It's Real

Covid- 19 is here. This essay addresses the behavioral health differences between and among individuals. In the past few months, more and more information surfaced about this deadly virus. In fact, we along with another couple, had tickets to attend Hamilton in San Francisco on March 7. On March 3, I called my friend, who happened to be in Florida visiting his brothers, about my concern about attending the show. During that conversation, I told him that Linda and I decided not to go but that I would pay for the tickets. He understood but Dave and his wife attended Hamilton anyway.

I remembered hearing president Trump state something like “we have good numbers; we got this-no problem; once the weather changes and becomes warmer, the virus will go away” in an attempt to downplay the health concern. Did Trump know or realize the seriousness of the threat? However, medical people had a very different slant regarding this virus and gave a contrary message.  Despite the evidence, Fox News individuals like Pete Hegseth stated “the more  I learn about this, the less there is to worry about;” Trish Regan “liberal media using the coronavirus to impeach the president;” Sean Hannity and Laura Ingram “the press are panic pushers stirring up mass hysteria.” It was reported by the other press that in 2018, Trump reduced funding for the disease-control unit of the CDC prevention unit by 16% from the 2020 spending levels.  Did you believe or see through those lies and propaganda messaging?

Then last Friday, the 14^th, while going into the local market an individual that I didn’t recognize yelled out to me something to the effect that “he’s on top of this, he’s providing a stimulus.”  This past weekend, Linda called her friend to tell her that she would not host next month’s Winning- Women gathering nor would she attend this month’s gathering due to the health concern- a group of women that get together and drink wine.

More recently, the president changed his tune about Covid 19. It was now recommended that no more than 10 people gather at one time in one place.  The NBA, NCAA, MLB and other leagues had already been canceled. Airline flying restrictions were implemented along with subsidies going to corporations and businesses. The House submitted a bill to the Senate. Governors like Andrew Cuomo implemented closing of businesses, schools while recommending limiting the number of people in groups. More and more restrictions surfaced from canceling a primary election in Ohio to news that basketball super star Kevin Durant tested positive for the virus. One doesn’t have to be over 60, have a respiratory illness or be in superb physiological health to test positive for the virus. According to Johns Hopkins University, there are now 13,314 cases and 199 deaths and rising across the country. The stock market continued to decline.

As of Tuesday, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and CNN’s interviewers were appalled and worried about the number of Americans not taking this virus seriously. They talked about partying of college students, on their spring break ,in Florida, attendees at Disneyland’s theme park, and video of San Francisco residents walking hand-in-hand, lack of social distancing, skateboarding, jogging, being on bicycles like normal. They asked how individuals could continue this behavior? Don’t they know that they could be carriers and infect others? Don’t they know that they are putting our health system, our health workers, the number of hospital beds, and the number of ventilators at risk? The media said these people must be selfish and not care about others. They are harming all of us. We have to be together.

Let’s examine these assertions more critically. We know that when born we continue, for a number of years, to be the most helpless of all. In fact this physical and psychological condition sets the stage for man to develop various needs to confront his emerging insecurity, dependency and helplessness. Not only that, but man eventually realizes that he’s going to die and return to that inorganic state.

In man’s development, the existential problem of his birth and of his existence are somewhat satisfied based on the conditions of his various physiological requirements and psychological needs and passions. As man evolves, he becomes aware of his aloneness, separateness, powerlessness and ignorance. The need for affiliation or to unite with another becomes of paramount importance. There are various ways to reduce that anxiety of being alone. One way to achieve this human dilemma and to transcend loneliness is by submission to a person, a group, an institution, political party or to God. By submitting to something bigger than oneself, is to identify or to connect with a larger power. This submission or masochistic behavior allows a sense of identity and union. But unfortunately it facilitates that individual becoming dependent on and becoming dominated or heavily influenced by it. A person, a group, an institution, a political party or God can be sadistic and controlling.  With submission, facilitates a buying in to various messaging that does not have to be truthful or even moral.  We can be easily misled.

