Syndrome of Hate

 Hate ( an intense or passionate dislike for someone which may or may not lead to harm or death) crimes in our country are on the rise  based on data from law enforcement , the FBI and ADL.  In 2021, the FBI attributed 64.5% of hate crimes related to race. ethnicity and ancestry; 15.9% sexual orientation; 14.1% religion; 3.2% gender identity and 1.4% disability .However, hate is a syndrome based on  narcissism,  attachment, social narcissism ,sadistic character tendencies and necrophilia.  Related , is an article titled "Something More Dangerous Than Hate Speech" in the May 7 2023  of The New York Times.  Disturbing information as follows: 1.  Social media is now attempting  to limit hate speech 2.  Social media is inefficient when it comes to regulating    Irrational fear-based, nonsensical and crazy hate generalities such as” A call for transgenderism to be eradicated”;”All about the left's attempt to erase biological women from modern society “;  Antifa is coming to invade your town” and “your political enemies are pedophiles coming for your children ”  These examples are destructive  hate 3.  Some platforms have hate speech rules that prohibit direct attacks against people based on who they are.  Social media platforms  dealing with these issues  should move away from ranking based on engagement and instead for users, giving more weight to learning and what  information  is worth  time or meaning. This essay addresses  the syndrome of hate which includes  narcissism, symbiotic attachment, social narcissism, sadism and necrophilia.  

Neither the embryo nor the newborn have the capacity to hate another because only” I”  exists within its biological and psychological  design. The infant is born  helpless, powerless ,insecure , narcissistic , dependent on another for survival  and not  “ the survival of the fittest, “ Instead , the  importance for its survival  is the mother and second to none . The base  for developing  either positive or impaired character  tendencies occurs within the first five years. Specifically, with birth is the establishment of  primary narcissism.  According to Freud, all the psychic energy is directed toward the ego .There is no  object relation to the outside world.  Within  development , there begins to be an increase in the scope and intensity of psychic energy directed toward others . It’s  now “i” and not “i.” Within primary narcissism , Spitz's research evaluated the importance of separation  of  the nurturing and consistency quality of the caretaker in providing  safety, security , body warmth and comfort  for the young one .  For example, with two weeks of maternal separation, Spitz reported the following depressive symptoms based on a developmental quotient test.  The findings included a sad apprehensive appearance,  expressionless eyes, glazed , a withdrawn emotionless facial expression and inactivity.  Note ,inactivity is a powerful diagnostic sign associated with boredom and depression. In a subsequent study, Spitz ,referred to as " hospitalism,"  found high mortality rates among infants, even though there was neither abuse nor physical neglect.

Sullivan provided additional understanding during  the primary narcissism  stage of development.  Sullivan suggested that the youngling , in requiring a positive degree and ratio of safety, security, and  regularity, develops a personification or representation of a "good" mother.  This is because there's been a positive amount of reinforcement that has reduced anxiety and pain with the replacement of satisfaction based on receiving the nipple , the breast, the bottle within the context of being rocked and talked to quietly while being held.  If there  was not a ratio of positive reinforcement , the consequences are not satisfactory  based on irregularity, non-consistencies, not being held properly , mother being preoccupied , bottle being propped , and the personification of a "bad" mother .

Erickson added to the importance of  feeding and nurturing  during primary  narcissism.  Again , with a positive ratio of nurturance during the feeding and caring process,  a sense of trust can be developed.  When a sense of trust is developed with the mother, that sets the  origins for positive future interactions , connections and unions . However,  with an unsatisfactory ratio of nurturing behavior  occurring, a sense of mistrust develops. With mistrust, the infant  and/ or child becomes suspicious, anxious and fearful with mother interactions and later with others . In other words, subjective emotion becomes objectified with paranoid consequences. A suspicious paranoid  convinces himself that others are against him .He projects and becomes susceptible to conspiracy thinking, believing all sorts of primitive , false, irrational , hateful rhetoric . He makes truth and reason the enemy.  This narcissistic paranoid distorts rational judgment , thinking and believing what's good and can’t properly evaluate what's bad.  He also over-values magical thinking and rationalizes his own judgment. His subjective judgment is prejudiced, biased, toxic, with hate.

