Jesus, Albert and Donald

 

Rosh Hashanah began at sundown on September 15 and continued through nightfall to September 17.  Rosh Hashanah , the birthday of the universe, the day God created Adam and Eve,  celebrates  the Jewish year 5784.  The most holy day of the Jewish year , Yom Kippur, begins on Sunday, September 24 and ends Monday, September 25 . This holy day  is about fasting and prayer  and to physically and morally cleanse oneself of  sins so that God can forgive. Also, in this year, we have upcoming trials of a  former president;  debt crisis; natural disasters; political divide;  and an increase in hate crimes against Jews and other minorities  Morality  pertaining to Jesus Christ and Albert Camus is today’s focus .

A  psychological viewpoint related to morality behavior found in Exodus is as follows . The 10 Commandments provided a moral standard of behavior relating to how man should treat fellow man. Starting with the 10th commandment, "Thou shall not covet your neighbor's house; Thou shall not covet your neighbor's wife...... nor anything that is your neighbor's." Covet is related to envy, jealousy, possessiveness, green with envy, to  want something very much especially something that belongs to someone else.  It's an emotion , a positive valence desire ,impulse , positive or negative action associated with anxiety and an underlying ego needs such as loneliness, affiliation,  sex , dominance, status, wealth, exploitation, submission, exhibition,  or deference  In other words, it's psychological , related to character that can be a conscious or unconscious  and a deficit. that one attempts to fulfill. Humans have many ego  needs that require fulfillment.  And with capitalism and advertising  taking advantage of man's ego needs, humans wind up with the accumulation of objects, things, people etc..  One has to keep up with the Joneses, one has to win the championship ,one has to have that special partner, articles  of clothing, boats, residences and the list goes on.  Capitalism would fail miserably without the desire to possess and this desire does not have to be rational or beneficial.  To call a significant  human emotion  fantasy , or imagination that occurs in dreams  a sin is a threat to capitalism and to man's pursuit of "happiness."  In fact, Albert Einstein stated, "imagination is more important than knowledge." 

Thou shall not kill is another commandment based on emotions and actions toward fellow man. Our republic has the most powerful military in the world and spends an enormous amount of our budget although we are unable to  properly audit it.  Our police force has the most updated armory and within their arsenal includes  state of the art military issued killing weapons.  Our police kill many and are even given permission by the Supreme Court to continue to engage in that behavior.  In fact, the former president said he could kill in New York City and not be arrested.  If killing is a sin, then our Republic exhibits evil behavior, but has not yet  been charged with a war crime.  Our republic was founded by, and the “father of our country is whom ?  We experience  many themes of killing found in novels , video games , movies, TV shows and witness frequent killings of helpless victims with the news .

Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor  and Thou shall not steal are other  commandments.  In fact, frequent disturbances of social conduct may reflect psychological problems especially during early middle childhood such as lying and stealing . Sometimes , lying is related to fear of failure in meeting parental or social expectations.  Adults  have permission  to lie based on the freedom of speech amendment.  And Trump's lying behavior is related to his  inadequacy ,disregard for the truth and pathology .On the other hand, this genius may not be aware and knowledgeable of all his lies.  If lying is a sin, Trump is the devil and associated with pure evil . 

 Stealing too may vary in the motivation it expresses. It may simply indicate a rather thoughtless giving in to an impulse of the moment or something more serious. However, it may indicate a serious psychological disturbance .Stealing may be a symbolic substitute for perceived lack of love and attention  and/or as a means of expressing hostility towards parents for violating their standards . By getting caught ,stealing  may serve as an unconscious way to  punish oneself.

Coveting, killing, lying and stealing are frequent behaviors in our society and  are  called sinful by some . Irrespective , they are clearly amoral, hurtful and deadly when applied to other human beings.  These aggressive behaviors require consequences like indictments, and incarceration.  Notably, there are 27 states in our republic that have the death penalty.  Revenge, retribution, an eye for an eye still prevails in this republic .  

