God's Mistake

 

The  Roe versus Wade uprising based on the Alito draft received my attention. The idea for the overturning of this law, not surprisingly, goes back in historical time and belongs in the past. This essay is about male and female gender .

In Genesis, Adam was first created by God and then Eve followed, thus establishing male dominance. She was not only subordinate, but she was also cursed- referring to the pain of  bearing children in sorrow - devaluing her even more. Further, Eves, tempting Adam to eat from the tree of knowledge represents a sexual temptation. Now ,females are sexual beings that plunge man into misery .Can man overcome his lust and sexual temptations—Delilah, Medea, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra and Marilyn Monroe come to mind. Man can be at the mercy of his passions. On the other hand, below the surface, in his unconscious mind , man  attempts to control women because he is anxious, helpless, fearful, jealous with distrust .As a consequence, these repressed dangers result in his hostility. Aggression becomes easily activated and expressed in so many different ways. That fear is primarily although not exclusively rooted in sex.Despite being sexually attracted to women,men are conflicted by fear of being kept in bondage by them.

Anthropology has provided us with information regarding primitive cultures.  We know that in primitive tribes, the woman was surrounded by taboos during her sexual maturity development. For example: 1. Women of the Arunta tribe were magically able to influence the male genitals. If she sang to the blade of grass and then pointed it at a man ; he became ill and lost  his genitals altogether. Women lured him to his doom.  2. In East African tribes, husband and wife cannot sleep together because her breath might awaken him.  3. If  the woman of a  South African tribe climbs over the leg of the sleeping man, he will be unable to run. Thus, the old wives tale of the general rule -sexual abstinence. No sex for five days prior to hunting ,warfare, fishing, sports  4. A fear of menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth-a man who touched a menstruating woman would die.  Women are  mysterious beings who communicate with spirits and have magic powers that could be used to hurt the male.  He must therefore protect himself against her powers by keeping her subjugated.  Let me repeat, keeping her subjugated 5.  The Miri tribe did not permit the women to eat the flesh of the Tiger because they can become too strong.  6.  The Watawala tribe keeps the art of making a fire secret from the women or the  women could become their rulers  7. In the Middle Ages there was the cult of the virgin side-by-side with the burning witches. Thus, pure motherlyness completely divested of sexuality next to the cruel destruction of the sexually seductive woman 8.  Females in a God-given natural state are not the equal of the male. Moebius, the cartoonist, stated that the female brain weighed less than the male one 9. There is current evidence that shows that men's brains shrink more in advanced ages compared to women.  Some studies show that women have a larger corpus callosum than the man, suggesting that this may allow women to have more language functions in the non dominant right hemisphere . With stroke, studies show women tend to recover language faster. 10.  Women use more of their brains than men in doing nearly every cognitive task, possibly mediated by their larger corpus callosum  11. In Salem, 78% of people accused,  convicted of witchcraft were women and were hanged- because the devil overtook these women and their souls 12. More men died from Covid- 19 than females13.  Women are destroying” masculinity” according to Tucker, The New York Times, May 1,2022. American men are in deep trouble.  Modern life…. stressed and miserable . It’s …. a biological collapse of the species. If men are keeping women down, why are women doing so much better than men? Shouldn't women be helping men to be better?  if you destroy men or complete the destruction of man….. Wow ! The power of women is scary and it’s becoming harder to compete with them 14. 1 in 4 women are victims of severe physical violence15. Women are gaining on males in the educational, economic, and social areas. !6. How many women are school shooters ? 17. Conservative Maureen Dowd in a May 8, 2022  article in the New York Times made the following points: A.  Alito is returning to Puritan times   B.  Even Saudi Arabia allows abortions If a woman's physical or mental health is at risk  C.  Thomas was a pervy liar regarding Anita Hill and he helped open the door to dark money, along with helping gut the voting rights act  D. Five unelected, unaccountable and relatively unknown political operatives are masquerading as impartial justices. They are interested in constructing a society that comports with their rigid, religiously driven worldview.