With primary  narcissism, there is limited capacity for objective reasoning but  a propensity for the establishment of  love or hate.  Essentially, with primary narcissism, the outside world doesn't exist and intuitively infants  are unable to distinguish between the "I" and not "I". The narcissistic reality or psychic energy is directed toward itself , its body and the physical sensations of cold, warmth, thirst, the need for sleep and bodily contact. Within this crucial life giving dynamism , the feeding process is crucial.  It's  most important psychologically and biologically for that newborn to have close bodily contact during breast-feeding with rocking, cuddling, providing warmth and love compared to negative excitement or regressive acquiescence. In other words , primary  narcissism, depression and paranoia significantly affect future interpersonal relationships with  mistrust and hate.

Also within primary narcissism, there is another significant development that takes place in the psychological mind of that newborn  and/ or child .  As a result of the insecurity, powerlessness and stress from birth, the newborn seeks that  mother's attachment for safety, security, regularity, and dependability.  Thus, the mother can initially fulfill and provide these necessities for growth.  Once again, the responsibility for being fed, being held, and  protected with security falls on  the mother.  As a consequence, different degrees of psychic energy become directed toward the mother, which ,when inappropriate , can result  in a symbiotic  attachment.  Mother’s reinforce symbiotic attachment with their seduction, favoritism, overprotection and  by spoiling . .

This symbiotic attachment can be the first personification of a powerful mother which is essentially the  consequence of the desire for protection and satisfies the  narcissistic craving for safety,  unconditional love, and security.  Over time , the attachment can be directed toward another female as an aunt , grandmother or some other that can provide  safety and counter the terror of separation.  Later, that attachment , results in an unconscious  wish for  a powerful protector ,guarantee of certainty and security  that can be fulfilled by the clan, native born  or hate group . When the size of that group increases, the protector  can be of  race ,  nation ( January 6 rioters yelling "1776" ), religion, political party or Authoritarian leader . They become the mother guarantors of protectors and love. 

 A severe attachment to mother also results in total submission and /or fear  of mother and then of women . Further, with severe narcissistic attachment , she becomes symbolically an idol which can never be wrong.  That idol can eventually become a nation ,race, hate group or political party  thus resulting  in  impairment in executive  functioning  with distortions of reason, judgment and believing lies ,fears and hating others .  Also, with narcissistic, symbiotic attachment, there exists the inability to separate or individuate and take responsibility for self. For instance , a number of these acting out murders were found living at home with mother, parents or grandmother.  In one case, the shooter was driven by mother to another state to kill;  in another , the parents provided shooter with a gun and were aware that the gun was in his possession and taken to school;   in another, the shooter, living with his parents ,drove to another part of the state to commit murder; in two other cases, the shooter  resided in the home of the grandmother.

With malignant narcissism and  symbiotic attachment , the individual requires affiliation and a narcissistic attachment to some group within his sphere of interest- called social narcissism.  The particular group or groups becomes  important for individuals in meeting their  affiliation needs with a sense of belonging.  The objects of a narcissistic attachment can be a hate group, religion,  race , clan , political party, beliefs, political figure  etc. When there's malignant narcissistic  social attachment, the result is a distortion of rational judgment , objectivity, biases , hate,and truth in one's thinking. His group is the most valuable, godlike ,invincible , powerful , righteous etc. it's obvious that executive functioning and objective value judgments are nowhere to be found . Instead is the occurrence of prejudiced, biased, hateful beliefs and actions .  It's easy to rationalize the prejudice of hate.  The individual is convinced that he has no bias except that he obeys and faithfully follows . Moreover, when his group or tribe is criticized , his projection  becomes hateful with anger and hostility.  Underneath these inadequate persons are deep seated feelings of anxiety , being impotent, alone ,frightened , fearful and conflicted. It’s not surprising that with frustration and criticism,  there's a  hostile reaction  directed toward self and /or others.