 Albert Camus, the brilliant author, existential philosopher described  absurdism , revolt ,murder, suicide , morality and other topics . He might have told Donald something like  the following : it's obvious that you reject all forms of religious , moral , democratic, and scientific principles.  Your inauthentic existence with emphasis on egotistical  lies  , with oppression, injustice , the malady of absurdity regarding a rebellion against democracy for the submission of others will only lead to a justification of  your desire for domination which is your  committed crime. This rebellion will lead to more slavery. And your use of propaganda to manipulate others works  because of their despair and existential anxiety .Your  push for rebellion, like others before you,  could lead to corruption and a totalitarian dictatorship .

 In essence, Donald, your rebellion is not about freedom but really  about the nonexistence of any kind of morality within your terrestrial kingdom with your narcissistic principles of power and desire could result in the apocalypse of the republic. Your universe is insane with your false promises which is actually your desire for immortality and/or is your protest against your death. Yours, is not a rebellion , but a hatred of the creator and you will die simply because you prefer injustice to mutilated justice.

Jesus Christ might have said to Donald, it’s clear that you reject my moral teachings : Blessed are the poor, love thy neighbor,  the Golden Rule and the 10 Commandments, Wealth is not a sign of virtue "And I say again unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,"  and righteousness has nothing to do with those without need.  In spite of your hypocritical  lie  that you're a believer , you are amoral, treat others abominably, disregard laws, mores, humanistic values and a threat to your Republic, I say to you "Father, forgive him for he knows not what he does."  

Psychologically, Donald's malignant narcissistic and masochistic character tendencies within  his sociopathic personality disturbances require  consequences for his actions. He exhibits insane criminal behavior , He is not competent to stand trial , unable to testify at any of  his trials and not able to fully assist  his attorneys in understanding and fully participating in his defense.  Further, he is not a candidate to be able to benefit from  psychotherapy because of the severity of his mental illness.  

In closing, morality is defined as the distinction between right and wrong, or good and bad behavior as related to that society.  Donald, so far, has earned a failing letter grade for moral behavior.  When I was in school, we received a letter grade for citizenship which is related to moral behavior.  Our laws are well represented by the moral standards  found in the 10 Commandments.  With that being said, our Republic's morality will be exhibited during Donald's trials.  Will the jurors in those trials find  his  amoral behaviors  guilty or not guilty?  Their verdict will provide additional  data as to the importance, existence and degree of morality in our Republic.

Reference

Camus, Albert.  The  Rebel.

White Male Power

 Throughout  history, has been characterized as winners and losers; sadists and  masochists; wolf and  sheep, lovers and haters, dominators and submitters  etc. This essay has to do with white male power, possession ,status , the collective unconscious and an authoritarian conscience.

Historical authoritarian  conscience  figures come to mind that include but are not limited to, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar;, Borgias Popes,  King Arthur , Napoleon;Henry VIII; Stalin ; Hitler , Putin and so forth.  These men were sadistic, dominant, exploitative,  arbitrary possessed  and had enormous  unequaled power , possession  and status.  Their position of influence was over many and they had loyal followers that gave up their life  for them irrespective of  consequences.  These historical figures operated according to their own morals , ethics and values.  They created right versus wrong, good versus bad and legal versus illegal .  In essence, their word was law as they were the law.

Take for example ,  King Arthur and his Holy War Crusades.  Money, arms and followers marched across Europe into the Holy Land.  There, they waged war exploitatively , savagely and sadistically killed, murdered women and children for ?  Yes, the 10 Commandments was established in the Holy Land and thou shalt not kill is one  of the 10 .  That commandment did not apply neither  to King Arthur nor his followers.  Another example was the thirty-year religious war between Catholics and Protestants.  These two  shared “religious” ideas , agreed on the same God, Jesus Christ, and the same Bible yet they didn't adhere to the shall not kill commandment . They sadistically brutalized and murdered each other in the name of ?  Henry VIII had many wives that he murdered regardless of the Pope .  There are so many examples of hypocrisy, contradictions, rationalizations of man's inhumanity to man and two sets of morals , ethics, values and rules as in  one for the rulers and the other for the masses.   The  10 Commandments , laws, standards,values and ethics didn't apply to the rulers. 

