Finding Happiness

“Is Anyone Happy Anymore?”  titled a December 22, 2019 article in The New York Times. The writer mentioned climate neglect, toxic politics and mortality as issues interfering with happiness. This essay comments on the listed examples of happiness.

The descriptions of happiness were: 1. “Think little” written by Wendell Berry “A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world” 2. The founding fathers found happiness in the idea of pursuit, both in the chase and in the hunt 3. Irish positive pessimism-be happy, things will get worse 4. Catholic guilt-you don’t deserve happiness anyway 5. Happiness cannot be pursued, only realized and chosen 6. Poet Seamus Heaney became a poet who shared, with his readers, the ability to stay pleased 7. Moving back from New York to the family farm in Ireland 8. Meeting Michael Dooley, a farmer, in his 80s who rode a bicycle and continued working the land. Dooley would take off his jacket, lay down on it and watch the world turning with him in it. For Dooley, that was happiness.

In these happiness illustrations, there are a few things to note. For example, happiness entailed pursuing an emotionally and cognitive satisfying activity like farming or hunting. It was physical, in nature, using intelligence, being goal oriented, and having some control. Also included was a personal evaluation with a sense of accomplishment with meaning and purpose. This physical activity could be done alone or with others. The activity was also more primitive than the typical hustle and bustle of needless and sometimes senseless non- personal employment of daily activity. Having a sense of accomplishment and purpose provided a positive emotional state which are necessary for happiness. Note, happiness is behavioral, cognitive, perceptual and emotional. Further, it’s what we do and how we think and evaluate about what we do. Remember, defense mechanisms, drugs and other altering states get away and distort everyday reality because happiness is difficult to achieve.

Another example was aging and mortality. The ability to do and be active without an interfering sickness or illness was important during the aging process. However, the writer noted that he has been married 35 years and his wife had stage III bowel cancer.

 Personally, I am not happy  that I am neither  able to run as fast, nor have the endurance that I did 10 years ago, but I’m happy and pleased that I  still run. Therefore, I entered the Jed Smith half marathon which is shorter than previous endurance runs. This upcoming event is scheduled for tomorrow. My friend Tony plans to be my pacer. Once again, being physically active along with an emotional sense of accomplishment, purpose, future and goalsetting results in a positive sense of being. I’ll be happy when I have completed the run. Then as a tradition {future}, we stop at Baskin - Robbins for the real reward. Ice cream happily continues to be my favorite food. Tony stated “We will be able to get ice cream earlier this year.”

Loneliness Is a Health Problem

This essay was based on the article “Is There a Cure for Loneliness? found in the December 2019/January 2020 AARP.  The following are past writings pertaining to loneliness: 1. Existentialists have identified one of the painful truths of mankind - he is lost based upon the self-awareness of his existence 2. Sociologist Emile Durkheim in his classic study  “Suicide ,”explored the breakdown of social connections 3.Erich Fromm described,  in depth, the trend to withdraw from the world because of  automation and conformity in  his  insightful” Escape from Freedom” 4. Sociologist David Riesman in” The Lonely Crowd “analyzed the impact of the “other directed” individual as he related it to   interpersonal connections in society 5. Psychologist Henry Murray and others have identified psychological needs of Affiliation, Achievement, Aggression, Power and Possession and how these needs interact and interfere with human relationships thereby contributing to the concept of loneliness.  

The added cost to Medicare is almost $7 billion a year resulting from people living in isolation. Loneliness shortens lifespan, kills more than heart disease, contributes to Alzheimer’s, and affects high blood pressure, suicide and even the common cold. It’s been said that it’s more dangerous than obesity and the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

We do not have a restricted definition of loneliness. For example, findings from over 70 studies on loneliness that followed 3.4 million participants for an average of seven years were divided into three groups. The three groups included the following: 1. Those lacking from sufficient social connection or being socially isolated from other people-behavioral 2. Those that described themselves as very lonely-[emotional and/or psychological testing] 3. Those that lived alone-behavioral. The researcher found that the definition didn’t matter nor whether these participants were healthy at the time the study. All three these groups statistically had an early death.