 Is Tucker right that women are emasculating their man? Perhaps for males to regain their masculinity, it's important for them to obtain satisfaction and security(S&S).  The following are standards for these types: 1.  Man must be king of his castle, if he can afford it.  2.  Females are his property and possession 3.  His females must be dependent , obey, comply, give in,loyal, giving , and be subservient with limited education and intellectual qualities.  4.  Contraception and abortion not permitted.  5.  Homeschooling is required for censoring books  materials ,interests and friendships  6.  Voting by females is restricted-in my community, the CCR's allow one vote per household for the Board of Directors 7.  Driver's licenses are to be restricted.  8. Church attendance required  every Sunday, holidays etc.9. Exorcism’s are permitted 10.An automatic weapon present on every birthday.11. Corporal punishment for every derogatory remark 12. An allowance for food purchases.

Perhaps, part of a males resentment towards women is that she has a life creating power that men can admire, but this admiration fosters resentment toward capabilities that man does not possess. Yes, men can create religion, government, art, science that has an obvious masculine imprint . Man's resentment towards women is obvious when it comes to the children she produces.  Do not provide her or her child medical insurance ,medicine, food , housing, preschool  assistance etc.  Just using median hourly earnings of both full and part-time workers, the male- female gender gap for the last 15 years has shown that women earned 84% of what men earned according to the Pew Research Center.  Further, the gap between white and nonwhite women is even more; women earn less than men in nearly all occupations; women earn less than males in their same race and ethnicity at every level of degree attainment. The pandemic caused women's labor force participation back more than 30 years.

 I interviewed Doc Shay-Sharon Shay Bintliff in "It Has Nothing to Do with Age."  This Dr. began medical school at the University of Texas at Galveston in 1962.  She was the only female in the medical program of 76 students.  She was also a paddler and has completed the most competitions from Molokai to Owahu.  In 1952, the first Outrigger  canoe race began for man.  It wasn't until October 14, 1979 that women were given permission by the male US Coast Guard to compete and enter that race.They were told that It's just too dangerous for women. And just yesterday I heard that Trump would have won the popular vote in 2016 against Hillary if votes in California were not counted.  Counting California ,Hillary won by more than 2.9 million votes.

Discrimination against females goes back to recorded time.  Our Constitution was created and ratified by white males. Females were finally allowed to vote, but 100 years ago. Yes, males fear women as they can easily tempt men based on  testosterone and other conditions.  Yes, many have been puss.. whipped by  women since recorded time.  Women are extremely competitive and are tremendous athletes.  Not only that, many women are so verbally proficient.  Unfortunately, man has created an ideology that perpetuates and maintains his power position and is clever enough to make this position acceptable to the weaker one.  Man has concealed his struggle and feelings of being inferior.  So man has to obscure this fact and places emphasis on a  religious belief that causes women to adopt the same archaic beliefs. Yes man can and does fool some females, especially the evangelicals.

One time, in the days of old, women were the property of men.  That's an historical fact.  Just ask Thomas Jefferson about his relationship with Sally Hemmings ? He promised her what?  Oh yeah, when they returned from France, he changed his mind.  Rape is another example of discrimination.  The woman wanted it. It was consensual. She dressed seductively and she was flirtatious.  So what if I got her drunk.  It didn't happen.  Both Thomas and Kavanaug  supported that idea.  Their record speaks for itself. And these men should have power over women regarding sex?  Unconscionable!  The Supreme Court has too many undesirables.

 A March 20, 2022 article appeared in the New York Times regarding a # MeToo movement.  Some testimonials from  Swedish women: 1.  I was 17 and was raped by a Stockholm politician who is now a top candidate in the 2018 election   2.  Sitting with colleagues in the dining room hall, one of them fixates his eyes on me and says, "I can really understand why men rape sometimes."  The other colleagues(male) laugh."  3.  After I left the court as a law clerk, one of the judges became my mentor.  He was supportive, offered advice, and one day he came to the office and wanted me to pay him back with oral sex.  4.  We were greeted on the first day of law school with the phrase: Here we educate Sweden's best lawyers and Sweden's most educated housewives. 5.  When I did my court service, a now retired judge called me into his office the day before I was sitting in on the rape trial with him.  He showed me photos of the three defendants and asked me, by whom I would rather be raped.

Yes, males exhibit power  over others or whom they fear and/or those that they know they can bully.  Endless exploitation; endless wars, endless income inequality, endlessly exploiting the earth, the seas and the climate while bringing us closer to nuclear war and AR 15 killers.  Way to go guys .It’s fear and  inadequacy that fuels hate, destruction and murder.  God, you made a mistake.  It should've been Eve and then Adam.  George Eliot stated, "Falsehood is so easy, truth so difficult.