With the above  being said, Carl Jung, in his analytic theory of personality, postulated the inheritance of biological instincts along with ancestral experiences that he referred to as archetypes within the collective unconscious.  Briefly, according to Jung these concepts are the most powerful influential system of the psyche and in pathological cases overshadow the ego . It's a storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from man's ancestral past that includes not only the racial history of man, but his animal ancestry as well . It’s a residue of evolutionary development that accumulates as a consequence of repeated experiences over generations.  For instance, in our republic ,we have a history of white male  dominance , prejudice, slavery, and minority rule . They were either  chosen  by God or by accident of birth. And ,they acquired and implemented their own set of rules and values of conscience.  In so doing, these individuals exhibited power, prestige and status in which  followers identified. Psychoanalytically speaking, with identification, a followers conscience can become like an authoritarian conscience .

500 years ago our history , in 1619, started on this continent with slavery and the dominance of some over others. 150 years later, a group of white males had "permission" for a rebellion.  They had no trouble getting followers and employed an array of slogans such as, give me liberty or give me death in order  break submission and establish independence  from the dominant yoke of King George .That followed with the writing of the Constitution, primarily credited to the slaveholder Jefferson.  Jefferson's collective unconscious as well as his understanding of classical Greek and Roman history established a spectacular Declaration of Independence that pertained to white males.  Three branches of government, in a republic, were established and a  process of electing the executive  and minority power was put in place with the non democratic electoral college, having 2 senators per state (California ,the 4th largest economy in the world and North Dakota with ?), and lifetime appointments for the Supreme Court etc. Before them,  Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Adam Smith all realized that democracy was dangerous because there were more  have knots and they would take from the haves. Government is control ,not submission. Submission is for the majority. 

There was a Civil War, emancipation and  executive declaration 100 years later. That did not stop the South from creating KKK's and all sorts of rules and regulations to enslave Blacks as well as  making it very difficult  for them to vote with  poll taxes, etc. There was separation , discrimination , prejudice ,and  exploitation between the whites and blacks ,between the haves and have-nots, and again there were two sets of rules, ethics and values regardless of the 10 Commandments , the same Bible, and  teachings of Christ.  Blessed are the poor ?  Really !

Then within the next 100 years, women were allowed to vote.  Martin Luther's nonviolent movement,  Kennedy and Johnson's Great Society legislation continued  the movement. For the have-nots/   Although the Republicans, the party of white males, were still in control, we had acceleration of income inequality  and the power of minority  rule for  white male Republicans preaching conservative  racist principles.  The fact that the  Democrats have won the  presidential popular vote  often and that has terrified white male power.  Republican states have been able to manipulate their control and power with creative redistricting in order to ensure Republicans being elected along with putting voting obstacles in place.  Once again ,it's not about democracy but about retaining white power and control regardless.

Moving to the present, we've witnessed  a criminal authoritarian in the White House.  He was able to procure that position because of the nondemocratic electoral college.  Then, with his authoritarian conscience on exhibition, he disparaged people of color, told lies, criminal acts etc.  His authoritarian  conscience also exhibited itself with his Make America Great ( meant to make him great) ; lying about a” fraudulent” election; stating he could kill someone on Fifth Avenue and not get arrested; making perfect phone calls to the Ukraine government and to state officials in Georgia. etc.  These calls were perfect.  He was impeached  twice and has  91 charges  against him which are all part of the witch hunt “lies.”  All the state and federal prosecutors are out  to get him so the liar says.. 

 Once again, with an authoritarian conscience, there exists two sets of values , ethics, rules and standards  as one for Trump and one for others . It's as if the vector's  behavioral force becomes non-impeded irrespective of the probability of negative consequences . He is  right and entitled.  He held the most powerful position in the world, He  acted as if he were king and his rules and behavior were sanctioned from “above.”  Just remember the  amoral history of other authoritarian rulers.  He's doing nothing irregular but continuing in their place  as the means always justify the ends.  If he was found  guilty,  it would be a travesty of justice in his mind .  US presidents have never been convicted by jury  and found guilty. They have a God-given right , in this white man’s  rule , to be all powerful over his subjects . With his superior knowledge, he knows what's best .