Essentially, the statistics on loneliness were based on feelings; physical isolation; marital status; number of close friends and family members; the amount of television watched; declining marriage rates; and increasing rates of childlessness. The definition doesn’t seem to matter as it included perception, psychological testing and behavioral descriptions.  Loneliness was also related to unsatisfactory interpersonal relationships. Other loneliness  symptoms included: alcohol, drug and food addiction; wars; nationalism; hate groups; divorce; online shopping; electronic devices; social network; physical and mental illness. In other words, the concept of loneliness is complex, prevalent, long explored, with many tangled components.

There was another complication or component of loneliness. According to the DSM, the bible of mental health diagnoses, some of the descriptions of symptoms -feelings and behavior pertaining to loneliness can be found in the diagnostic category of depression which is an Affective Disorder. However, loneliness as a diagnosis, was not found in the DSM.

 Furthermore, with the body or physical side, researchers had identified in subjects who were lonely, activity in white blood cells suggesting a state of alert. It’s as if, white blood cells were responding to a bacterial infection or inflammation. Hans Selye’s research on the stress or the general adaption syndrome came to mind with the increase of cortisol that disrupted equilibrium resulting in an attack to one’s immune system. It’s our body’s production of antibodies that make us more vulnerable to diseases.  There are two psychometric measures of stress- The External Stress Index and The Internal Stress Index .These two instruments provide numerical values for levels of stress. Of course included in these indices are life events, thoughts and emotions that correspond to states of loneliness. In other words loneliness was a prime example of the body- mind connection. It demonstrated the power, significance and interplay between the two.

Treatment for the causes of loneliness are limited to say the least. Treatment could be a  dose of naproxen  [Aleve] to reduce the bodies inflammatory responses; a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor [SSRI] to reduce  a sense of social threat that underlies long-term loneliness; or cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT] to personalize and teach individual coping and engaging strategies.

Loneliness is a significant health, social and economic problem in our country and called an epidemic in Great Britain. With that being said, let’s hypothesize that an individual presented to the psychotherapist the following as a presenting problem for treatment “I’m lonely and I need tools, based upon my personality, to help me.” If the person was willing to pay out-of-pocket fees that would be acceptable. However, if the person-patient expected that his health insurance company would pay the therapist, for treatment, he would be wrong. It’s the collusion between the health insurance companies that decide what presenting problem or diagnosis are going to be reimbursed. Obviously, their decision has nothing to do with health. And we call them health insurance companies? We should rename them exploitive companies. Their primary goal has nothing to do with health but only with collecting premiums to reinforce their profits. They know how to exclude and have developed sophisticated strategies to deny third-party payment for service. And, why do you want to keep your health insurance company? Expose the fraudulent behavior, contact your representatives. Demand that these companies provide real health insurance based on health and wellbeing.

Discrimination in the Republic

This essay incorporates five articles pertaining to discrimination between people. The references were found in the New York Times: October 8, 2017 “It’s Not Easy to Prove Racism. This Study Does;” January 3, 2019 “An Ancient and Abiding Hatred;” April 28, 2019 “Prejudice Is Blind;” “December 8, 2019 “Science Class Defies Racism with Genetics;” and December 29, 2019 “Outsiders Influence.”

There were roughly 20,000 emails sent to local government employees in nearly every county in our country. These emails were identical except that half came from either De Shawn Jackson or Tyrone Washington-group 1. The other half of the emails came from either Greg Walsh or Jake Mueller-group 2. According to the researchers, the emails sent to each local officeholder were determined by chance. Were there differences between the two groups? If so, which group of emails were more likely to be answered? If you guessed that group 1 were 13% more likely to go unanswered you were correct.

In a second experiment, the same 20,000 emails were sent to the same recipients. The researchers added real estate agent to the names. Did adding real estate agent change the reply pattern between the two groups? In counties that had a greater proportion of whites, group 2 emails were more likely to be returned. The authors concluded that in local government offices, the recipients were less responsive to those with African-American names compared to white sounding names.

