Thursday, February 29, 2024

The Age of Aggression Part 2

 


An article titled "After Decades of Declining Fatality Rates, Why has Dangerous  Driving Surged Again  in America?"  was found in The New York Times ,  January 14, 2024 edition.  Doctors in emergency medicine, in Nevada, found an increase in motor vehicle and motorcycle injuries and fatalities.  They found that initially safety measures like seatbelts and so forth reduced the number of serious accidents .Then, with the pandemic , numbers have increased dramatically, not only in Nevada but in the country at large.  Primary causes  of accidents were related to speeding, not wearing seatbelts and intoxication.  Once again, these primary causes are related to aggressive human  behavior .  Speeding is impulsive, reckless, aggressive and dangerous to self and others on our crowded streets and highways.  People rationalize about excessive speeds and  speeding  is  reinforced  because there’s an absence  of violations or consequences for that behavior.  People become irritable, angry, for any number of reasons and being at the wheel of the automobile  becomes a weapon.


  Flouting authority by not wearing a seatbelt is not only dangerous towards others, but dangerous to self . Is there any rational reason for not wearing a seatbelt? Then add intoxication when driving . Intoxication affects executive ego functioning and/or judgment.  Speeding,not wearing a seatbelt and intoxication are examples of character flaws that contribute to malignant aggression. Annually, twice the number of people are killed in traffic than were killed in war, crime and terrorism combined.  Also, more than 90% of these accidents are caused by human errors like somebody drinking alcohol and driving ;somebody texting a message while driving ;somebody falling asleep at the wheel ;somebody daydreaming, and so forth. 21% of all crashes involved distracted drivers . Statistically, we have four times the number of deaths from car crashes than Germany.    


More specifically, accidents  are, in part, associated with a passive-aggressive personality. This disorder is characterized by aggressive behavior manifested in passive ways, such as in obstructionism, pouting , procrastination, intentional inefficiency or stubbornness.  The aggression often arises from resentment or disobedience in failing to find gratification in a relationship with an individual or institution upon which the individual is over dependent.  The aggressiveness can also be  civil disobedience, reactive and defensive like a rebellious child with sarcasm, provocative acts, verbal as in argumentativeness, demanding special attention and punitive regardless of what others do .


On January 6, we had a malignant attack on the capital because of  a narcissistic ,sociopathic leader with passive-aggressive tendencies.  He passively and aggressively told his followers to fight like hell.  Was he going to be like Alexander The Great and lead his warriors into battle or  be like the Persian King Darius,  and be  in the background , with his guards and watch the battle ,protected , and from a distance ?  Yes, it's easy to be passive-aggressive in words and not physically. Yes, he can throw his food dish against a wall.His words , his tweets result in a number of impulsive irrational and  passive aggressiveness among his amoral followers.  Mitt Romney favored impeachment and he had to spend an enormous amount of money to protect himself and family from crazy death threats.  More examples of crazy death threats for judges , prosecutors and those in the legal  justice system have occurred . Law and order is for whom?  Yes, it's passive aggressive to send anonymous threatening messages to anyone .


The crazies who attacked the capital police did not only exhibit emotional instability, they also did not control  their hostility. They reacted with verbal threats and destroyed private property. It was not their House. How does one treat their house ?  Of course, one-on-one, they may be outgoing, friendly but in the group they were a mob.  Did these socially sociopathic individuals realize that what they were doing was dangerous , illegal and destructive ?  Did they expect to be pardoned?  Likely, it didn't matter that once in the mob , they were the mob. These  oppositional characters  prepared for battle regardless of the consequences. Of course they claimed for the most part there was nothing wrong with what they did.  It was like fighting for independence in 1776  with slogans. Totally legit and patriotic  were these patriots? Will these people learn from their mistakes?  Perhaps being sentenced and being in jail might modify similar behavior but on the other hand, these antisocial sociopathic criminal types never seem to learn and just repeat the same stupid irrational amoral behavior. These individuals have serious personality disorders.


Symbolically, the January 6 stolen election attempt by Donald Trump is a symptom of the aggressive stance by the elites in the  authoritarian Republican Party for dominance and control by the few.  Their mission is simply to eliminate  liberalism , democracy, and return to the originality of the Constitution and nullify amendments that favor a majority that pertains to Asians, Blacks, LGTB, same-sex marriage, abortion , voting  ,poor and so forth. On the  state-and local level, governors, state legislatures, and school board  Republicans have declared  war against CRT, book banning , school curriculum , liberal colleges , immigration and against anything liberal or progressive.  They are discriminating  and rationalizing with "conservative" ideas and policies that represent white minority control.


 Additionally,there is a statistical rise in hate crimes against Jews and others and the plethora of passive aggressive oppositional chatter on the Internet and TV along with the popularity of aggression seen in movies , novels and video games . 


 Kings , Queens ,Caesars ,emperors ,Alexanders, Napoleon's,  tyrants , fascist Nazi-ism, Pharaohs, monarchies , dictatorships  that have dominated ,discriminated against the populace are well documented in the history of humankind.  Less than 100 years ago, we witnessed the terror of  authoritarian fascism  of Hitler and Mussolini and their  crowd.  Currently, politicians like Romney, Cheney, Kinzinger , judges and prosecutors and others have received death threats because of their opposition to  this authoritarian trajectory per an article titled "Trump Is Playing With Fire."  January 14, 2024.  The New York Times. Misinformation  Infotech, biotech , algorithms ,AI are  the tools ,in the hands of the powerful few, for manipulation to sadistically dominate , manipulate  control ,and  discriminate. The purpose is to retain  wealth and power. George Orwell's 1984 comes to mind . It's not a surprise to witness the  congressional and Supreme Court dysfunction in Washington by those few in power with their passive aggressiveness .Fair taxes ,abortions, elections, rule of law, minority rights, free choices, individualism, diversity, gender equality are under threat  in this age of aggression. And, the GOP addresses the age of violence with legislation, policies of proposing more guns .. May 14, 2023., The New York Times, "A Gun Filled America" article.




PS


Our crisis in mortality rates places our country below countries like Kosovo Albania ,Sri Lanka and Algeria .Statistically, the European Union reported 5,800  overdose deaths in a population of about 440 million . We reported 68,000 in a population of 330 million. We've  also had 22 times as many gun related homicides in our country compared to countries in the European Union..


The major  difference between the age of aggression in our past history that  includes  the founding of our country; our Civil War; the two world wars, and the Korean and Vietnam wars with our current state includes the following: 1.  We have  over 20 plus years ,our longest in duration,  of war  and destruction  taking place in the Middle East  with no resolution in sight.  2.  The Inordinate amount of guns possessed by our  populace.  3.  The excessive amount of hate perpetuated on social media, television and radio.  4.  The political dysfunction at the state and federal level . 5.  The antidemocratic GOP 6.  The authoritarian criminal ex-president again running for office  7.  A  biased right wing Supreme Court supporting  that Trump  is above the rule of law .  


References


Cameron, Norman.  Personality Development and Psychopathology  .  A Dynamic Approach.

Fromm, Erich  .The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness.

Institute of Natural Resources.  Understanding Dementia.


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