Perspective-Taking: A Difficult Struggle of Autism

How many of you remember Tom Cruise criticizing Matt Lauer on the Today Show? Or at least know about it? 

For those of you don't know about this incident, Tom Cruise lambasted Today Show host Matt Lauer over psychriatry and anti-depressants in an interview in 2004. The early 2000s were a phase of Cruise being quite an oddball, thanks to Scientology brainwashing.  Scientology is very much opposed to psychiatry. But Tom Cruise had bad experiences with psychiatry in his childhood. In fact, his childhood was rough and tragic in general.  And Scientology reinforced his beliefs about psychiatry. Needless to say, when Lauer expressed a different perspective, Cruise got upset and said, "Matt, you're being glib. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do." Perspective-taking is challenging for me as well. Even so, I take care to avoid becoming haughty like Cruise* did. I have never told someone that they're being glib, that's for sure.  But I do sometimes find it challenging to accept ideas that are contrary to my own. 

*I have nothing personal against Cruise. He's a wonderful actor and very hard-working. I respect him for that.  I don't like Scientology and why he stays in a mind-controlling, abusive organization is beyond me. People say he's a jerk and a control freak, but considering the fact that he was abused as a child, I can't help but have compassion for the man.  I'm not a mental health pro, but it seems to me like he needs a lot of therapy.