Another researcher found that people’s brains were more active when they were viewing faces from someone with their own physical likeness. In another study, Police officers were asked to look at a computer screen.    They were either exposed to crime related words like apprehend and capture -group 1 or words not related to crime-group 2. The officers then saw two faces side-by-side one black and one white. The officers who looked at group 1 words spent more time looking at the blackface compared to the Whiteface. Analyzing data from the New York Police Department, the researcher found that black men were more likely than white men to have been stopped for engaging in what’s called furtive movement-suspicious behavior like fidgeting with something at your waistline.

In an article about hatred and prejudice, columnist Bret Stephens, stated “that most Jews nevertheless can be said to stand for certain ideals and attitudes. A particular concept of morality. A reverence for law founded on the idea of truth. A penchant for asking nettlesome questions. Skepticism toward would-be saviors. A liberal passion for freedom.” He went on to say that “anti-Semites tend to have the opposite set of views for reasons that may be repugnant but are perfectly rational. The fundamental truth about anti-Semitism isn’t that it’s necessarily crazy. It’s that it’s inevitably brutish.” Merriam-Webster defines brutish “showing little intelligence or sensibility.”

These articles, although not exhaustive on the subject of discrimination, illustrate biases and prejudices .In an attempt to add knowledge about Homo sapiens, research and training curriculum for secondary biology teachers had been initiated in our country. This program will measure attitudes of students before the course and after course completion. The focus, for the first time, pertain to the science of genetics explaining the similarities and differences between people.  Because of the sensitivity of the subject matter, not all school districts wanted to take part in the curriculum program.

This curriculum attempts to counter such attitudes and beliefs as “members of one racial group are more ambitious than members of another racial group because of genetics; genetics are causes of racial inequality; genes cause racial groups to have distinct skills, and abilities.” It’s clear that racial categories –census have been used to justify and discriminate governmental policies in our country. Can this curriculum-program change not only discriminatory thinking but behavior?

A few facts: 1. Genes are the basic units of heredity and are located on chromosomes 2. Chromosomes consist of threadlike strands of DNA molecules in the genes consistent of small segments of DNA. 3. Collectively, genes may number around 25,000 and are referred to as a human genome. 4. Psychological traits likely depend on multiple genes with each one accounting for just a small part of the variance among people 5. A few innate human characteristics: infant reflexes, interest in novelty, desire to explore and manipulate objects, impulse to play and fool around and basic cognitive skills 6. Some diseases like Huntington’s are caused by a single gene.  Genes and many environmental factors influence traits.

Our Census Bureau defines race [a social construct-not based on biology of genetics as a person’s self-identification with one or more social groups] as European, African, Asian, Oceana and Natural American. This census classification is usually based on physical features like skin color, height, color of eyes and hair. There is no evidence that these groups have distinctly unifying genetic identities .There are areas of ample variation within these categories. We also share 99.9 percent of our DNA with each other. And, our DNA provides clues as to our ancestry and our human diversity from geographical areas. Don’t forget that mental and physical health diagnosis like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia etc. do not discriminate census bureau differences. Psychology; personality theory; learning theory; motivational theory etc. employ scientific principles and do not divide people into arbitrary social construct groups.

For example, there have been much discussion about intellectual IQ differences between blacks and whites. Current thinking is that research on intelligence do not suggest that differences are permanent among cultural, ethnic or national groups; are genetically determined; or signs of a group’s innate superiority. Current research suggests that we should make sure all children grow up with the best possible environmental circumstances.  The following are influences that reduce mental ability: 1. Prenatal care 2. Malnutrition 3. Exposure to toxins 4. Stressful family circumstances. Furthermore, genes influence our experiences and that our experiences affect our genes as result of stress, emotions, hormonal etc. In other words, heredity and environment interact to produce psychological traits and abilities.

Our brains program us for survival. As young as six months of age, the newborn can experience stranger anxiety. This means that a baby is likely to cry when exposed to an unfamiliar person or face. Therefore, words, perception and emotional responses occur very early in life. Other senses, like hearing, taste and touch are also clues for survival. Furthermore, psychologically competition in a capitalistic society increases the capacity for getting ahead; aggression; hostility; dominance etc. between and among others. Coming in second place is not rewarded. Being the best is rewarded and valued.