Briefly, hate , which is fear, is aroused against an individual, another group, based on some irrational idea related to religion, color of skin, political belief, etc.  Hate can be expressed anonymously , passively  on social media, TV with words or it can be expressed  aggressively with hostility or death. Hate is sadistic.

Sadism can be related to character structure, repression, dormant tendencies,  and/ or negative passions like power, money, frame, control, submission, hate, destruction, narcissism, greed, ambition or even envy.  Sadism and hate are powerful motivators. They are an overcompensation for feelings of powerlessness, fear, isolation, and the superficialities within their life space .

When sadism becomes associated with spontaneous cruelty it can be transitory,  However,  sadistic character tendencies are a desire to inflict pain on an animal or person with malevolence.  Also , there’s a desire to destroy , being able to control and humiliate another, especially those that are  unable to defend themselves or their property. The impotent sadist projects power with all his weapons and military accessories.  However, the  sadist’s “power” is really an illusion . They murder the powerless in schools, churches, malls. etc  They are impotent psychological cripples.  Furthermore, the sadist admires and is submissive to those with power . He despises and wants to and does control those who are powerless , helpless and cannot fight back.  He's afraid of the unknown, the unpredictable.  He is afraid of life.  He “loves” only what he controls and has power over.  He is submissive and impotent.  He can kill but remains isolated and frightened with a need of a higher power . He submits and is a masochist.  This malignant sadist actually has no convictions, only slogans and ideologies that he gets from social media.  He’s invisible, with little if any social bonds and actually little interest in life. He's a necrophiliac ,literally, as his tendency , trend  and hate is directed against life or love of the dead.

It's not surprising that these violent killings also result  in suicide. Their 15 minutes of fame is about  destruction and death. It begins with an intense activation of  energy or excitement and ends with fear , inactivity and death . For instance, the buffalo murderer was a despicable  sadistic teen  prior .He researched the  geographical area of nearby towns, neighborhoods that had the highest concentration of black residents. Once he settled on the market, he made reconnaissance missions drawing maps of the store's interior and keeping tallies of how many black people were shopping at a given time in order to murder as many as possible. Then ,this  cold-blooded killer with his vicious killing weapon in his possession , had the capacity, force and power to transform his victims into corpses.  He now had the  force, the  means  to destroy as well as to be in complete control. He rationalized the mission and was willing  to die for white nationalist "justice. " The victims  were random and not personally known.  The hate  of these groups are the negation of life and  the wish for death . It’s about necrophilia. For a more  complete in depth analysis, consult Erich Fromm’s

“The Heart of Man  Its Genius for Good and Evil. “

Pain and Pleasure

 This disquisition incorporates three articles published in the April 23, 2023 edition of The New York Times.  They are  "Group That Advises US on Opioids Took Millions From Sackler's"; "Fix Your Diet, Save the Planet" and "There Are Better Ways to Study That Will Last You a Lifetime."  These articles point to the interference of well being facing our population.

The first article tells the story of how Big Pharma(rescuers) manipulated and took advantage of the vulnerable ( victims) in our population. The smart, sophisticated  exploitation owners of the Purdue pharmaceutical company donated approximately $14 million to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.( NASEM)  The NASEM's  prestigious group was first established, in 1863 as a nongovernmental institution chartered by  Abraham Lincoln.  The objective  was to serve as an independent advisor to the nation on science and medicine.  Recently, this institution advised  the White House on opioid use , overuse, misuse and overdose death  after receiving input from Purdue’s lobbyist, the maker of oxycontin . However, the lobbyist inflated the nation's  chronic pain statistics . He  stated that approximately 4/10 people in our country were experiencing chronic pain  and required opioid treatment. Further, initially the FDA , the World Health Organization and prescribing physicians believed these inflated numbers irrespective of the numerous health hazards associated with this addictive  death drug.

Later, the CDC estimated that about 2/10 people in our country are experiencing chronic pain. To make a long story short, the pharmaceutical company and its owners are  currently going through bankruptcy with a 8 billion dollar civil and criminal settlement for their  consequential damages for opioids cases . Their conflict of interest was finally exposed with monetary consequences for their  part . Note, the pharmaceutical industry does a terrific  job of marketing to physicians by contributing with their lavish banquets , conferences etc. and distribution of sample medications . Then, advertising does the rest by selling(rescuing) “pain relief “ to the public ( victims). All one has to do is to take a “pill” for a quick fix.