Reference

Horney, Karen.  Feminine Psychology.

Institute for Natural Resources.  Cerebral Dominance  The Left and Right Brain.  

PS

Peter Abelard born in  1079 was a medieval French scholastic, philosopher ,leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician.  He fell in love with the younger Heloise and wrote her beautiful passionate poems of love.  Unfortunately, he was castrated by her uncle and became a monk.  600 years later, Josephine Bonaparte  entombed  them together in a cemetery in Paris.  They had promised to remain "Forever One."  Although they never met again, his famous love letters endures.

Insanity

  .Our Insanity 

 It's not surprising that there are mass shootings in our country. It's not surprising that a negative identity neurotic ,military armed teen murdered unarmed individuals in a residential setting. It's also not surprising that there’s an increase of bias, hostility and hate in our country. Might this be a clue? This brief essay addresses a few significant causes for the continuation of our insanity.

The baby's main issues of insecurity, helplessness and dependency begin early, accompanied by seeking survival. Survival depends on acquiring proper and necessary amounts of satisfaction and security. It doesn't take long before  a  rivalry develops for meeting one’s satisfaction and security.  It's important to be first, favored ,pampered, loved and liked by one's parents. Initially there is rivalry and competition for satisfaction and security for favoritism parents. Then, a competition and rivalry becomes apparent between siblings called a sibling rivalry.One example arises with the arrival of a newborn. The child is expected to  be joyous.happy ,thrilled and say ” I'm so happy” “ I love the new baby.”  The child doesn't dare admit “great, now I have competition, that infant gets all the attention, praise, love, affection-I hate him.  Get rid of him.”  If the child told the truth about his feelings for this new arrival, that would be met with a negative reaction and rejection. If sensitive to rejection, that would be catastrophic. Actual feelings of anxiety, resentment and hostility don't dare get expressed but instead are hidden from the parent and  psychically repressed . Of course there are other examples when frustration occurs impairing satisfaction and security. In those anxious experiences, the feelings of resentment and  hostility are also hidden from others but internally repressed from consciousness.  As a result, in childhood, children frequently  experience anxiety, repression, resentment and hostility that occurs because of rivalry and other people encounters. With repression, it's like there's a festering reservoir of enriched uranium-235  of semantic memory traces that with low frustration tolerance can be violently erupted without any apparent external cause or by some minor infraction . The tendencies for a verbal and/or physical volcanic explosion erupts as if it comes out of the blue. As the child progresses mentally and physically, eruptions become more frequent, severe and damaging. However, with repression,the danger exists that a child can ,on the surface, seem to others to be generally quiet, reserved and well mannered as both  self and others  are fooled.

Rivalry, competitiveness and conflict continues during the school years as well, interfering with acquiring satisfaction and safety.  If one can be the teacher's pet, that can be super; if one gets to be picked by the teacher more than anyone else, that can be super; if one gets to be picked first by classmates, that can be super.  In school, teachers grade and evaluate students.  They have favorites and rank students accordingly.  Are there competitions and rivalries in elementary school, you bet?  Who's the best reader; who's the best speller; who's best at math; and, importantly, who's the prettiest and whose best at sports?  Peers are aware of rankings as well as the teachers.  There are those that are popular and are those that are not.  Moreover, with rivalry we have success and we also have failure and fear of failure.  Not everyone can be first.  In fact,one acquaintance told me coming in second was the first loser. Rivalry, success, failure affects the development of self-esteem.  With more satisfaction and security results in higher self-esteem and greater expectations.  With too much failure, we have anxiety, repression, resentment, hostility, hatred and low self esteem.  Often these emotions become repressed.  However, we've all seen bullying in elementary school.

 On the other hand, interactions can become associated with anxiety which sends the individual into isolation, loneliness with fears of rejection. Further, it should be noted that hostile impulses are a main psychological factor in promoting anxiety. Repressing a hostility means pretending that everything is alright and a refrain from assertiveness and making oneself heard.  This repression generates a feeling of defensiveness and reinforces previously feelings of defensiveness.  In essence, this allows others to take advantage of the child or teen.

