This essay pertains to the last 40- 50,000 years of human actions while providing a few related facts. We humans , other species and the planet, are in peril primarily because of dominance, imagination and cooperation.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the Neanderthals and the Denisovans? Have you ever wondered what happened to the mammoths, mastodons and giant beavers? Have you ever wondered why the Sumatran Rhino, Sunda Tiger, Vaquita, Western Lowland Gorilla, African Forest Elephant, Amur Leopard and 44 more animals are critically endangered? Have you ever wondered why we have saved from extinction the Peregrine Falcon, Mallorcan Midwife Toad, Sea Otter, Fen Orchid, Blue Whale, Highland Night Lizard and Rodrigues Fruit Bat ? Only 541 American Bison remained in the late 18th century. We saved them from extinction in North America. Further , have you ever wondered why bats and great crested newts have legislative protection?
Briefly, the reason for what happened to the Neanderthals; why we have animals on the critically endangered list and why we've given legislative protection to some animals is simply because we can. Humans are born insecure, dependent and have developed a need for Dominance and have become irrational along the way. Henry Murray in his Personology Theory identified Dominance as a need. Murray’s brief definition: " To control one's human environment. To influence or direct the behavior of others by suggestion, seduction, persuasion or command. To dissuade, restrain or prohibit." With, in part, this significant need, man has destroyed himself . other humans and other living things. Also, within the last 200 years, man has threatened the existence of the planet by drilling, polluting, and burning fossil fuels. Further, within the last 80 years, man has developed weapons of mass destruction. In other words, climate change, the ability to kill ourselves and others puts all of us at risk. The New York Times, November 13, 2022, Roots and Revolutions.
Our ego, with its executive ego functioning, has the ability for imagination. This means we have the mental power to create stories , mythology, illusions, fiction, fabrication, concoction and lies which fool us and distort reality along with the use of our defense mechanisms. Man has used his imagination for dominance and control ,forever . For example, in the fairytale Cinderella, the beautiful female is portrayed as being a victim as she's abused by the " wicked" stepmothers. But, she’s rescued by the handsome male and lives happily ever after. Beautiful female weak with the strong male rescuer. In Little Red Riding Hood, we had a naive weak female fooled by nature-the wolf. But, she too was rescued by a strong masculine male. Imagination, illusion and wishful thinking are cognitive tools used by males for dominance, power, possession and status
With religion, we have supernatural beliefs as with God, devil, fairies, angels, and so forth. One can achieve immortality in an afterlife with little effort. It doesn't matter that one breaks "God's commandments," or civil and criminal laws . Does one only have to say "I believe" or repeat words issued by a priest or fast ? What about the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus ? I saw many Santa Clauses ,sleds and reindeer on lawns. Is it rational to believe Santa Claus travels around in a sleigh pulled by reindeer and only visiting "good children'' ? `` How many narrow chimneys can a fat overweight old man climb through carrying a large bag filled with toys in one night? Also, what about two players from opposing teams praying to God for their victory? What a dilemma for God. What should he do in that situation? Hypatia of Alexandria said, "All formal dogmatic religions are fallacious and must never be accepted by self-respecting persons as final."
Briefly , the Nazi power structure took advantage of the need for dominance in gaining power during the great depression. They employed imagination, fantasy, lies and illusion in convincing the working and lower class Germans with consensus to cooperate with war and murder. The Nazi dominance need structure was able to take advantage of the low self-esteem and ego need deficits. During this period, the working and lower class Germans were stuck, stressed and humiliated. The clever Nazis blamed and lied about the German political delegation for signing the Treaty of Versailles. They claimed that this political delegation did not represent the will of the German people, violated German spirit and was politically weak, false, dysfunctional , the enemy and inept. Messaging was about revenge and avenging World War I loss and the unfairness of the treaty. They employed fantasy , fiction and lies about the purity and power of the master race of Aryans that was supposed to rule the world.Thus, the Nazis were going to make Germany great. Really, how did that turn out?
Further, in order to further consensus, cooperation and buying into the evilness and craziness of their world domination plan,the Nazis scapegoated and blamed the chosen people, the Jewish elite, highly educated, politically sophisticated, creative, powerful, economically well off and superior. The working and lower class Germans identified with Nazi power messaging and obediently followed . The power of defense mechanisms of denial, rationalization etc. justified their inhumanity toward their fellow German Jewish citizens.
