Discrimination

 The history of our Republic is associated with religious, economic, and social discrimination.  Father of our country.  George Washington owned slaves; and representatives to the constitutional convention were slave owners as well.  The Wasp aristocracy wielded power,possession and status.  The religious teachings of Luther and Calvin; and capitalism facilitated ,contributed  and fostered an authoritarian character structure .  Although there was supposed to be a separation of church and state, one particular God, with authoritarian characteristics, became central to the Republic as depicted in our monetary system; Pledge of Allegiance; patriotic songs; religious holidays; and being called a Christian nation.  This essay  briefly describes the discrimination in question .  Discrimination is defined as the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of ethnicity, age, sex, or disability. 

To begin, Luther believed that man  ,by his nature, was rooted in evil and lacked the freedom to choose between God and Satan ; and it was necessary for man to receive God's will and grace with faith. Faith changes his nature when he unites with God.   And Luther’s attitude toward the world was based on hating and loathing for anything or anyone that was not striving for this unity with this outside power.  In other words, man had to submit to God in order to receive salvation because man was powerless ,insignificant and this was the only way to receive God's love, and  deliverance from harm  or loss. 

God's power is good because it's ordained and Luther hated the poor and powerlessness of the masses  which he called rabble . Luther rebelled against the church and spoke and wrote about the gospel because , according to his teachings , man is now prepared for his role in which his life becomes a means and prepares him for life after.  In other words, the powerless and insignificant,  require an external power to protect them . Psychologically,  a powerful authoritarian God or  a father figure reduces anxiety about the uncertainty of  both life in the present and an afterlife  .

Calvin also believed that man was powerless,  insignificant, and it was necessary for man to self humiliate and eliminate human pride because the world was despicable, and one had to devote himself  to God in order to  reach a future world. Calvin  also introduced the concept of predestination.  Predestination means that you were chosen by God before birth  and/or selected to reach heaven and avoid eternal damnation, irrespective of how you lived  your life.  God works in mysterious ways and picks the good guys from the bad guys by demonstrating his unlimited power.  So not only were the Hebrews chosen by God but some of Calvin's followers as well.  This suggests that Calvin also had a deep hatred and resentment toward  all the unfortunate others.

Luther and Calvin wrote and believed that man was essentially evil and powerless, and that  man can achieve absolutely nothing that is good , based on his own merit.  In fact, to love oneself is a sin which suggests the notion of self hatred and that  is one of the greatest “sins” to be found in man. Also ,man was to become an adjunct to an all powerful  authoritarian God.  Man must subordinate himself , find the center and the power or principle that's outside of himself.  Further, man should not be selfish, which in essence is the ability to suppress spontaneity, which affects  personality development.  However, when a man is unable to love himself , he cannot love another. 

England ruled the colonies, economically, politically , socially and religiously and they rebelled.  In the constitutional convention, the motives of the aristocratic  authoritarians  were clear . They had to have slave manpower to further their economic, political and social power. 3/5  of human beings were the compromise. Forget that Christ. Paul ,Mark, Matthew  expressed that man should love his God, strangers and enemies  .

In 1787, the 3/5 compromise was reached.  This decision regarding  the non fully humans affected the number of seats in the House of Representatives; number of electoral votes and how much states would pay in taxes.  The political and economic benefit was obvious:. Free states wanted to exclude slaves because they had no voting rights.  But the slave states facilitated their power in that slaveholders were members in the states legislatures.  One argument was should slaves be included in taxation but not in representation or vice versa ? They were  property .

It was stated "representing men who have no will of their own and these men had been degraded."  This compromise had additional influence that affected the presidency,  and speaker of the house.  The Supreme Court safeguarded southerners in the Senate and electoral college votes with favorable decisions.  The Constitution was a pro slavery document.  However, in the Constitution.  nowhere, did it say that a colored man was forbidden  to vote.