Trump's mind is imbued with absurdity and apparent sterility within his own world.  Anything he experiences , so do  his others.  His own aristocratic morality is entrenched far  above the rest which include his loyal sycophants.  His narcissistic morality  which incorporates his power, prestige, and  possessions , puts him above all the slaves that have to submit to his  unimpeded actions  according to his own implacable or unrelenting rules.  Essentially, because of his authoritarian moral conscience, his behavior tendencies  become subservient to rationality, saneness ,and humanism.

As Trump lives in the world of mistrust , he has to have complete control and domination. Moreover, in his mind, his society is founded on desire and crime  according to his  rules. This ruthless system , this  rebellion , perpetuates non-democracy so that he can subjugate the majority.  In essence, he constructed a citadel of force and hatred and in the process destroyed freedom for everyone else. Even though; he evokes the pleasant  habit of crime, he cannot  thoroughly please  or become satisfied . He exhibits  more like a man's fury while being in shackles.  His enjoyment is temporary and short lived even with his possession and power over others Thus, his  abhorrent actions must  be repeated over and over again.  Moreover, he is governed by the law of power which tends to be unique but solitary within his emotional stoicism  that's derived from vice.  He is unable to live in the world of love and compassion and  is headed for an apocalyptic destruction of self .

In essence, In Trump's “inherited” mind . He logically criminalizes , becomes God and refuses to recognize any other law but his own.  With that being said, the poet Boudelaire wrote "Everything in this world exudes crime and It is man's law of nature.” Furthermore, Trump's moral philosophy consists  of domination and not submission with  powers of defiance, opposition and refusal.  This brings to mind the biblical story of Cain and Abel.  It's obvious that Trump, in his mind, is jealous and envious and  attempts to destroy Democracy and is blasphemous towards our Christian Republic of God.  In doing so, our Legal  Justice system symbolizes God , and does not permit Trump to be killed, but to continue his life in exile with the enduring pain of banishment ,loss of prestige without martyrdom. Or, according to Greek mythology, rebelled like Prometheus  and was  punished by Zeus with eternal torment. 

Reference

Camus, Albert.  The Rebel.

Jung, C.C. Psychology of the Unconscious.

PS

Marcus Aurelius "Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought."

Linda"s 90th

 

Last week, Linda, the birthday girl, celebrated her 90th. We voyaged to the Berkeley Hills for  celebration.  This essay is about the ,one and only, birthday girl.

After my morning run, we were ready to leave for  our Berkeley destination when Linda received a birthday call greeting from Tony and Debbie.  After her chat, we left home.  We got on Highway 80, but didn't look for Paul  this time because he was in Greece.  After a leisurely  2 + hour drive , we reached Berkeley. We climbed and climbed and finally reached our abode, which was very close  to Grizzly Peak Boulevard. We had a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate insight.

We unpacked and then headed for the golf links in Tilden Park.  We arrived and headed for the pro shop and talked with the young man at the desk.  He didn't recognize female golf legends from yesteryear.  I had him Google Patty Berg to enlighten him .  As a teenager, Linda was a member of a golf club in Kansas City.  She was a fabulous golfer and joined Babe Didrikson  Zaharias in exhibition. Babe was impressed with Linda's skill on the links.  She even talked about Linda joining her on tour.  That did not happen.  

Babe was a professional golfer and joined the LPGA at the beginning.  She had 48 professional wins ,10 major championships and was a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.  She  set world records, winning two gold medals and one silver medal  in track and field at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.  She competed in basketball and pool as well.  She even pitched a total of four innings in three major league spring training exhibition games.  She gave up one walk and no hits pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Brooklyn Dodgers..

 At the golf shop, Linda grabbed the seven iron and headed to the practice tee where she felt comfortable and familiar.  She made some terrific shots straight down the fairway and talked about hitting golf balls again. 

 Linda is also a water person.  We headed for the Bay for dinner and wound up at Skates on the Bay which was situated in the bay with, once again, a marvelous view.  We ate dinner that included a trio of shrimp, scallops and salmon.  We informed the waiter  that we wanted to share that meal and it arrived with two separate plates equally divided.  The food was terrific as Linda made the right choice.  We both agreed it was one of the best meals we've had in quite some time.  The setting, food, view , service  and company were excellent. 