Rivalry, competition and friction expresses themselves in high school as well. Once again, being liked by the teachers and especially by the peer group becomes important. During my high school years, there was rivalry between being popular; the "hoods" and the “socialites;"  becoming class president; making the team; becoming first string; and the dreaded and fierce rivalry with Pershing High School.  In fact, there used to be Friday night football games.  But due to a knife fight between Denby and Pershing patriots, Friday night games became Friday afternoon games.  Once again, rivalry competition comes with hostility and hate.

Our Republic, and the capitalistic economic model, thrives on competition and rivalry.  If one is to make a profit, one has to be better than his rival.  One can only make a profit by being better than the rivals.  Large companies take over small companies.  Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook , etc. slam the competition.  Being number one is so important.  Also, take the competition among universities, as they are ranked on so many dimensions- majors, degrees etc; - the football rivalries as well.  In fact, college football teams are ranked months before the season begins.  Further, there are rankings of the wealthiest in our country; the rankings of CEO salaries; the rankings of best places to live, start a business, etc. We even have competitions for Grammy awards, Tony awards, Academy Awards, etc.In fact there is competition for one's voice as in The Voice and American Idol.  Currently, the NBA has its playoffs for a world championship.  As of today, there are only four teams fighting for that top spot, the top ranking or the very best.

Politically, we have elections, rivalry between the Democratic Party and the Totalitarian party.  We have polls. Our government is set up for winners and losers for the wielding of power.  There certainly is competition , opposition conflict and antagonism between the  have and have not  groups. Make a long story short, rivalry,  competition,winning and losing with envy, jealousy and” I’m entitled” which is a victim stance plays a significant role in our culture.

Back in the 1950s, there was rivalry and competition among the white folks.  The high school educated white could and did enter the middle class with a home in the suburbs, TV, two cars and send his kids to college.  At the college level, there was a token black athlete and a small number of Blacks attending the University.  The football team was white; the student population was white; and the local, state and federal government was predominantly white.  The music world was predominantly white; the movie industry predominantly white; the Ed Sullivan show, Dinah Shore, Milton Berle, etc. were white.  With segregation and discrimination, there was an absence of competition or rivalry between white skinned and darker skinned individuals.  Competitive slogans galore- dream house, most toys wins, keeping up with the Jones, state of the art etc. were capitalistic propaganda for white’s only..

Today, we view our country through a different lens.  Dark skinned individuals, once perceived as being inferior intellectually, are seen on TV.  They are articulate, well groomed, good-looking, and very popular.  The sports world, currently the NBA has four teams competing for the championship.  Three of these teams have coaches of color.  We have a black VP from California, a US California Senator, a person of color .The movie  and music industry are well represented by people of color.  On the other hand, Musk ,Bezos, Gates, Buffet, Zuckerberg exemplify income inequality; and Trump, McConnell, Tucker exemplify white power with hate.  Further, the militia groups also exemplify white hate. Economically , the benefits go where? Follow the money.

The White hate slogan of” replacement” refers to the inability to compete in today's society.  If you have  a high school education, what are your chances for coming in first with positive self-esteem?  In today's cutthroat capitalistic competition, what are your chances of becoming promoted; not being left behind economically; with a buildup of anxiety,repressed resentment, hostility, hatred and prejudice? 

 In essence, many of these teens are not in a good position to  successfully compete. They are being left behind with much  frustration affecting satisfaction, security , coupled with anxiety, and build up of hostility and hatred that's fostered within a severely inept parenting style within a dysfunctional family. Add severe disproportionate economic inequity within and to a  broken ,defective and toxic political system.We have created a sick, insane society. These broken teens have plenty of models to imitate and identify based on TV coverage and social media propaganda and lies.  The First Amendment gives them permission to lie and be misled and our Second Amendment permission to kill. Therefore, with rivalry and anxiety, the reservoir of hostility and hate accumulates and festers. Our competitive driven society allows hate speech and purchasing of killing weapons. Thus,we have an algorithm equation for profit and mass killings. Some might argue that there are more variables required to explain mass shootings or why aren’t there even more mass shootings?  I agree, I presented just a few psychological concepts pertaining to killing with more to follow.  The concepts I presented - satisfaction, security, anxiety, repression, hostility, rivalry and  hate are basic character foundations that are  to be found in evaluating the adolescent shooter. With each individual, there are an infinite number of situational experiences and reinforcements found within parenting and within the society of these individuals.  Therefore, the above concepts are the ground-floor  or building blocks for everyone with an array of  normal and/or neurotic tendencies .Isaac Newton “Truth is never to be found in simplicity.”