Just think of various words, titles, names, descriptions, and concepts that have an emotional component without any apparent or current danger to oneself. These words, psychologically are discriminatory and are associated with hatred, dislike, bad, aberrant and abusive behavior: 1. Liberal-Conservative 2. Democrat-Republican 3. Socialism 4. Communism 5. White- Black- Brown-Yellow 6. Asian-Iranian 7. Protestant-Catholic-Jew-Muslim 8. LG BT-Abortion-White Nationalist 9. Homeless -Welfare 10. Immigrant- Gun Control- Climate Change 11. Einstein, Freud, Marx, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Bernhardt, Kafka, Obama and Trump to name a few.

Yes, our brains program us for survival and we are easily mislead. Our government effectively uses economic and political propaganda- race to discriminate, dislike, hate, like or to love another. Unfortunately, our interpersonal history centers on competition, aggression, power, dominance, Irrationality, impulsivity, ignorance, lies, misinformation, propaganda etc. Man against man includes our government. Our Republic employs a social construct of race which is discriminatory, nonobjective and nonscientific. This tool obviously gets in the way of humanism and brotherhood. Sorry Jefferson, the myth “that all men are created equal” is just a myth. Our Republic would be better served “to have all men treated equally” and to eliminate the word “race.”

Jim Harbaugh's Challenge

 Jim Harbaugh, the University of Michigan’s football coach, has a problem. Coach Harbaugh was hired by the Wolverines at the end of 2014. He was expected to be the Savior and return the University’s football team to glory- beat OSU. References include Bo’s Warriors - Bo Schembechler and the Transformation of Michigan Football; and personal communication with coach Harbaugh and significant others. A few facts: 1. 21 Wolverines have been drafted by the NFL under coach Harbaugh from 2016-2019. However, coach Harbaugh did not recruit all these players 2. From 2016 -2019, the Wolverines had 4 NFL round 1 draft picks selected 3. Jim Harbaugh was selected by the NFL in round 1 in 1987 4. From 2016-2019 the Ohio State Buckeyes had 35 players drafted by the NFL 5. From 2016-2019, the Buckeyes had 12 NFL round 1 players selected.

Jim Harbaugh was born December 23, 1963 in Toledo, Ohio the second of two boys. At that time, his father Jack was an assistant football coach at a nearby high school. Having a father as a football coach, resulted in a number of relocations. In 1973, the family moved to Ann Arbor when Jack was hired by Coach Bo Schembechler to become a defensive backfield coach. Young Jim was seen being on the Wolverine football field chasing footballs, being around the coaches and their players, and learned firsthand about the illustrious, successful and dominant Wolverines.

It’s not hard to imagine that Jim’s competitiveness was reinforced by his father and older brother John. More than likely, Jim’s fantasies, imagination, dreams, wishes and ideal was related to sports, being a hero, and competing in the macho sport of football. With competitiveness, the fear of failure emerges. For example, one competitor stated “the first loser is coming in second place.”

Briefly, Jim attained All-American honors as a University of Michigan football quarterback under coach Schembechler; came in third in the Heisman trophy voting ; quarterbacked in the NFL from 1987 through 2001; achieved  numerous NFL honors; won awards as a head football college coach; and was one of the most celebrated San Francisco 49ers head coaches. In essence, Jim was a most successful and competitive football player at all levels as well as a most successful football coach at all levels. In other words, his childhood fantasies, dreams, wishes and ideals were realized.

Coach Harbaugh was expected by all to be successful against the Wolverines number one rival the Ohio State Buckeyes. Unfortunately, these expectations are enormous as the Buckeyes were coached by one of the most respected and winningest college coaches of all time-Urban Meyer. Coach Meyer attained 3 national championships. His Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was a Heisman trophy winner in 2007.

Not only has coach Harbaugh  not beaten his number one rival Ohio State , his San Francisco 49ers team was beaten on February 3, 2013 by his older brother John’s team -the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. Furthermore, John’s Baltimore Ravens have the best odds of winning this year’s Super Bowl. Remember, Jim was there during 10 year war between Woody and Bo; and again as player for Bo; and now as the Wolverines head coach. Again, Jim has come in second, this time to his older brother John.

