Thursday, June 8, 2023

We're Number 1

 


 A record 48,830 total gun deaths in 2021 reflected a 23% increase since 2019.  An estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle fatalities in 2021 and  that was a 16 year high according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Related, Sigmund Freud modified his theory after experiencing the mass destruction from World War I.  Originally,  he described  aggression, death  and man's  dark side with sadomasochism . Then, because of WW1 , Freud added a death instinct in order to more fully  describe man's evil.  Henry A Murray , included in his model of man , the  abasement need that depicted man’s masochism in  mutilating the self and his need for aggression   which described  the need to attack, injure or kill another. Importantly,  add Carl Jung’s brilliance with the collective unconscious to more fully understand man’s dark side . Incorporating aggression, sadomasochism , frustration , and the collective unconscious, this disquisition enlightens "why  there is so much gun violence in our country?" 


Variables of  politics, education , income and life expectancy  are significant and related to the “why?” Frustration leads to aggression that's directed toward self or towards another. Having, within  capitalism  has to do with  a number  of factors that include but not limited to  health and  level of education . Who is able to keep up with the Joneses and who is falling behind ?   If not keeping up , as in  health and/or income , then hostility surfaces based  on “poor me “ ,“ I’m being left behind and replaced .“   These represent feelings  and attitudes of envy, jealousy  and hate. It’s easier, not to take responsibility for self , and instead blame as in scapegoating  . 


Politically , Fox News, social media  etc evoke fear, hate and blame in order to bamboozle their supporters for  power and control. . Blame Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Antifa, Jews, Asians, Blacks, immigrants, etc. for the problems.  Do not blame the out-of-control spending by the military that allows the military-industrial complex  characters to amass   greed, fortune and profits . CEOs of large corporations, oil companies, pharmaceuticals, food industry, etc. play a significant role in contributing to inflation.  We know some of the players that are taking advantage of the income inequality in the country.  Less than 1% of the population  are doing just fine.  Don't criticize  capitalism  or expect the elite to pay their share of taxes.  The political chicanery provides a great job of masking the root causes, the pain ,the misery  and instead focus on irrationality and illusions .Raising the debt limit, the non ethical  behavior of supreme Court justices, Trump , Ukraine - Russia  etc.  fill the air, not the in depth causes .


Life expectancy and killing weapons are symptoms of  disease  and pertain to state political control with its various laws and regulations. For instance ,the 5 states with the lowest life expectancy :1.  Mississippi -R 2.  West Virginia - R 3.  Louisiana- R 4.  Alabama - R 5.  Kentucky- R . 50  countries have surpassed us in life expectancy  since the 1930’s.  More die younger in states with conservative policies . Next,  statistics regarding  the number of gun deaths per 100,000.  The 5 highest include: 1.  Mississippi-R 2.  Louisiana-R 3.  New Mexico  D 4.  Alabama--R 5.  Wyoming-R .  The highest number of gun ownership per state per capita include: 1.  Mississippi  95%--R 2.  North Dakota 82%-R 3.  South Dakota  74%.-R  4.  New Jersey  68%-D 5.  Iowa 61% -R.  One poll had 67% that stated that the highest reason for gun ownership of guns was for protection ( an attempt to diminish fear and anxiety}  .  Purchase an assault weapon for sadistic destruction and killing. Who are you going to kill ? 


 A few socioeconomic statistics.  New Mexico -D  and Alaska -R have the lowest eighth grade reading scores.  The 6 states with the lowest Pre-- K-12  rankings : 1.  New Mexico-D  2 .Oklahoma-R  3. Arizona-R  4.  Alaska -R 5. Nevada -D 6. West Virginia -R . States that have the lowest per capita income include the following:  1.  Mississippi-R.  2.  Arizona- R 3.  New Mexico-D 4.  West Virginia-R 5.  Alabama-R . Political party control in 2021 includes  these 5  Republican states: 1.  Mississippi 2.  Louisiana 3.  Alabama 4.  Wyoming 5.  Arizona. Their life expectancy , gun death, wealth and educational level  rankings suck.


 Carl Jung 's analytic theory ,included a concept called the Collective Transpersonal Unconscious, which according to him ,was the most powerful and influential system within the psyche . It was like a museum of acquired characteristics incorporating the wisdom of the ages or  a storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from man's ancestral past.  The  collective unconscious is the psychic residue of man's evolution. According to Jung, images, or archetypes are formed in man's  deep unconscious.  These idealized images play a role in character and personality development, which affects behavior determination.  They can and do disrupt rational processes and distort reality. These images are predispositions to perceive the world  in the unconscious, but do not appear frequently in thinking.  For instance, the predisposition of good, supreme, powerful, humane, just , lovable  “Ruler “ can be represented in  Richard the Lion Heart or the predisposition of evil, aggressive, destructive , exploitive,  sadistic, megalomaniac, hateful, despicable  like Henry VIII or  the hero demon like Hitler.  These archaic aspects of life deep in the unconscious may engulf the life  of an individual spirit in darkness and destruction. To deny the relevance of the deep unconscious can result in  cases of mental illness.


Taking into account our history, Anglo-Saxons, Christians, Puritans arrived centuries ago.  Arriving, they in due time, brought slaves, wiped out the Indians , discriminated against other religions, burned witches , rationalized manifest destiny ideology, established the KKK, had a Civil War , hated  others etc .  There is plenty of evil, power, demons, prejudice etc embedded in the collective unconscious of Wasp’s in our country. 