There has been extensive research on pain ,fear,anxiety and stress as  motivational concepts .Sigmund Freud's Pleasure Principle suggest man’s behavior is  characterized with the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain , with the understanding that man also seeks pain and that pleasure can arise from punishment or pain- sadomasochism. Understanding the concepts of approach-avoidance  and the pleasure principle suggests that man approaches both pleasure and pain and avoids pain and pleasure. To more fully understand man's pleasure principle, approach - avoidance motivations , other concepts like emotions, irrationality ,drives, expectations, needs, reinforcements, cues and physiological tolerance  also are part of the kaleidoscope dynamics . Additional factors also influence the pleasure principle and approach - avoidance construct . These factors  relate to the various causes of pain, fear, anxiety, and stress and include,  but  not limited , to  various man-made institutions such as  education, religion, government, politics, criminal injustice and capitalism . They contribute and interfere with man's  well-being. Furthermore, man’s  solutions in attempting to resolve the unpleasantness or pleasantness of pain, fear, anxiety, stress include  ingesting pills, food, surgeries, drugs, alcohol, etc. Also , human beings are lazy ,have low frustration tolerance, seek immediate gratification,  shortcuts  and easy ways with their thinking and behavioral  “solutions”  even if temporary. Thus, the emergence of rescuers for the victims such that Big Pharma becomes the Pied Piper and the  victim consequences follow. Each individual has their own definition of real or counterfeit  pain, fear, anxiety, and stress. Man’s  irrational history is associated with addictions, abuse and death .   

Personally, a week prior to the  1998 Ride and Tie Championship,  I suffered lower back spasms.  Luckily, across from my office was Mark, a physical therapist friend.  He graciously provided treatment and exercises each day prior to my work schedule . I discovered that I could stand while providing therapy but could not sit.  I was not sure if I was going to be able to compete in the upcoming event.  I called my partner Steve and told him I could not drive to the event.  Steve drove and stopped every 45 minutes  so I could get out and stretch.  The morning of the event,  I wasn't confident that I could mount Gypsy and run.  However, I was able to mount my Aribian, ride and we finished the event.  Years later I was scheduled for a hernia operation and decided that I had to run Way too Cool 50 K prior.  Unfortunately, the trail was wet and I suffered on the down hills, especially when I slipped.  Over 20 years ago,  Jerome, another Ride and Tie friend and partner, referred me to Veloyce , the Monster of Massage for treatment for  my overuse injuries.  Veloyce suggested purchasing a  spa as well.  Aside from many visits to the Monster, I saw Matt ,a Western States chiropractic and Jim another physical therapist for treatment.  Additionally, ice has  become my friend  along with ibuprofen.  During running competitions, when in pain, I reframe and call it discomfort, focus on deep breathing and staying in the present .  Many years ago, Est training taught about staying in the present to deal with whatever. 

In the second article, the esteemed Prof. pointed out that the treatment of animals , for food,  is unethical with its crowding and confinement of pigs, chickens and the caged breeding practices. Further, meat and  dairy production are major sources of methane.  This powerful greenhouse gas  affects our planet with terrible consequences like causing the rise in temperature . Also , there’s excessive clearing , burning and destruction of tropical forests to create pastures for cattle grazing in the  Amazon.  Currently ,he's recommending that our diet should be more plant-based and less beef and dairy. The United States has about 0.5% to 6% of vegans in our  population.  

   

I have not been to  a fast food establishment in decades.  However, I view the clever advertising of burgers on TV.  These burgers look super , with attractive people opening their mouths wide and with inexpensive pricing to match .  The size of these burgers with  the short term pleasure and the ease in procuring give additional  reasons and point to the overweight and obesity issue in our country.  I have not seen a vegan advertisement that can compare with a burger one . To expect this country's populace to become vegan is fantasy.  The distinguished Prof. has forgotten about previously mentioned dynamics and the victim's motivation to seek  immediate pleasure for their negative long term consequences. It’s about beef ,the American tradition of burgers, fries , coke and being a victim.