After dinner we headed for Dreyer’s ice cream parlor in Berkeley.  However, it was  nowhere to be found.  The next stop was Fenton's on Piedmont Avenue.  There, we shared a huge hot fudge sundae to end the evening.  On our way back, the Grizzly Peak Drive was spectacular as we witnessed the gigantic fog headed inland.  It was simply breathtaking.

Next day Linda wanted to visit the Oakland zoo.  We spent the morning and afternoon at this facility . It had  the Wild Australia ,Tropical Rainforest ,African Savanna and California Trail System  locations . At each station, there was a description of animal habitat and specifics regarding extinction, balloon and plastic hazards , lifespan and social structure.  Animals are often found in herds ,packs or groups.  Some like a lion ,sleep a lot and then hunt at night.  In fact, I did not see the lion.  It was sad to see the Tiger playing with a large ball.  The elephant was just standing in one spot throwing dirt on his body.  Yes, the animals live longer  in zoos. But, they are caged and  their nature is being interfered with as they are captives.

Later that evening we headed back to the Bay and had dinner at The Berkeley Boathouse.  That restaurant was located in the  Doubletree Hilton Hotel.  The mahi-mahi  meal was tasty but not as spectacular as the evening before.  We talked with our San Leandro waitress regarding ice cream places . Humphrey's on College Avenue was recommended .  We headed for Humphrey's and found that little hole in the wall and to our surprise, we were delighted by their wide array of  exotic flavors . We enjoyed another   delicious  Sundae .  Humphrey's is now on our  do  it again list.

The next morning we headed home and stopped at her favorite gourmet eating place near The Monster of Massage in Newcastle for a pastrami sandwich.  We arrived home and retrieved Teddy.  

All in all, visiting the Bay Area's special with another memory being Linda's 90th.  Further,  I had forgotten that we had given Linda's golf equipment to Dave.  We retrieved them after putting on  Dave’ s putting green . And  the following day  headed for the links at ALT .  It was wonderful to see my beautiful young looking wife enthusiastically engage again  in the sport that she  once excelled.  Look out Scheffler, McElroy and Tiger as it may not take long for Linda to regain her magic form.

A Derisory Person

 

The 10 Commandments , found in Exodus and Deuteronomy, were the first moral and ethical principles for mankind . The majority , in our country, have a tendency not to commit murder or kill , while others have a tendency to ignore moral and ethical principles . Recently,  a white person murdered three black individuals. Also , I  viewed Dan Buettner's documentary titled Live to 100.  The Secrets of Longevity.  This essay incorporates the above ideas .

Sigmund Freud,  who witnessed World War 1, had to include an instinct of  death to more fully explain man's craziness.  Craziness occurred In Jacksonville , when that  21-year-old male murdered Angela, A.J. and Jerrald .We  heard more about guns  and the fact that he purchased them legally than we did  about  the moral and ethical problems facing this republic . Why does a Christian nation remain silent on  amorality  ?   Have we  become numb to murder and suicide because were living in the age of craziness ?  Perhaps , we are a Christian republic in name only ?

This white person followed Nazi propaganda and had a swastika mark on his gun.  Did his irrational and absurd beliefs and rationalizations  justify murder of self and others as did Hitler ?  Nazisim represented a  hateful dictatorial fascist political party that was intolerant, racist against Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and against  justice and the rule of law . 

 Did this white Nazi have a rational foundation for murder and suicide ?  If not, he was insane.  Why kill a black individual ?  Yes, in 1619 there were slaves brought to our shores ; yes, they have black pigmentation and a certain amount of melanin; yes, they are exceptional athletes; yes, we've had a black president and yes we  currently have a black female VP.  And the reason to kill a black is because ? If  there was no rational foundation for murder then he was insane. Moreover , those who accept the murder of others suggest that there is no higher value to guide behavior and that thou shall not kill is irrelevant.  If nothing is either true or false, good or bad,  just or unjust.  then we become slaves according to Camus in his book The Rebel . If  murder , in this case is justified , that means that  scruples , conscience  and guilt  are nonoperative and irrelevant   In other words, if murder and suicide are considered the same thing and accepted as such, then the justifications for murder and suicide  mean an indifference to life, which is the definition of nihilism .