It was given that the slave lacked full personhood, no legal recourse or standing to challenge or participate in any kind of electoral legislation of their own accord.  The black man was not a full person, which meant that his wives were not full persons also.  Since they were considered property , the savages  lacked morals , ethics and were to be watched over and taken care of by the power structure for their own good.  However, why would you permit and allow your most "precious" resource ,children, to be nurtured and reared by a  non person; why would you have non persons prepare  meals;?  Perhaps your most precious resource was not children and maybe it was money, power, dominance and exploitation.  Why would you have intercourse with a non-person ?  In other words, one can meet their egos' sexual needs in a variety of ways and  does not  it require a human partner ?  In any event, it's  crazy hypocrisy and rationalization .Aristocratic authoritarian character structure has the power to rule , possess and discriminate based on their narcissism and conscience.  

With the Emancipation Proclamation, the South  aristocracy rebelled as they were emotionally and physically "attacked" economically, politically,  and socially.  Their whole  authoritarian aristocratic life was threatened.  Someone had to restore it.  Yes, they lost the war and they haven’t forgotten . Repressed hostility still remains  irrespective of all the Southern discriminatory laws that followed.  

The southern aristocratic power structure wanted to  remain supreme , be independent and therefore  favored state rights  . They withdrew from the union  and started a civil war.  After the conclusion of the Civil War, the South had difficulty initially during the reconstruction phase.  Result was the rise of Jim Crow laws that were state and local laws enacted by the white dominated state legislatures. They were able to disenfranchise, remove politically and affect the economic gains accrued to Blacks. They mandated racial segregation in all public facilities such as schools, transportation ,libraries, drinking fountains and so forth.  Result was that Blacks became second-class citizens based on politics. social, and economic disadvantages. Wasp  authoritarian aristocracy rules .  

Under the Jim Crow phase ,their were KKK ,white league redshirts , Texas Rangers and lynchings, as well as  voter fraud  complaints with the authoritarians in power. That sounds familiar . With the authoritarian rule which is directed over one racial group, there was voter registration and electoral rules with their poll taxes, literacy ,comprehension tests, and residency requirements as examples of restrictions and discrimination.  In fact, the grandfather clause permitted illiterate whites to vote but not Blacks. 

 Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama  have a rich and notable history  in discrimination, exploitation and segregation.  Blacks were not eligible to vote . if they didn’t vote, they could not  serve on juries  or run for local offices.  The mythology was expressed, and that this segregation protects Blacks from adverse feelings, and incidentally is okay for white men to have sex with  a black female but not the other way around. Jim Crow laws glorified ,retained Wasp exploitation and power in the South. The popular novelist John Grisham  writes about betrayals and discrimination in the South.

During our so-called experiment with democracy, the Republic established civil rights and voting constitutional rights  .The assassinations of the Kennedys and Dr. King  followed .Don't forget the bantam rooster George Wallace, Newt Gingrich’s   Contract with America  and other  state rights crazies that  rebelled and exploited the multiracial Republic , by not wanting to pay taxes, reduce power of the federal government ,rewrite US history and eliminate voting  participation with.States rights , Wasp rules with authoritarian tendencies ..

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Then , Pres. Obama was elected president. and the current rebellion  followed with Trump, civil  rights legislation with their "separate but equal" discriminatory Supreme Court ruling. The current Robert’s court  attacks democracy with their prehistoric  Wasp history  rulings of overt  constitutional discrimination .

Psychologically ,not liking oneself is projected onto others, especially when one's emotional ,sensual, social, economic,  political  and entitled sense is threatened.  Envy, jealousy and hatred becomes apparent when "others" are perceived as doing better.  The repression is manifested with so many irrational acts.  The buildup of repression , pervades the whole personality and affects one's relationship to others as well as himself, but is often rationalized in a disguised form.  This continued rebellion, discrimination of wanting to return to white power, is driven by  anxiety , an evil and sadistic repressed hostility .