The third article illustrates a  problem with learning .  This professor identified the inadequate learning behavior with college students.  He provided  examples that substantiated the inadequacies in learning and memory. For instance : 1.  Researchers asked college students to select which scenarios would lead to better memory or learning.  Students were asked to  choose a mnemonic - one which the teacher provided or one they created.  For two of the six scenarios.  students picked  the worst strategy as often as the better one.  For the other four,  most students actually thought the worst strategy was superior.  2. The second study had to do with preparing for a test .The students read passages of about  260 words under one of three conditions.  Some students repeatedly read and studied the text for four consecutive study periods, each lasting five minutes.  The second group read and studied the text for three periods and in the fourth, which lasted 10 minutes, wrote as many ideas from the passages as they could remember.  The next group studied for one period and tried to remember the material during the other three.  After  the four period completion , students predicted how well they would retain the material. Not surprisingly, the more students had studied the more confident they were in their knowledge.  A week later, everyone returned for another test demonstrating the results .  The students who had studied just once recalled  the passages best. The worst memory was shown by those who had studied the most and had been the most confident about their learning. Irrational self deception at work.

In college ,students cram and reread the material over and over for the grade ,even though, unfortunately, that's not the most effective way to learn.  It's been demonstrated that if students read and use their executive functions while reading they learn and remember more. While reading, asking questions about the concepts while comparing and contrasting the information and points made results in more learning and  remembering. Just reading and rereading is passive and takes less effort. One has to  critically evaluate what's in black and white. Do not become a parrot and just repeat. Taking the easy way is inefficient - being a victim.

Unfortunately, especially in college, one is cramming for a test because  that’s the goal, the objective  - the grade received  based on test score.  It’s a shame , the objective is the  letter grade and not for learning , understanding and wisdom . It's about the letter grade and not about learning the material.  In graduate school, I had a language requirement for my PhD.  I chose  French.  I learned and mastered how to translate , conjugations etc.  and understand scientific articles written in French.  Then I had my exam.  It was pass or fail.  I did super on the exam and was able to read and understand scientific journals as well as Dumas'  The Three Musketeers.  My knowledge of French helped when I visited Paris for about a week or so during graduate school.  However, I  was  never required to read anything translated into French again - English’s easier. 

Generally speaking, humans are motivated to seek  and avoid pleasure and pain  based on needs, passions and irrationalities. Also, there is much discomfort caused by illness, injury, nature and societal  irregularities . Big Pharma takes advantage of man's  frailties within  the  capitalistic model.  The motivation of  the capitalistic model is profit regardless of the consequence or pain to others.  Man's needs and passions get in the way of rational choices in his decision-making , looking for quick solutions at the  conscious and unconscious level . The medical industry with  the assistance of big Pharma “minimizes “the pain, for many through pills and surgery.  Man generally minimizes the difficult and maximizes the easy. With that being said, the populace is in  acute pain, with poor mental and physical  health, within a failing educational system for many and with excessive profits for the few. It can be said that individuals  easily become victims with plenty of rescuers and sometimes the rescuers become the persecuted.

PS

Click on the link: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCtwkulV78sUFljjpMuLmLJg/videos/upload?filter=%5B%5D&sort=%7B%22columnType%22%3A%22date%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22DESCENDING%22%7D   for insight into how other athletes have dealt with  the pleasure principle  and approach-avoidance motivations from our TV show .

Successful Anti aging

  A number of years ago a friend presented me, for my birthday , with the book titled "Stopping the Clock '' written by doctors Ronald Klatz and Robert Goldman.  This book is about anti aging and  was a welcome resource at that time as it benefited me while competing  in Ride and Tie.  It complimented my workouts with important information physiologically.  Anti Aging research and  being a competitive athlete  was perfect, as this book has become one of my  references. Today's disquisition incorporates personal secrets from these two anti aging medicine pioneers and my story.  The examples are intended to be a model for successful anti aging.