Being competitive with the fear of failure has been a reality for Coach Jim Harbaugh. As a result of failure, the existence of the need for counteraction has been inferred. His failure has not gone unnoticed as far as the Wolverine faithful are concerned, as well as the attention of all the “sports experts” in media and social media alike. There are some that call for his removal as Michigan’s head coach.

With that being said, let’s look at just a few of coach Harbaugh’s actions. In doing so, Dr. Henry Murray provides one model.  Murray hypothesized a number of hypothetical constructs which stand for a force or forces and which organize behavior.  Dr. Murray listed 20 needs. Of the 20, one such need has been called “Counteraction.” Murray’s brief definition “To master or make up for a failure by restriving. To obliterate a humiliation by resumed action. To search for obstacles and difficulties to overcome. To maintain self-respect and pride on a high level.”

A few of Harbaugh’s countractions.  Jim hired Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator in 2019. Coach Gattis was expected to implement the Run Pass Option [RPO] in order to make the offense more productive;   Shaun Nua was hired in 2019 as defensive line coach; Anthony Campanile was hired as defensive assistant in 2019; and eight off the field analysts joined the staff in 2019.  In 2018 the previous year, Jim Harbaugh’s counteractions included hiring Ben McDaniels as quarterbacks coach; Sherrone Moore as tight ends coach; and Ed Warnner as offensive line coach. It’s safe to say that all these recent coaching hires were made as a result of Harbaugh’s need for counteraction in order to make the Wolverines better.

Unfortunately, all these coaching additions have not changed the outcome against the Buckeyes. This is not to say that Harbaugh has not implemented change in his Michigan football program. Perhaps: 1. He lacks effective coaching consistency 2. He lacks outstanding football recruits 3. He lacks an overall philosophy and systematic organization from the athletic department all the way down.

No doubt that with increased anxiety and failure fears, coach Harbaugh’s confidence and self-esteem have been tested, affected and shaken. Can the current high achieving athlete Sisyphus like coach master his personality crisis and expectations or ….?

Make America Healthy

The December 8, 2019 edition of the New York Times titled “Finland Is Our Capitalist Paradise,” and the December 15, 2019 edition of the New York Times article titled “The Decade in Retirement Security” were the main references for this essay. This essay addressed a previous recession, its ripple effect and suggested that we should implement healthy ideas from Finland’s capitalistic system.

In spite of the current gains made in employment numbers, the recession prior to 2010 continued to be a burden for older Americans ages 55 to 64. During that recession, many either lost their main employment and/or have been faced with limited wage growth. However, employment and wages for higher income level employees have not suffered. Unemployment numbers have soared from 3.1% in the first quarter of 2007 to 7.1% in the third quarter of 2010. Also higher are the numbers of underemployment as well as people who’d given up looking for jobs. Despite gains in the reduced time of looking for employment, median weekly earnings for full-time workers have not risen measurably. For example, the number was $861 in the third quarter of 2008 compared to $872 during the third quarter of 2019 according to Census Bureau. So finding a job might not have helped nor increased earning power.

In addition from suffering from limited employment and wages, loss in retirement savings have also affected older Americans. In essence, older Americans have not recovered. Just 52% of American households owned retirement accounts in 2018 compared to 50% in 2010. Among households that had workplace retirement plans, the average account balances jumped 22% from 2006 to 2018. Once again, those continuously employed especially with access to retirement plans, benefited the most.

Workers who lost their jobs and then their retirement plans also lost their health insurance, and faced the nightmare of pre-existing conditions, higher premiums with higher deductibles. The Affordable Care Act tremendously helped those individuals who lost their health insurance. However, the growth of Medicare Advantage Plans had been a surprise despite the findings of federal investigators. They found a pattern of inappropriate denials of patient claims and also the quality of care has been diminished.

Without income it’s difficult to pay down or pay off one’s mortgage. Home ownership rates for older Americans had fallen sharply since the recession according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. It’s believed that homeowners enjoy greater housing security and more predictable housing cost than do renters. Older households are also carrying greater mortgage debts and are more burdened by their housing costs.