PS

While engaging in play therapy, I experienced children unable to express their actual feelings verbally of hostility and aggression towards parents .However ,with toys, they freely expressed their rage regarding their family situation.

Reference 

Freud,Sigmund. Totem and Taboo.

Relationships

 

Jeff' Windeshausen’s passing ,coupled with an article titled, "Can't Stop Loving Her?  Maybe You Should Try Harder`` was found in the April 24, 2022 edition of The New York Times triggered my response.  I'm also  incorporating friendships  from" It Has Nothing to Do with Age” in this discussion and comment on unions . 

 Within the life cycle, we repeatedly experience anxiety,  attachment, loss, grief  and/or depression that becomes associated with disruption of dependency. With death, the physical loss is permanent,except psychologically- memories.Friends that have enriched my life, yet too many have passed. But memories from both my book and from the TV videos bring a smile. Thank you all.

Tony confessed that both of his ride and tie partners died-Jeff and Tom Christofk. It wasTony and Tom that induced me to the Tevis and Western States trail.  I also had two ride and tie partners that  died-Bob Edwards and Jonathan Jordan.  I have devoted an entire chapter with Jonathan when we  came in first in the 100 Mile Swanton Pacific Ride and Tie in Chapter 12.   Bud John's was significant because he invented the sport. And Jim Steere, Chapter 7 DMV: Renaissance Man and Athlete Extraordinaire was associated with the very first ride and tie.  Also, Jim was involved with the origins of the Tevis endurance ride as was Fred Jones in Chapter 6 The History of the Tevis . Wendell provided Fred with the horse for him to earn his buckle.  During my Tevis,Warren Hellman and I rode together for  most of the  ride. This man was said to have more money than God,although you would not know it by looking at the way he dressed. Mark Richtman  came in third in the 2002 Western States run and I was an age division in that race.

I was fortunate enough to meet Jack Sholl and I called  Chapter 14 Patriot, Rower, Gentlemen,  Unparallelled.  I spent  time with Jack and his wife Joan both in Northern and Southern California . Their stories go back to Grace Kelly and the Kelly family. You all were fun. I miss you dearly..

The New York Times article gave examples of moving on after divorce, such as: 1.  Thinking negative thoughts about the person that you're trying to fall out of love with 2.  Think of things that make you happy other than the person you're trying to fall out of love with 3.  Imagine your husband covered in vomit and holding dead kittens.  4. Reframe the notion of falling out of love.  If falling out of love, know that you are still amazing, powerful, fierce, loving  who will continue to grow, love and thrive.These suggestions were based on the administration of MRIs focusing on VTA activation in brain functioning.  It was stated that attachment and physical pain, not emotion were variables and drive was a major factor regarding love and loss.

Statistically,divorce is prominent in our culture . Briefly, it was not uncommon to hear patients say they've fallen out of love and/or they are no longer compatible, especially with kids, as when they separated and left home.Marriage is complicated .Religion, called man  sinful; Mark Twain said man was partially insane; and Freud said man can become neurotic.  Let's start out with a few givens: 1. Man begins life with anxiety, dependence, attachment, separation, ambivalence and sadomasochistic tendencies.  2.  Mother or the caretaker has a tremendous challenge in providing for all the needs.  Mother provides warmth, care, tenderness, rejections, prohibitions, threats and punishment 3.  Can trust be established or  is there a stronger tendency  for developing mistrust? 3.  Man has many needs that include passion, possession ,prestige, power, exhibition, play,achievement, competition, succorance, sexual and affiliation  4.  Often, childhood experiences are met with conflict, anxiety, frustration , aggression and are related to competition ,rivalry and disappointments that also  become activated during life 5.  Man has difficulty with loneliness and seeks affiliation   6.  Couples seek union for a variety of reasons and have  illusions like finding happiness as  Cinderella "Live happily ever after."  7.  Marriage vows are an expectation of lifelong companionship, fidelity and sexual cooperation .  8.  George Gershwin’s song.  Our love is here to stay"   is not always true because, in part, -ambivalence 9.  Jeff and Mackenzie, after their divorce, McKenzie married a science teacher and then began giving away millions.  Bill and Melinda, after their divorce, continued working together giving away their wealth.  When Fareed asked Bill about his divorce , he seemed dumbfounded and was unable to come up with an intelligent response as to the why.  10.  Separation and loss are inevitable.  It's healthier to move on than to remain a victim.