Dr. Goldman, a physician and surgeon, received his second doctorate in steroid biochemistry.  Also, he's a karate , black belt , Chinese weapons expert, former world champion strength athlete, holding over 20 world strength records and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.  Aside from being a 3 time winner of the  John F. Kennedy Physical Fitness Award , Athlete of the Year, Champions Award and  inducted in the World Hall of Fame of Physical Fitness, he also set a world record in handstand push-ups with 321 repetitions.

Few of Dr. Goldman's secrets in his personal longevity program are as follows: 1.  One hour a day of aerobic exercise with light resistance training six times a week.  2.  Multivitamin supplements include-vitamin A, thiamin, folic acid, calcium, chromium picolinate, odorless garlic, ginseng, vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, feverfew, vitamin E, B12,and black currant oil.  3.  Dietary protocol: high carbohydrate, low-fat diet mainly poultry and  three pieces of fresh fruit a day, six glasses of water a day.  4.  Alcohol minimal, if any, red wine .5, other information -seldom eats fried foods, red meat or shellfish.  6.  Sleep 4 to 5 hours a day. 7. Relaxation techniques - aerobic exercise.

 Dr. Ronald Klatz is a foremost authority in preventive /longevity medicine and maximum human  performance.  He has many publications and is the author of best-selling books.  He's a founder and president of the American Longevity  Research Institute and awarded the prestigious INPEX                           Gold Medal in  science and president of the American Academy of Anti aging Medicine.  He’s co-founder of National Academy of Sports Medicine and co-publisher of the Professional’s Journal Sports Fitness and the  NASM Journal of Certified Personal Fitness Trainers.

A few of Dr. Klatz's secrets from his personal longevity program include the following: 1.  Exercise: 30 minutes aerobic workout including walking, stair climbing and weight training five times a week.  2.  Supplements: vitamin C, E,A, selenium, niacin, chromium picolinate, lysine, acetyl carnitine, coQ10 ginkgo biloba ,chlorella ,melatonin, thyroid hormone , DHEA , deprenyl and aspirin 3.  Dietary protocol : 8 glasses of distilled water with lemon, omnivore primarily vegetarian . limit red meat and fried food, fresh fruit twice a day.  4  Rest: 30 minute nap  5.  Stress reliever : Aerobic exercise program.

A few secrets from my personal longevity program include the following: 1.  Exercise: 12 to 14 hour workouts,  6- 7 days a week includes running, jogging and walking some hills .  Two sets of chin-ups 3 to 5 times a week  use of bands and pickle ball 2.  Supplements: zinc, selenium, co-Q10, B12, B6, B complex, vitamin C, D3, fish oil, turmeric, rosemary, fennel seed,  and sesame seed.    3.  Dietary protocol: glasses of water, green tea, modified Mediterranean diet, grass fed beef, goat cheese, yogurt, MCT Oil  with 12-14 hour fasting between meals 4.  Rest:  nap.  5.  Stress reliever : progressive relaxation and aerobic exercise 6.  Daily : 3Rs include reading, writing and running. 

Should be noted that anti  aging medicine is changing, based on research.  Therefore, what might have been  good yesterday  might not be good today.  Further, diets generally don't work, likely because it's limited and not a significant part of  one's lifestyle .  In other words, repetition is necessary, with a significant psychological benefit, reward or pleasure for ongoing success.  Progress and evaluation are also key components.  My book titled "It Has Nothing To Do With Age"  , has 7  healthy life expectancy components and depicts athletes 65 years of age ,still competing, making good choices and thoroughly enjoying the competitive part of their lifestyle. For me, lifestyle, health ,learning and competition is who I am, my identity.   

