in a gracefully aged old brick inner-city house located in a small university town on the Ohio River. About an hour into the country of nearby eastern Kentucky, I keep a get-a-way cabin on 16 private acres. As often as possible, I escape there to write or just relax.
I pen mostly political, religious and social opinion/satire pieces...with occasional attempts at humor. When writing about gay related topics, I bring to bear not only my experiences as an out gay man for the past 19 years, but also that of having been long-time married in the prior times of my "first life". I have two children and a granddaughter. We are all close. My Ex-wife, a gracious good lady, remains a very dear and trusted friend. The same is true of my ex-partner of 12 years.
The family grieved at the tragic loss of Jon-Michael, my 8 month old grandson who died in Feb. 2008 of a rare form of brain tumor (ATRT). Two of my articles are about this terrible event. Still, out of this glooming sadness has come a re-bonding between me and my only son. During this family journey, we rediscovered each other.
My major project for 2008-09 is to ready for publication my finished manuscript "Babe In The Ironwoods - The Adventures and Misadventures of an Ex-Married Gay Psychologist". I call it a "memoir of sorts" because it both recounts the years of my "coming out" and, as well, attempts to shed light on the myths and misunderstandings held by so many good and decent people regarding homosexuality and contemporary gay issues.
Email with your questions/comments - (good or not so good). I love hearing from people all over the world. I´ll try to answer all inquiries.
Contact Information
Articles by Dave Muskera, M.A.
June 09, 2009
Muskera tells why his "discovery" of Paul Potts, the winner of the 2007 Britton's Got Talent contest, has been so meaningful and thrilling.
June 08, 2009
Writer Dave Muskera, a retired psychologist speculates on how the homosexuality of Alexander the Great might have contributed to the man's glorious success as a leader of men and the conquerer of the known world in the 300 or so years before the Christian era.
March 12, 2009
A tongue in cheek discussion of how a persons love or hatred for cats and dogs gives away their "livability quotient". A must read lesson for anyone in or thinking about a long-term relationship by a seasoned couples counselor.
March 05, 2009
How much longer are we going to call ourselves a democracy and the land of the free while holding the civil rights of some minority citizens up for a popular vote?
November 17, 2008
Some thoughts on the relationship between hatred of women and anti-gay obsession by the religious far right.
November 15, 2008
Comments on the voting habits of Americans and the dumbing down of political candadates
November 06, 2008
A reaction to the passage of Proposition 8 in California
August 06, 2008
Further thoughts and reflections on the use of the gay boogieman by the religious far right in their war against gay citizens.
July 13, 2008
A discussion of the concept of "Deeply Held Religious Beliefs" as contrasted to gay realted issues.
June 27, 2008
Muskera wonders out loud just why it is there is not so much complaining about SCOTUS and "activist" judges following the Supreme Court's recent Second Amendment decision.
June 12, 2008
An article discussing gays in the military and a reason not often discussed that helps explain the resistence.
May 19, 2008
Some unfiltered thoughts from a gay man about the California gay marriage decision and it's potential misuse by the political right.
May 15, 2008
A gay psychologist discusses the differences between sexual orientation and transgenderism.
May 13, 2008
A story of gay adoption and conflicts with fundamentalist religion and the courts
April 24, 2008
Thoughts and reflections of a people-watching psychologist on the cattle qualities of many in the voting public. Easily lead and easily influence...many voters fail to do their own thinking.
March 25, 2008
A final tribute to my grandson who died February 20th of a rare brain cancer just past his eighth month of life .
February 14, 2008
Reflections on the dying of a child from cancer.
January 27, 2008
An article analysing the frequently used term "Activist Judges" and suggesting that these judges may be the only ones doing their job.
January 24, 2008
Intro note: I'm reposting this article from November 20th. It was accidentally deleted. It has been one of my more popular and reposted articles - so if you missed it the first time, here it is again. Hope you enjoy.
If I read or hear the words "the gay lifestyle" one more time, I´m go...
January 18, 2008
Dave Muskera, a retired clinical psychologist, takes on a recent article in the Times Magazine about gay relationships and straight marriages that he believes asks the wrong questions and makes the wrong comparison.
January 11, 2008
I’ve been thinking of late about the conservative v. progressive ideology split that so very much permeates our political and cultural atmosphere. Of course, it’s nothing really new. It’s been going on since before the founding of our country. In more recent years however, these terms have taken o...
January 08, 2008
A small “study” of gender differences in spatial navigation done recently in the biology department at London’s Queen Mary College is making headlines. You might ask, why is that? And why would such a geekie sounding topic be of any interest to crotchety old newspaper editors and salivating-to-get-...
January 06, 2008
When I was a kid of seven or eight, I didn’t question the reality of Santa Claus, the tooth fairy or the boogieman. While Santa and the fairy were definitely cool and positive, the ol’boogieman was a decided fright. As an adult, I became aware of how these imaginary characters - created and encour...
December 31, 2007
The name of Edward Livingston, the eleventh US Secretary of State, most likely does not come easily to anybodies mind unless they are a US government history buff. His name is certainly not enshrined anywhere in the annals of the modern gay rights movement either. Yet, gay folks owe him, and many wh...