A few points regarding why a breakup of the union: 1.  Everyone brings to the relationship a history of unresolved issues.  Likely, this is not the first time that a relationship has gone sour, and is likely not the last time unless the individual has some self understanding of his own dynamics.  The relationship did not start out with hate even though it may exist now.  Was the initial attraction based on some fantasy that turned into an ugly reality?  It's important to accept responsibility for that initial reality. Did the transformer use magic? Why was reality distorted ?  What factors led to the dislike of a partner? Take  responsibility for the original choice since if that person is all evil, then it might be just the self fulfilling prophecy on your part, which also suggests the abasement need- to hurt self.

2.  All relationships have ambivalence.  So to reframe and imagine someone that's all evil sounds ridiculous to me.  By all means, there had to be something good about the person and the relationship.  Search back and find and identify the positive or positives, otherwise it makes you look pretty stupid if there weren't any.  The memories good and bad are reality and part of your experience.  To create some reframing fiction perpetuates the defense mechanism of denial, rationalization, etc. When I ran Western States, I reframed "put one step in front of the other."  I didn't have to say  going forward. Reframing should be based on truth and reality .

3.  Often, individuals may jump into another relationship quickly; use drugs and alcohol; become a workaholic; talk with another for reinforcement for their woe.They are attempts to leave the psychological field in some other way.  Repetition compulsion means that one makes the same mistake over and over again.  Einstein said something to the effect of doing the same thing  over and over and expecting a different result is insanity.  Another alternative, is to examine oneself as in “to know thyself “in order to reduce mistakes Oh yeah, insurance says, take a pill and will pay for five therapy sessions.

Furthermore, if mortal, the impetus to connect and attach with another has many variables and might also have to do with avoiding loneliness at all costs- that’s why in part we are called social animals.How realistic is fidelity for many? Ask Bill , Hillary, Monica; Donald,Melania,  Stormy; Arnold, Maria,Mildred; Meg,Dennis ,Russel;Frank,Nancy ,Ava;Brad,Jennifer ,Angelina and Eddie, Debbie and Elizabeth to name a few.

Relationships vary in degree, length ,intensity as well as importance.  The breakup of relationships can be and does vary among individuals.  Not all divorces are the same or experienced the same way.  It's important to deal with the reality of the psychological situation.  Individuals vary as to when they are ready to emotionally commit, leave or separate.

In summary, all relationships are terminal. All relationships have ambivalence.  Social animals don't like to be alone.  Humans have a great capacity for thinking, emotion and memory.  When there's an impairment in thinking, emotion or memory that individual becomes compromised.  Utilize thinking, emotion and memory, along with truth and reality.It’s not surprising why there is a selection of so many unsuitable marital partners.  Man’s imperfections are a good place to begin   Follow the words of Plato  "For once touched by love, everyone becomes a poet ; Heraclitus said, "Of all the  means  which wisdom acquires to ensure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is friendship; Socrates "Neither family, nor privilege, nor wealth, nor anything but love can light that beacon which a man must steer by when he sets out to live a better life."They are wonderful words .

References

Horney, Karen.  Feminine Psychology.

Murray, H.  A.  Explorations in Personality

Intellectual Difficulties

 

I had many  conversations with my friend Paul pertaining to his friends.  I have selected a few segments of  his conversations from just four individuals. Three things stand  out: 1.  The misuse of word meanings  2.Ignorance of political and economic history 3.   Beliefs and decisions that are contrary to self-interest. Thinking about the above leads to the question: “ Are they stupid?”

Briefly, psychologists, about 100 years ago, first engaged in psychometric examinations with school-age children.  One of their concerns led to the evaluation of intellectual performance and potential- that relates to behavioral choices, ability to  learn  and  how personality  factors affect that potential.  David Wechsler and  colleagues created an intelligence scale- test for both children and  adults. According to Dr. Wechsler,” an intelligence test is a psychometric device… Assessing an individual’s potential for purposeful and useful behavior.”  He added,  “information obtained from intelligence tests is relevant to the extent that it establishes and reflects whatever it is one  defines as overall capacity for intelligent behavior.”