Feelings of insignificance and resentment destroys confidence and teaches man to despise and distrust himself and others.  Essentially , it makes him a tool before some  authoritarian secular power like Trump that contradicts moral principles and goes against the foundation of  Judeo-Christian tradition.  The  anxiety and human needs of being frightened, uprooted, isolated, and powerless is apparent ..

Within Luther and Calvin philosophy, there's a division , a separation, among human kind because man didn't  only make himself  an instrument of God's will but  to that of the economic capitalistic machine as well. For progress ,he works in amassing the mighty dollar ,to save , to invest and to  be successful . The man who is thinking in terms of his own self-interest becomes "I am what I have, what I possess."   And another way to deal with anxiety, insignificance and powerlessness as well as one's moral standing with God, is  through secular activity.  Secular activity, work,  was important for man to be able to take care of himself and his family.  In fact, man becomes driven to get ahead,and  to succeed . He becomes a workaholic.  There's no one  forcing man  to become a slave  and worship the almighty dollar .The tendency is  an internal compulsion that also pushes , minimizes and provides relief from  anxiety through activity.

Today, if a poor white wanted to attend college, the cost would be prohibitive.  Back in the old days, state college fees  were reasonable and there were plenty of opportunities to work in the automobile industry with its proud middle-class.  Today,  college and professional sports rosters are made up of an inordinate amount of black athletes . Not as many scholarship opportunities for  the white athletes of today.

If we pay attention to the salaries of the superstar black  athletes, it's out of this world.  Brown and Tatum of the Celtics just received  5 year contracts making 60 million per year.  Ed Budde, one of my friends, was a first-round draft choice of the Kansas City Chiefs.  His first year salary was about $15,000.  The point that I'm making is that the amount of resentment, jealousy , rage and repression  of so many white high school educated people is significant.  Their opportunities and expectations are meager. It's no  wonder that Making America Great Again suggests going back to the previous era of white dominance in every sphere.  Not only in sports but in the entertainment , legal, educational, medical ,professional  and political fields, the amount of black  and other minorities , the competency ,superiority, success  and achievement is so apparent.  It's no wonder why  in so many  parts of the country Wasp’s  want to keep Blacks away from the ballot box, restrict their education , ban books with the hope of again subjugating.  The class struggle  continues and is the  American story.  We are no melting pot.!  The struggle between authoritarianism, human dignity and democracy continues.

Reference

Fromm,Erich Escape From Freedom.

Repression

 

I was not surprised by the recent assassination attempt.  Our current political situation  is congruent with our nation's history of  political violence .  The hostile, aggressive and toxic  rhetoric by Trump  reinforces  fear, anxiety, and  enables violence among his tribe .  And, why should he be immune  to the insanity from the crazies?  Further, craziness is illustrated by the following:1.  We have an inordinate amount of guns and  killings’ along  with the rise of anti-Semitism. 2. We also have the largest military budget in the world.  What happened to  moral sensibility ? 3.Too many are gullible to the false, misinformation, conspiracy and hate from domestic and external sources like anti social media. Briefly,  anxiety and fear are associated with aggression.   Four-legged animals, instinctively , either fight ,flight or freeze when threatened.  However,  our superior development and evolution of the cortex with cognitive capacity allows us to repress fear and anxiety as one of our coping and reactive  mechanisms . Additionally, aggression is  also seen as being acquired in that it is learnable based on rewards, punishments and imitation  and frequently as  revenge  for some previous act..  Aggressionhas also been characterized as an ego need and viewed as a reaction to frustration when one's goals or desires are thwarted .  In other words, there are many  motivational aspects and components of aggression. For a more enlightened understanding of aggressive acts, behaviors and consequences , the variable  repression is  significant  and beneficial. This essay is directed at repression , one of the ego defenses. 

