Life Can Be a.....? Part 3

The third major barrier that has negative effects on our happiness is our culture, society, or civilization. Depending upon one’s skin color, there are favorable or unfavorable statistics for early death, incarceration, educational level, poverty status, and other socioeconomic variables. Is the “law” color blind? Is their justice for all? Next, let’s begin with the current news on all the major and cable TV stations. First, we heard of the impending danger, and possible nuclear conflict with North Korea. Bill Maher joked, on air, at the Korean dictator telling him that his only friend Dennis Rodman lives in LA so not to bomb us. Essentially, he said don’t bomb us because you would be bombing, your only friend. Are we headed for total annihilation? The potential destruction to mankind is mind boggling. The rhetoric is simply crazy, nuts and scary to say the least. Then we had the Charlottesville, Virginia, racial, hateful, violent, scapegoating,-white inferiority rally. One 32-year-old woman was run down by car by a 20-year-old. Two State Troopers also died. There were TV segments of Americans physically fighting Americans. Aside from the physical violence, there is also verbal violence. An article in the July 16, 2017 New York Times dealt with the findings of brain science that distinguished verbal abusiveness from offensiveness. The writer reported that certain types of words are not only powerful but they can make you sick, alter your brain, kill your neurons and shorten your life. Research suggests that the body’s immune system is vulnerable to inflammation and inflammatory words cause stress. Stress causes physical harm by affecting one’s telomeres. In normal aging your telomeres become shorter but with stress they shrink even more. When telomeres become too short, life is over and one has death. The old statement. “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is simply not true. Who wants to read, see or be around so much hate and violence? Economics or our capitalistic supply and demand model is another societal man-made creation that impinges on happiness. For example, I graduated high school in the 50s with its many opportunities. College was affordable; individuals with a high school degree had numerous employment opportunities; and the small businessman made a profitable living. Being in the socioeconomic middle class was a positive outcome as children could easily out earn their parents. That was then. To Be Continued