Also affected by the consequences of  the recession, have been Social Security recipients  .Benefit changes enacted in 1983 are gradually pushing up the programs for retirement age for those born in 1960 or later. Social Security had been the main source of income for most Americans 10 years after the crash. Social Security benefits are shrinking as Medicare Part B premiums have increased resulting in lower net paid benefits.

In 2019, we’ve had a government shutdown; a trade war or tax to Americans; a so-called Border Wall crisis; income tax reduction for the top 1%; an increase in Defense spending; and an impeachment. These policies have not made America great but more ill with increased anxiety, fear, frustration, expectation and anger levels for those older white workers.  In the present, they are filled with failure, humiliation, and loss of control while their future looks like a doom and gloom scenario. Wait, let’s take a look at Finland. They do have the highest level of happiness or life satisfaction in the world. Perhaps we can learn from this prosperous capitalistic country.

1. They have universal taxpayer-funded healthcare that equals our US quality without confusing paperwork or haggling over huge bills 2. They have diverse public day care centers with enrichment activities staffed by professionals. About $300 a month is the maximum for public day care 3. They have one of the world’s best K-12 education systems at no cost regardless of the neighborhood. Colleges are also tuition free 4. They have paid parental leave for nearly a year 5.  They have paid annual vacations for six weeks which is also the norm 6. They have become one of the world’s wealthiest societies 7. They are the home to many highly successful global companies-the largest mobile phone company in the world. It’s  more business friendly than in the US .Also, it is better on key free market indices including greater protection of private property, less impact on competition from government controls and more openness to trade and capital flows according to the World Bank. 8. They have a higher level of economic mobility across generations than the children the United States 9. They have higher levels of personal political freedom and more secure political rights than citizens of the United States. Employees get paid decent wages and are supported by high-quality democratically accounted public services that enable everyone to live healthy with dignified lives and enjoy real equity for themselves and children. These are just a few of the statistics regarding Finland.

Politicians and greedy capitalists have created a disservice, a non-objective, a biased assault with erroneous assumptions and  a hateful mythology .In so doing the word” socialism” or” socialist’  has a negative, emotional or toxic meaning. Yet, greed and wealth, for the few, are considered good despite not being available for the masses.  Why not adjust our capitalistic economy to work in cooperation with the state or government? This means incorporating and adding a limited socialistic philosophy that is based on self-respect. We know that economics affects man’s needs. This means that our economics and political system must work together to reduce man’s anxiety, fears, frustration, anger and alienation. Then, we can make America healthier.  We can do this by: 1. Providing free child care and a free college education. This will enable most everyone to raise their skill level for a more meaningful with more employment opportunities.2.Providing better health care like Medicare. 3. Providing private healthcare a chance to compete with Medicare, if they can. 4. Providing higher wages for a living wage.

Enormous or excess profits to the few, employing low wages, poor working conditions, limited advancement etc.  Are not moral nor healthy.  We should not abolish capitalism, billionaires or profit. On the contrary, we can admire billionaires and unrig the current narcissistic, greedy and deceptive economic and political system. Per Warren Buffett, change the tax code and make it fair and be sure to include corporations. Raising taxes- a flat rate without loopholes is fair, not a bad thing and doesn’t limit economic incentive nor growth. Let’s improve our capitalism by incorporating more humanistic thinking, ideas and implementation.

Reduce the anxiety, fear, discomfort and stress around wages and unemployment so that retirement, health insurance, wage gains, housing and social security benefits can be positives and benefit all. Provide additional social or socialist humanistic programs not just Social Security, Medicare, and bailouts to farmers- especially during the tax- trade war debacle. A single-payer health care system and free college tuition are just two steps in the right direction even though our Finnish friends see these two basic ideas as just the norm. Perhaps one day, we might compete with the Finns in having a higher level of happiness and life satisfaction.

PS

Berea College is located in Kentucky, private, diversified, liberal arts, tuition free for low income students that work 10 hours per week on campus and provides room and board assistance.