In both the children and adult intelligence scales or tests, there are 11 subtests that are associated  in both the left  and right hemispheres  in the brain - the hippocampus,  amygdala and hypothalamus regions. The following three subtests  address the intelligence of the individuals in question.

Vocabulary Is the  first sub test to be applied.  Vocabulary is a measure of  learning ability;  verbal information; a range of ideas  influenced by educational background .  This subtest is the best single measure of general intelligence.  Vocabulary gives an excellent picture of  richness of ideas, quality of language and degree of abstract thinking.  Further, this subtest also provides a semantic use of words and gives insight into an individual's thought process.  Moreover, this subtest provides an indication of the defense mechanism of intellectualization and emotional disturbance.  Importantly, it provides a good idea of familial-cultural backgrounds, and educational level of the parents.  With that being said, a misuse and non understanding of words suggests deficits with parental upbringing, limited school achievement, impaired intellectual ability as well as the difficulty in communicating correctly within a hateful emotional belief system.  For example, Paul told me that his friend used the word pedophile incorrectly in both understanding and application.Paul defined the word for him. That impoverished  believed the slanderous lies told about Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden -eating babies.His general intelligence and learning ability are questionable.

Information was the second subtest  applied.  This subtest measures general information that the individual  extracted from his surrounding environment and his ability to store this information as in general knowledge.  Therefore, remote memory, capacity for associative thinking,  as well as range of interests is limited with low scores .  The depth of  an individual's degree of information is an indication of intellectual capacity and general knowledge.  More intelligent individuals have broader interests, greater curiosity and seek mental stimulation. Also, information acquired is also related to experiences and opportunities available in our society.

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Limited education, not taking advantage of available information, lack of curiosity and restricted intellectual capacity are exemplified in the following episode.  Paul provided a visual and auditory recording of one of Dwight Eisenhower's presentations. In the video, Eisenhower's use of language, knowledge and abilities presented coherent, reliable and valid information .  Paul then presented a second video of  Trump.  Trump's use of vocabulary, lack of coherence, lies, put downs and his disrespect were clearly obvious when Trump deviated from the script. The individual in question clearly had little historical knowledge and was in disbelief about what she saw and heard. She was unable  to compare and  adequately contrast all the inadequacies and limitations of her hero Trump suggesting a limited and biased intellectual capacity of general knowledge.

Comprehension was the third subtest.  This subtest measures behavior that occurs in social situations.  The behavior in social situations takes into account moral behaviors that are required in everyday living experiences.  Of course, parenting, school, and peer group experiences also play a part regarding moral behavior.Individuals with broader interests are more curious and have a greater wealth of knowledge, enabling them to solve practical social problems presented to them in daily living.  Being able to make practical judgments, these individuals have a better opportunity to evaluate and utilize past experiences in socially acceptable ways. The ability to verbalize correctly suggests appropriateness of thinking.  This test also reflects the emotional state and stability of the individual.  Low scores in this subtest are associated with physical and psychological limitations, concrete thinking, limited capacity to accept hypothetical premises to work on hypothetical conclusions.  Moreover, they exhibit and  are associated with an over-dependent character structure.

Paul had a conversation with a Republican Teamster who did not understand the importance of unions, benefits acquired such as healthcare nor did he understand the political party that was responsible for diminishing and curtailing the power of unions and their benefits.  With another Republican couple, an illustration of impaired thinking , amorality , and non coherence was related to contradictory self-interest.  In this situation, the wife had never worked, was disabled and received money from the government for her disability.  She did not know the position of the political party regarding "government handouts."  However, she knew how to badmouth the current president and did not consider the amoral character of the past president. No wealth  of information, common sense or understanding of republican party principles that are not in her self interest was acknowledged by her.

 Walter Cronkrite and Edward R. Murrow provided objective information and did not pander to any particular political party.  Unfortunately, we now have oppositional hateful rhetoric coming from Rush, "he died ''  and some  cable news channels that advertise  “ they are fair and balanced.”