This person had no grounds for murder and  his absurdist beliefs cannot defend the existence of acceptance and sacrifice  of the lives of others.  Others have a right  to live .  Was this resentful person rebelling ?      Scheler describes resentment as an evil secretion in a sealed vessel of prolonged impotence, passive, highly colored by envy of what one does not have, which turns into unscrupulous ambition or bitterness which is in wanting to be something other than what one is which means always a resentment against oneself. And, he was rebelling against the will , desire for survival, growth, life , humanism and  the respect  or value of self and for others. What irrational authority gave him permission for this violent crime  ? 

It was reported that he locked his bedroom door while living with his parents.  His identity was based on resentment, hatred and he alone was a lone wolf killer but had a shallow  attachment to “others” on social media, to those expressing malignant beliefs.  He was not developing skills , planning for a career , preparing for a  family,  teaching ,contributing, producing  or helping others . He had no future ,he was  a  narcissist with a necrophiliac attitude and character structure.

This individual with necrophilia  tendencies exhibited  indifference and a hating  of life and humanity with the tremendous capacity to destroy.  He was enamored by force, his power to kill those who lacked this power  as they were defenseless.  He was  in “control.”  Actually, he was fearful of life’s  uncertainty and  was willing to kill and die for some irrational and hateful idea of "justice."  Is he now a martyr ? An example of necrophiliac  was found in the biblical story.  It was a woman who wrongly claimed to be the mother of the child in the story of Solomon's judgment.  This woman would rather have a properly divided dead child than lose a living one . The true mother was willing to give up her child to live as opposed to having him cut in half.

 

Dan Buettner visited a number of countries interviewing many . In fact, one area was located in  Loma Linda, California.   Also, Michael Howard, PhD reviewed approximately two dozen centenarian studies across the world.  He came up with 16 healthy habits and lifestyle factors  that strongly predicted who would live  to 100 years old and  able to live independently.  A brief  review  of their research : 1.  All  centenarians were socially  and face to face connected, and  had reduced their  stress and distress with a purpose in life.  Some cooked healthy foods using appropriate vegan components; some tended their gardens; and some  were religiously connected. The Seventh-day Adventist's ,  from Loma Linda pursued health and  a healthy lifestyle.  2.  None of the centenarians devoted an enormous amount of time on social media.  Instead, they  interacted face to face  3.  They either lived independently , with a significant other or with family   4.  They had a positive humanistic attitude and  were concerned about others.  None exhibited malignant  narcissism and resentment , nor was the same found  in public or government forums   5.  All had a daily and resilient  work life with structure , repetition and meaning .  They all were focused on the present and future. None complained about being bored nor what to do today.  6.  All were physically active by either walking numerous steps in the city,  hills in the mountains; attending to wandering livestock; swimming, playing pickleball , volunteering,  or attending exercise class  7. They valued life and none had dementia, chronic depression , committed  suicide nor were drug  or alcohol dependent .

In summation, our republic appears to be headed in the direction toward an absence of religious ,ethical and moral principles ; excessive  negative physical and mental health  ; Intimacy with crime;  excessive criminal behavior with justice and the rule of law crumbling for some .  Murder has become repetitious and these acts of violence become numbing and more of the same .  Perhaps we need to spill more blood ?  We have excessive solitary loneliness, with plenty of noticeable tyrants on display .  With that being ,  it suggests the importance of how socioeconomic, political, and religious components affect biological and psychological health and longevity.  For instance, with the exception of one  Seventh-day Adventist community in Southern California, the majority of centenarians are found  elsewhere.  These communities are not represented by resentment, crime , murder, injustice, political divide, hate, destruction and discrimination.  However, they are represented by welcoming the aged; providing incentives for face-to-face interaction; self-motivation with  productivity; absence of  governmental and environmental distress; a positive future outlook.with congruent socioeconomic, political and environmental cooperation .  If we are going to have a rebellion, why not  against fascism, authoritarianism, racism, inequality , prejudice, discrimination, loneliness , murder, and suicide ?

PS

Jonathan Swift stated, "No wise man ever wished to be younger .”

Reference

Successful Aging in Men & Women . Institute for Natural Resources.