The Age of Escapism Part 2

On the biological level, an aging body can reach havoc proportions and that clearly affects the health, and the health care delivery system in our country. On a personal level, a young mid-60s, athlete friend was diagnosed with ALS, as was Dwight Clark, the former San Francisco 49er hero. We have an obesity problem in our country that just makes things go more badly for the health and welfare of individuals. We also have preponderance of non -curable diseases that limit the health span of many. It seems to me that the pursuit of pleasure, pursuit of happiness and avoidance of pain, tell only part of the human story. It’s apparent that the motivation of individuals also seek escape from the realities of being. Yes, it’s clear that natural disasters and our biology contribute to life’s unpleasantness. Civilization, culture, society add to life’s challenges. A brief list of articles found in the magazine 9/29/17 of The Week included these titles: 1. College: the trouble with Ivy League schools 2. Obama care: why the uninsured are happy. 3. Facebook it secret experiment on users 4. Breast-feeding: the politics of mother’s milk. 5. Regulation: putting a price on life. 6. Russia: no protection for our kids in America. The list goes on with all these articles pertaining to the vast array of negatives currently going on in our society. We turn to radio, TV, movies and social media and pile on more hate, destruction, fear, anger, and disgust. It affects all of us negatively. As humans, we are skilled at the distortion of reality and who can blame us? With the threat of nuclear war, political ineffectiveness, the dying middle class, war on terror or whatever, and interacting with our fellow humans, it’s obvious that we are stressed, anxious, uncomfortable and fearful. Life is not only difficult, but it’s hazardous to our health. We have learned to escape. We are living in the “Age of Escapism.” Escape is the distortion, change or modification of the physiology {neurotransmitters, pleasure-pain centers and executive functions} of the brain and the psychological {thinking, perception, feeling, mood changes, memory and motoric functions} taking place within our state of being. Escape is so widespread that more than likely people who employ and rely on an escape mechanism, then erroneously label themselves happy. Remember, according to Epicurus, it’s only our thinking that puts labels on good and bad. We are experts at deceiving ourselves. To Be Continued