Today's media types remind me of Elmer Gantry.  Gantry was a character in the Sinclair Lewis novel by that name.  Gantry was a self-serving, hedonistic, charmer with a salesman personality.  Erich Fromm described this type as having a marketing orientation in "Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics."  Gantry, with the public, was personable, seductive, an intelligent manipulator driven by the almighty dollar.  This pathetic inauthentic shallow individual was severely limited emotionally-of course hidden from the public.  Were lying, cheating, exploiting, and manipulating his values?  Of course, his amoral character was prevalent.  He had a commodity to sell and that was religious fundamentalism to small American towns-for-profit. He was a true capitalist.

The fair and balanced cable channel has terrific, well-educated, attractive         marketing people   -Elmer Gantry types.  They are not journalists, their job is simply to spread hate, lies and  authoritarian misinformation for personal profit.  They have a legion of loyal and gullible followers that they can easily manipulate.  These Elmer Gantry types' success is based on their friendly, seductive personalities.  Some likely believe in themselves, although most are extremely inauthentic.  The messaging is consistent regardless of the spokesperson as if they're all reading the same script.  Examples-2020 election was stolen, with no mention that  the fraudulent Trump and his allies were the ones attempting to steal it.  Of course the January 6, 2020 occurrence was just a political discourse.  Further, it's not a surprise that they are paid well as they are very slick and  skilled in what they do.  Note, the fair and balanced cable channel lies with that description.  Fair and balanced, for whom?  The Elmer Gantry's  live on. 

Homo sapiens begin life with fear and dependency.  In the Prince, Machovelli identified fear as a powerful motivator to control the populace. Fair and balanced media does just that with this wonderful array of marketing personality types.  Years ago, Leon Festinger  identified cognitive dissonance motivation. Simply, cognitive dissonance results from a conflict of imported salient information.  If contrary concrete information regarding belief and perception of self is received from external sources, anxiety interferes.  This tension in the mind is painful and must be eliminated .  As a result, the mind creates defenses that limit or prohibit that information from being received.  Therefore,  the mind takes in, receives, assimilates and accommodates information that is not stressful.  These Republicans,without conflict,take in false rhetoric from their marketing salesman personality types.. The mind does not  deal with the truth,objectivity and reason. With cognitive dissonance,the mind only has to deal with eliminating  the irritation of tension.

In essence our politics are more divisive as ever as the Republican Totalitarian Party fears losing power resulting from the changing demographics occurring in the country.  Therefore, the Party has become more overtly totalitarian in its belief and practice for its minority rule.  Do away with democracy based on popular vote.  The Totalitarian Party can accomplish power by gaining control over state legislatures and the voting procedures.  With  sophistication, this party provides fearful messaging to its own.  They claim the other party wants to eliminate police, allow abortions, facilitate murderers and rapists  and take away  guns.  They also  claim that wearing a mask takes away liberty. This is all the perpetuation of First and Second Amendment nonsense and lies by these politicians.  Oh yeah, book bannings and not being able to teach racial history is what?  The educated politicians are also clever marketeers with their hateful, irrational rhetoric ,exploitative ,restrictive and fraudulent  policies that easily misled their limited, guilliable intellectual and psychological horde. However, it is clear that Paul's friends who vote Republican have the following characteristics: 1. Their amount of knowledge and range of information is politically and historically  extremely narrow.  2.  Their alertness toward the world is biased 3.  Their common sense and practical information is negligible.Their learning ability , verbal misinformation and cognitive capacity  appears to be influenced and limited by  controlled sources. According to Albert Einstein, knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world.I add “ we all know about the fantasies,beliefs and wishful thinking that occurs in the mind.”

PS

As a licensed psychologist I taught psychology classes including research and design  to both undergraduate and graduate students at the University level.  Additionally,for about 25 years or so, I provided psychological evaluations. I used a variety of psychological tests including Wechsler's intelligence scales for children and adults.  Wechsler's tests were excellent in providing insight into intellectual and personality tendencies. These psychological evaluations  were administered in prisons{competency to stand trial} in locked mental health facilities; inpatient group homes; outpatient County mental health facilities.. 

Reference

Wechsler, David .  The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence.

Jeff

 I first met Jeff Windenhausen 25 years ago on Mount Hamilton in San Jose.  Jeff and Tony participated in the ride and tie and I in the endurance ride.  I'm sad to report that Jeff passed couple of days ago.However,  Tony  and I were lucky to interview Jeff on our TV show.  Jeff is a neat and unique individual, and I am blessed to have known him.  The following is the link to the show:    https://youtu.be/FrSGP-FNzcAp