For example, my physical activity  lifestyle facilitates an opportunity to meet many psychological needs. 1.Abasement : to seek pain   2.  Achievement : to rival , surpass others , to master, and to accomplish something difficult  3.  Affiliation: to enjoyably cooperate or reciprocate with an allied other .To adhere and to remain loyal to a friend   4. Aggression : to overcome opposition and  to oppose forcefully. 5.  Autonomy: to be independent  6.  Counteraction :to overcome weakness.  To maintain self-respect and pride on a high level 7.  Deference: to admire and to praise 8.  Dominance: to control one's human environment .To influence and direct behavior of others by suggestion 9.  Exhibition :  to make an impression  10.  Play : to act for fun, to laugh, make jokes .To seek enjoyable relaxation of stress. To participate in games, sports, dancing 11 .  Understanding: to  be interested in theory . To speculate, formulate, analyze and generalize. 

 Exercise and nutrition go hand-in-hand.  It's not surprising, I have an interest in health as my father was a juvenile diabetic.  I witnessed his difficulty and discouragement from his medical condition daily.  Side note,  my  dad was born in Baltimore and my younger brother is a physician  living in Maryland.  There is nothing easy about maintaining one's health as much of it pertains to choices.  According to Woody Allen " Some people try to achieve immortality through their offspring or their works.  I prefer to achieve immortality by not dying." According to Epictetus “ Only the educated are free.”

Reference

Murray, H. A. Explorations in Personality.

Illusions and Reality

  Are we "the land of the free and the home of the brave"; "one country under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"; "shining city on a hill";   "And crown  thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea" ,and " children are our most precious resource"  or, are we a nation of hypocrisy myths, legends, and folktales that are  stereotypes that disguise and conceal conscious and unconscious motives of a  powerful minority ?  Currently, our country is composed of red states and blue states, without liberty and justice for all. We are certainly not the land of the free. We  are the home of income inequality, political division, decreasing lifespan with an inordinate amount of hate, death, despair, anxiety, fear and loss of our  children and adolescents.  The  article  titled  "It's Not Deaths of Despair.”  Its Deaths of Children  found in the April 9, 2023 edition of the New York Times  illustrated statistically our hypocrisy . Unconscious motivation , resistance and defense mechanisms are  a few factors making it difficult to change the reality of  today’s socioeconomic  and political sickness ?  

Philosophically, “Know thyself “ - self-knowledge goes back to the time of Socrates.  Socrates challenged people on their understanding of certain concepts such as justice.  According to Socrates , people exhibited ignorance based on a lack of self-knowledge and he believed that limiting this deficiency would have the happy consequence of gaining greater knowledge of one's fellow man.  Knowing oneself, one would also be knowing others

 in the 17th century. the first thinker that had a clear concept of the unconscious was Spinoza.  He believed that men "are conscious of their own desire, and are ignorant of the causes whereby the desire has been determined."  In other words, the average man is not free but  lives under the illusion of being free, because he is motivated by factors unconscious to him.  Spinoza believed that the very existence of unconscious motivation constitutes human bondage and the attainment of freedom was based on an ever-increasing awareness of the reality inside and outside of man.  Adam Smith wrote that the economic man "is led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention."  Nitschke said.  "My memory says I've done this.  My pride says I have not done it; my memory yields."  Marx wrote "it's not the consciousness of men that determines his existence, but on the contrary, it is their social existence that determines consciousness. “ In other words, social reality molds an individuals' thinking and manners. This social existence  are producers of man’s conceptions of ideas and that consciousness can never be anything else other than conscious existence. It is the existence of man that is his  actual life process.

 Freud wrote that individuals repress the awareness of their most significant experiences. This results in a conflict between man’s unconscious reality within self and the denial of that reality in his consciousness and therefore. deceives himself continuously.  Freud recognized that most of what is real within ourselves is not conscious and most of what is conscious is not real, Truth is difficult to establish. Most  desires are unconscious. What is conscious is a rationalization which hides completely what man does not want to know.  Man is unable to satisfy his desires without sensing  his conflicted moral judgment . This results in the formation of defense mechanisms as in a rationalization . The person “ never “ discovers the contradiction between the reality of his desires within the fiction of his rationalization . Man goes on acting according to his desires with repression while refusing to admit or acknowledge  the existence of what is repressed, 

It's time to address the violent reality taking place in our country.  It's not surprising that our life expectancy is proceeding in the wrong direction.  We have the largest military budget in the world and seem to have been at war “ forever . “ Individually, we have more firearms proportionally than any other country, and are number 1 in murders .