In comparison, and taking into account Freud , Murray and Jung, Switzerland had a firearm death rate, total in 2017 of 214.  The number of registered firearms in 2017 corresponds to around 10.3 registered guns per 100 residents.  A sample of  rational regulations include : The  gun purchaser must obtain a weapon acquisition permit over the age of 18 ,  not have a criminal record with conviction for a violent crime  etc.  In order to purchase ammunition , must  be over 18 years of age and a copy of the criminal record for three months, an individual who has not yet reached the age of 18 may freely acquire ammunition if used for shooting immediately and under supervision. Weapons must be kept in a safe place and protected from access by an authorized third person, loss of  firearms must be reported to the police immediately.  Further, the vast majority of firearm related deaths are  suicide; gun crime is few and far between . 


Switzerland's life expectancy is over 84 years of age; ranked 6th in the world's best countries for educational system; second in comfortable retirement; 8th in racial equality ; 6th in raising children; 2nd in starting a career, and  5th for females. Overall, Switzerland has low unemployment, skilled labor force with the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world.  The country's strong economy is powered by low corporate tax rates,  a highly developed service sector ,financial services and high-tech manufacturing industry.  Their citizens have won more Nobel prizes, registered more patents per capita than many other nations and ranks number one compared to other countries on measures of adventure, agility, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers , open for business , power ,quality of life and social purpose.


 Switzerland is one of the oldest surviving republics. Since 1848 ,industrialization has transformed the traditional agricultural economy.  Swiss neutrality during the world wars and the success of the banking industry furthered the cause of Switzerland as one of the world's most stable economies. Prior, the French army invaded Switzerland and Napoleon and enemies fought numerous campaigns in Switzerland that ruined many localities . In 1814-15,  The Congress of Vienna established Swiss independence when the European powers agreed to recognize permanent Swiss neutrality.  However, Germany  WW !! , considered invading Switzerland  but never attacked  Also, an attempt by Switzerland's small Nazi party to influence Switzerland  politically failed miserably, largely due to Switzerland's multicultural heritage, a strong sense of national identity,  a long tradition of democracy and civil liberties.  And the Swiss press vigorously criticized the Third Reich.  Switzerland joined the United Nations and their women gained the right to vote in 1971. Currently Switzerland is not a member state of the EU. In 2014 ,Swiss voters approved a referendum to reinstate quotas on immigration to Switzerland.  Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine,  Switzerland decided to adopt all EU sanctions against Russia . Switzerland participates in humanitarian missions and provides relief supplies to the Ukrainian population. 


With limited knowledge about the history of Switzerland, I propose that the collective unconscious  of Switzerland ‘s citizens is significantly different and less toxic; their level of fear ,anxiety ,and frustration  is profoundly less when contrasted with that of many in the Republican controlled state .  They are more secure , with their identity and well being. Yes, in their history, they have had death and destruction.  However, there is no  comparison, when it comes to the United States. Their economy is not based on economic slavery and they did not have a Civil War  .  They have no manifest destiny ideology; they, with Jung, Einstein , etc. have not engaged in two world wars, nor, with their intellectual brilliance, developed weapons of mass destruction.  They do not have military bases all around the world , have an overdeveloped military budget with the same degree of economic inequality.  They also don't kill their citizens. Furthermore, their citizens are skillful when it comes to shooting and they have actual rules, regulations and laws pertaining to firearms.  Yes, they have mental health issues in the population and some commit suicide. Their educational system ranks above ours , with more equitable income and less frustration, hate and discrimination. 


In summation, Homo sapiens began life helpless , fearful , anxious, insecure and dependent. Psychological needs vary in intensity and purpose like abasement , masochism , aggression or sadism  within the development of character and personality .  With interpersonal relations ,humans experience  degrees of frustration  resulting in aggression, sadism and masochism  along with elements within the psyche of the  collective unconscious.  All the above are affected by many factors, including socioeconomic, religious, political , etc. within a culture, society or country. Our country's collective unconscious  and idealized images , for many, are not congruent and contrary with the expectations within  their reality  of a limited education , diminishing  middle class income , debt,  poor health and a  decreased life span. They are fearful , anxious,  impotent  and exhibit jealousy, envy and hate . Wasp power , prestige and possession eludes them along with their  emasculated identity . They are fragile , alienated and covet  to identify with power , prestige and security . Enter the Wasp  Republicans , a tribe associated with supremacy, discrimination,  exploitation , prejudice and hate. They preach  being head of family, king of his castle,  masculinity, male dominance, with a  subservient wife and kids . The party resists change but not division, discrimination and hate. It fuels toxic messaging like make America great which means bring back slavery , with more prejudice and killing ; with its propaganda of lies as in Second Amendment nonsense -they are coming for you, they are going to take your gun etc . which is fear and anxiety based . As a result, the sickness and insanity of murder are expected to continue within our Republic.  Yes, we are unfortunately  number 1.

PS


Advertisement found in The New York Times on May 23, 2023.  Experience a profound change in your health and well-being. Immerse yourself in our stimulating environment and benefit from our pioneering fusion of longevity science and holistic wellness. Cutting-edge medicine and genetics, restorative well-being, and expert nutritionists and coaches will boost your vitality, enhance your immune system and renew your body and mind.  Clarens-Montreux  , Switzerland.


  Reference

Jung, C.C. The Integration of Personality.


No comments:

Post a Comment