December 21, 2007
From years ago, as a randy fourteen-year-old Catholic boy, I can clearly remember the growing angst I felt while waiting my turn at the confessional. I wasn’t worried about confessing my cheating on a math test, nor the times I’d disobeyed my parents, nor the dirty trick I’d played on my brother. ...
December 12, 2007
Somewhere in my distant past, I was employed as senior psychologist for a boy’s psychiatric residential treatment center in a rural mid-western state. My young wife and I lived in staff housing on the Center’s multi-acred campus. Our work focused on a population of about sixty seriously disturbed a...
December 10, 2007
Desmond Morris of Naked Ape fame, zoologist and writer now nearing age 80, has changed his mind about the causes of a type of human behavior that, when he graduated from school, was considered an illness. For many years, Dr. Morris held the belief that males became gay as a result of “absent father...
December 10, 2007
E.M. Forster’s novel “Maurice” (written in 1913 but not published until 1971) tells the story of a young lad of good family and upbringing who discovers himself to be homosexual. Raised in the behaviorally rigid social structure of Edwardian England, he later works - as expected - in his families Lo...
November 30, 2007
Over the past few years, I’ve spent a fair amount of time looking at “for sale” properties. I think I may have even developed an addiction to flipping through the pictures and reading descriptions of real estate offerings in those colorful little magazines you find at the grocery check-out. They're...
November 28, 2007
Of late, I’ve begun to believe that some very vocal members of the Christian faith, variably referred to as “Far Right Fundies”, or Fundamentalist Against Religious Trashing - FART for short), are really not going to be content unless they somehow recapture the persecuted position of early Christian...
November 26, 2007
This is the second article in what may become a short series. The series started with my article about the term "gay lifestyle" and how it´s used by the fundamentalist religious right to bash homosexuals. Unfortunately this is not the only term or concept in their bucket of snakes that is t...
November 20, 2007
The other day I bought an extension cord. A white and red warning label was firmly attached and was almost as long as the cord itself! In big black letters it warned, "Electrical Cords Can Be Hazardous."
This frightening statement was followed by a list of no less than twenty two specific hazards....
November 20, 2007
The "will of the people" is a sound bite heard a lot these days in political and cultural debates, especially in regards to gay related issues like gay marriage and hate crimes legislation. We hear it frequently mentioned on TV, talk radio and written in print media. As the 2008 election nears, I e...
November 19, 2007
OK. I’m going to break all the rules of reader engagement and warn you in advance. This is a rant article. I’m familiar with ranting. Some of my best friends tell me I do it exceptionally well. Or at least exceptionally often. You’d think I’d learn about ranting...That most of mine are like til...
November 19, 2007
I’m disappointed and disheartened by many recent events in the arena of conflict between organized religion and gay citizens. At times, I’m still blind-sided by the vitriol generated by this topic.
Organized religion has a long and ignominious history of perpetuating self-serving “truths” and b...
November 18, 2007
This is mostly a plea to those of you who have forgotten the value of taking a bath, using deodorant and wearing clean clothing; a plea to those who have bought into the idea that drenching yourself with gallons of variously scented perfumes, colognes and body splashes somehow makes you more allur...
November 18, 2007
I wrote this article in the middle months of 2003, when the Bush Administration was reaching it’s peak of popularity and many had not yet concluded that, just possibly, they had been mislead by our political leaders. How quickly we have forgotten this heated ferver-pitch of patriotism that swept th...
November 18, 2007
At one time or another, most of us have experienced “light-bulb” insights. You know, one of those moments when your thoughts crystallize and you finally see connections between things that just moments before lay disconnected and clouded in shadow. It might be a self-delusion of some sort or not a ...
November 18, 2007
I ran across this little piece of prognostication/satire while looking through my computer files. I wrote it in October of 2004 just before the November elections for a local political forum I contribute to on occasion. Seems a lot of it came true, got one or two things wrong (happily)…with some po...
November 18, 2007
When it comes to anger management - a popular subject these days - psychologists sometimes talk about an unconscious mental process called “displacement of aggression”. This is what can happen when you get angry or upset with someone or something and because you can’t or don’t dare to directly expr...
November 18, 2007
A young boy, only 16 - his Italian black hair blown wild by morning breezes, strains to see over and beyond the broad shoulders of his older brother. The two stand arm-to-arm and ten deep with the other passengers - all pressing forward against the ship´s railing. His eyes search to penetrate ...
November 18, 2007
I wrote this longwinded piece a few years ago. It’s a satirical take-off on news freaks done in the writing style and structure of the diagnostic bible of the American Psychiatric Association - the DSM-IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual- Fourth Edition). It’s intended as humor. I hope it c...
November 17, 2007
Commuting to my office most mornings, I listen to NPR. Frequently, especially now during the war of occupation in Iraq, they cameo the life and combat death of some recently fallen young soldier. Those selected for this honor are typically from small towns, are described as well liked, gentle and ...