This country has propagated clichés, ideologies and delusions regarding its "greatness."  Statistically, on so many measures, compared to other countries, we lag behind. Moreover,  Karl Marx suggested that the social reality of  socioeconomic conditions are responsible for man’s history.  If so, living in a violent country suggests that many are hateful with prejudice and exhibit hostility toward ourselves and toward fellow men.  In other words, too many are alienated and hostile .

On the other hand, we've tackled and solved enormous technical and medical  problems. We have  created the bomb , explored outer space  and private citizens  can go 50 miles above the earth.  And yet when it comes to social ,moral and ethical problems, we are inept.  Are we so narcissistic and egotistical , that  we value human life  just for some  ? Are our primitive  unconscious instincts like murder repressed and behind our economic and political ideologies ? We seek to destroy  ourselves and others with little consequence or remorse for those that are murdered. 

Human irrationality , death and loss is  taking place today. The New York Times article had the following facts: 1.  Lifespan in the United States is decreasing . Americans are now dying younger  than in China, Cuba, Czech Republic, and Lebanon.  2.  One in 25 American five-year-olds won't live to see 40 .  3.  Firearms or homicides accounted for 6.9% of  deaths for 19 years old or younger and suicide  for 6.8%.  Car crashes , accidental drug overdoses and other accidental deaths called unintentional injuries accounted for 18.4%. 4. More than twice as many kids died from poisoning including drug overdoses  as from Covid- 19 ; more than three times as many died of suicide;  more than four times as many died from homicide and more than five times as many died in car crashes and other transportation accidents. 5.  Mortality is  decreasing  for those without college degrees.  Individuals at every percentile of income are now dying sooner than their counterparts in Britain. 6.  Black Americans on average can expect to live 5 fewer years than white Americans.  Black American men have lower life expectancies than men in Rwanda, Laos and North Korea. 7.  White Americans can expect to live 7 fewer years than Asian Americans. 8. Life expectancy in the black belt of the deep South is 20 years lower than that of North of the Mason-Dixon line and West of the Mississippi.  9.Individuals live longer in counties in support of Joe Biden compared to those living in counties that supported Trump 10. If you make it to retirement age, you can expect to live about as long as your counterparts in other wealthy countries even though you spent much more money on health care. 11. Gun homicides were responsible  for  children ages 10 to 19  and  increased more than 39%. Drug overdoses for that age more than doubled in 2021. 12. Most of the increase in pediatric mortality was among males. 13.  Deaths from overdose are higher among white children and teenagers .14. Deaths of despair  are rising among  white, middle-aged men  who won't reach 80 years of age.

 Are children  our most precious resource ?  The above article statistically exposed the myth regarding our children and adolescents. People with guns are killing our precious resources.  If we valued our young, we would do more and be in concert with  mental health practices and  meaningful  firearms legislation . 

In summation, unprecedented firearm  violence suggests a widespread  epidemic.  To deal psychologically with this sickness , requires  self-knowledge with attention to the unconscious societal reality of forces affecting humanness . Next, we  have to acknowledge the destructiveness of our impulses , passions and human needs, which is the irrational reality of harming self and others. Then , we have to understand  how the  social institutions of religion, education, politics, criminal injustice and capitalism interact and distort man's beliefs ,morality ,ethics and actions within his primitive emotional makeup. Then a critique might allow us to better understand our reliance on illusion and provide the resources to confront our unconscious desires , our resistances and reliance on defense mechanisms. On the other hand, direct attention to states which have the lowest number of deaths per 100,000 of the total population In order to see what they're putting in the drinking water. For instance : Hawaii 3.4 ; Massachusetts 3.7 ; New Jersey 5 ; Rhode Island 5.1 and New York 5.3. Red state  Mississippi is  statistically last with 28.6 and according to an Hawaiian Proverb ,“ Truth is not changeable. “ 

Reference

Bottomore, T. B.  Translation from Marx's Economics And Philosophical Manuscripts.

Freud, Sigmund.  The Ego and the Id.