I have a fondness for H. Thompson. Not because he was a drug advocate and a lunatic of no small proportion, but because he seemed to recognize that there is no real objectivity in journalism. If you are giving an account of something, then you are a part of that something, to enter into it, accept it, and then write from that perspective is far more honest then to give a third person account of something as if it hadn't effected you and you hadn't effected it. It is from this perspective that I must tell of the nightmare that is formation in monastic life. I don't say this is everywhere, only that it still predominates because formation frequently run by those who's interpretation of cultural analysis means nothing more than checking their watch for the correct time (and sometimes even that is a stretch). For example, I have been forbidden even to write this blog, I am not allowed to write publicly. "Why," you might ask. Well for a number of reasons none of which are satisfying.