With imagination, how did the Nazis so easily exterminate so many Jewish people during WW 2 ? They transported with box cars ; created death camps and technology for extermination . Who could believe that intelligent Germans would and could engage in such a barbaric and savage manner to peaceful and civic minded citizens in their own country? Well, the Nazis employed tricks and deception to fool the Jewish people. Jewish people were told to prepare for a different life so they took their valuables with them. When they arrived at Auschwitz, they were lied to about receiving food, clothing for their resettlement. Parked in clear view was a military van that was marked with a Red Cross. However, this SS” medic “van actually carried canisters of Zyklon B. Who would believe that they were all going to be murdered.? Who would believe the reality of the situation? Traveling in an overpopulated boxcar, soldiers with weapons and German shepherds suggests nothing good but evil. However, man is easily fooled with the confrontation of reality's ugliness . We have drugs, alcohol, other escapes and the power of defense mechanisms to distort a terrifying and ugly reality. So the clever Nazis, with lies and deception hid the ugliness of truth . They wanted the prisoners to be obedient in order to keep their death plot running smoothly. Denial, rationalization and other defenses lead one's mind and imagination to fantasy , not reality . Fantasy masks anxiety related to a psychological need or needs and leads to the unrealistic and improbable .
Another example used for dominance, control and exploitation is used by tech companies because corporate greed rules. They use lies, imagination, videos, a wide incarnation of Brothers Grimm monsters, and pose as caregivers in manipulating their value of being an online assistance to the parents. It's a great learning tool for what? How can a child learn about competence, compassion, security, self-confidence, and a sense of meaning while being online? Being in demand, the children, so as not to be different from their peers, pressured parents for electronic devices. Parents cooperated as they succumbed to the pressure in the culture and went along with the sophisticated tech programs. I’m referring primarily to children. An average 8-12 year-old American spends over five hours a day online. Almost all of it is passively watching and not as tech companies claim that it’s a teaching tool. Of course, they are deceiving and lying about the truth . These tech companies are experts, encourage and manipulate these kids to stay passive while being online . Yes they are clever . Of course,being online is addictive to say the least and the tech companies are dominating for profit and greed . The New York Times, November 13, 2022, Scarred for Life.
In the olden days, when I was between 8- 12 years of age, I spent as much of my time as I could, outside playing and interacting with my friends. I learned to play by the rules, to cooperate with others , to assess my ability and the ability of my peers. I learned about fair play, winning ,losing , triumph and loss. These are valuable lessons that can only be learned with concrete in the here and now interaction with one's peer group face-to-face.
Today, when I occasionally drive through neighborhoods or by the ball field in my gated community, I rarely see kids at play. When I run throughout my neighborhood during the year , I seldom see kids at play. We know where they are and what they're doing
Recently, with the Covid -19 lockdown, kids were quarantined at home and not in school. How well did their learning go when left to their electronic devices ? For most, their achievement results suffered . What are they accomplishing with all the time spent online?
A few words about how interactive play affects personality development. Cognitively, one learns about numbers, keeping score and about how actions affect others. This means a moral component in treating others fairly or unfairly by recognizing hurt, empathy while maintaining a friendship. One learns more about their own aggressiveness and aggressiveness of others. Aggressiveness can be appropriate depending upon the situation. One can learn about mastery, by becoming better at a sport, and by the ability to achieve within a social learning situation. We humans require social learning. Individuals become more lonely and alienated just by being online.
In team sports , many psychological needs have the potential of being met . They include : 1. Achievement- to accomplish something difficult 2. Affiliation- to adhere and remain loyal to a friend 3. Aggression - to overcome opposition forcefully 4. Autonomy - to be independent and free to act according to impulse 5. Counteraction - to master or make up for failure by restriving 6. Defendance -to vindicate the ego 7. Deference -to admire and support a superior 8. Exhibition - to make an impression 9. Harmavoidance -to escape from a dangerous situation 10.. Nurturance - to assist an object in danger 11 . Play - to act for fun without further purpose 12. Rejection -to snub or jilt an object..
Bo Schembechler took over the Wolverines in 1969. Initially, the team hated him for his ruthless behavior. However, he kept preaching about the team, the team, the team. Bo took advantage of the need for dominance by employing imagination and fantasy while procuring cooperation - consensus of buying into his unorthodox program. He said to his players "Okay men, as the late great Adm. King said to his sailors in the North Atlantic, you have to train in the North Atlantic in order to fight in the North Atlantic." Because so many were leaving the team, a sign in full view "Those who stay will be champions." He also reminded them of the humiliation received in the previous year's game with Ohio State. About halfway through the season, the white , black, sophomores , juniors and seniors players began working together as a team. When cooperation occurred , their psychological needs began to be met, They became unbeatable and they were undefeated. Not only that, they developed affiliation with lifelong friendships. Cooperation builds loyalty, love, respect, empathy and caring which is apparent in cooperation or in teamwork. With teamwork and cooperation/ divisiveness can be overcome. Obviously, we do not have universal cooperation in this country. Instead, we see hate, dominance and destruction.
References
Lieberman, Frank. Bo's Warriors- Bo Schembechler and the Transformation of Michigan Football
Murray, Henry. Explorations in Personality.
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