Another way to overcome separateness is to unite or merge with others by making others part of oneself. In this way, it’s a transcendence of individual existence away from domination as well as not being involved in a symbiotic dynamic. The push for affiliation can then become more of a union, a bonding, or a solidarity. This is a move toward others, an involvement in a more humanistic and productive way.

In his separateness, man can also move toward others in an aggressive, manipulative, destructive or hostile manner. The move against another can be passive, aggressive, verbal and or physical. It doesn’t take much as man is easily frustrated, and the consequence results in one individual dominating another. History, has demonstrated over and over  man’s dominance over another be it female, male, color of skin, religious belief, state, country,  economic and/or other reasons.

Narcissism is also related to the affiliation need. At first, we are all narcissistic. Our only reality, as an infant, is our physiological needs for warmth, affection, or food. The “I” is not experienced differently from the “the other.” Slowly through perception, and with cognitive development, we begin to differentiate changes. We form individual and separate entities. The capacity for love can now be established as well as the reality that one’s thought process, feelings, and needs can be distinguished and are different from another’s. The importance is the ability to experience and perceive another’s realities as being separate from one’s own. In other words, through nurturing development, we begin to experience it’s not about only “me,” “me,” or “me” it’s about the importance of” you” as a separate, significant and human individual as well. However, with excessive narcissism, my partying on a beach is about me and I don’t care that I might infect you by being a carrier of this deadly disease.

Another way to view man’s behavioral health interactions with another is to be able to look at the world, nature, other persons and oneself as they are and not to be distorted by ones desires and fears. Reason, in man’s development with maturity, is his faculty for developing objectivity and reality with thought. Intelligence on the other hand is man’s ability to manipulate the world with the help of thought. Reason assists at arriving at the truth, while intelligence are man’s tools to manipulate the world within his subjective need structure.

Reason must be practiced in order to be developed. It’s about acquiring knowledge about the world, oneself, and one’s society. If we have illusions in one aspect of our life then our capacity for reason is restricted or damaged while attempting to utilize the use of reason. Reason can also inhibited with regard to other factors. Reason can help us with orientation and help us to be in touch with reality or in other words to look at the world more objectively. Reason is important and fundamental for man’s well-being. With intelligence, we create mechanisms that distort reality. We can deny, rationalize or use other defense mechanisms to prove to ourselves or others that our actions are right, just or even moral as in I feel great, and I do not have the virus. This is what Epicurus meant when he said “nothing is good or bad but thinking made it so.”  We can explain away any action by ourselves or any action by others as being ”okay”  even by God as in Manifest Destiny.

There are a significant group of individuals that have submitted, identified and are being dominated by president Trump, the Republican Party and certain media. The messaging is brainwashing propaganda. One buys into the messaging regardless. Truth or the use of reason does not have to be utilized. Intelligence or folk science with the defense mechanisms are apparent. Information that counters the message has to be viewed as evil, wrong, terrible, bad and threatening. Thus, one becomes easily angered by hearing the opposing view. One does not use reason as it’s simply not available when one submits to a force greater than oneself. Covid 19 is just a plot, it’s not real are examples.

When one disregards a physician’s recommendation based on science, and goes on and acts as if nothing is wrong, this suggests that narcissism is interfering in the interaction with others. By potentially infecting others and creating possible overwhelming demand on the health system and its workers, is not only hostile but destructive. When we treat others with disrespect and hostility, we are disrespecting ourselves as well. This behavior is not only counterproductive it also speeds up our own mortality. Once again, reason is not employed but intelligence is misused to distort reality.

Yes, to deny and to disregard health recommendations and information coming from most Governors, Department of Health or CDC are not just selfish but suicidal. The human need to submit to a force greater than oneself can also be detrimental. The degree of narcissism affects the ability to relate to others in either hostile, productive or creative ways. When there’s an absence of reason, we have distorted reality with an emphasis on common sense, defense mechanisms, nonscientific, self-defeating and irrational thinking. We are in this together like it or not. It’s serious and real.