Fear is associated with something external like being in an earthquake, being trapped in fire, or encountering a lion with her cubs.  Years ago I was on the trail running and I encountered a mother lion with her two cubs.  I eventually turned around and slowly grabbed a branch while looking over my shoulder, expecting an attack.  I was terrified and so frightened that I had difficulty running after leaving that scene.  

Anxiety is also fear , but it is personal and subjective.  It's shortness of breath, feeling a powerful , inescapable danger and feeling helpless.  In my lion experience I experienced both fear and anxiety.  The anxiety was related to being attacked, mauled and left on the trail just like what happened to other runner years. That event occurred near the 16 mile marker on that  Western States trail.

Anxiety can be hypochondriacal.  It can be a fear of developing some physical  incurable disease, cancer, dementia, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, etc. Anxiety can also be related when there is notice of a fire in your area and receiving information to evacuate.  With anxiety, there are at least two factors always present and  include an overpowering danger , being defenseless against it and/ or not having the ability to be  in control.

Sometimes, the danger ,which is the helplessness , results from outside sources like the potential presidential election of the criminal, a threat to democracy, a lawless society, the threat to the truth, etc.  Anxiety can also be a threat that comes from our own impulses like being fearful to engage in certain behavior, express an opinion, or an impulse to hurt another..  Moreover, it's clear that fear ,the danger in reality , like the lion and the feeling helpless can be conditioned by  that reality and on the other hand, anxiety is a danger generated by intrapsychic factors that go on in the mind like feeling helplessness, which is conditioned by one's attitude, belief, previous experience, and other factors of encountering a lion and being unarmed..

Intrapsychic factors suggest that aggressive or sexual impulses have the  power to provoke anxiety.  This means that the expression,acting out of the impulse would result in a violation , collision that would affect the interest of another person.  That behavioral expression against somebody might be hostile and likely to hurt or humiliate another, the hostile impulse may be  the cause of the anxiety..Examples from growing up include being angry at one's parents or siblings.  The verbal or physical expression of anger or hostility toward the more powerful others may be fearful because of a potential or likely negative reaction by the other.  It's common in childhood to experience anger when things don't go one's way.  An older sibling may take away the toy or engage in some other activity.  To express aggression and hostility toward the older sibling  may result in being beaten up.by them  There are many situations and experiences during the early years where one’s words  or actions are dangerous to express against the more powerful .  When one is fearful and anxious and does not express anger or aggression against another, that is called repression.

The internal experiences of repression, results, and reinforces the already given feeling of defenselessness which means that others can take advantage of the situation.  After a while, one's awareness of one's hostility may be unbearable and conflictual because if one loves and needs the other person, the expression of hostility becomes problematic.  So when one expresses this conflict that one has with the other person how often can one compromise , bite their tongue and just take it .With the buildup and non expression or frustration of not saying a word, often the individual doesn't realize one's own hostility or rage toward the other person.  And what often happens is an explosion or erection that's likely related to some other situation or what seems to be out of the blue.  Someone may be aware or not aware of their own hostility and rage.  In other words, over time, repression of hostility interferes and becomes expressed toward outside sources.  So new anger is constantly generated.

With the buildup of anxiety, anger because of the repression results in a need to get rid of the negative feelings which are basically a threat to one's security.  One way to get rid of the inner turmoil is the ability to project one's own hostile impulses to the outside world.  In other words, with repression one pretends, so to speak, that the destructive impulses come from the outside ,not me  and/or some other source or something else not related..  The projection also serves as a need for self-justification.  It's not me that wants to cheat ,steal , discriminate and exploit  but it’s the criminal justice system, Biden, or  it's the left  that wants to do these things to me..  I'm a good guy .I’m making America great, it's them that are the enemy.  They stole the election for me.  They want to lock me up

In other words,projection is unconscious - they want to do for me what I really want to.do to them.  When repression reaches neurotic proportions, the projections can be directed in many different ways.  In other words, if one really feels hostility towards one's spouse, the projection definitely is not directed towards her. Instead, it’s displaced towards somebody  or something else.  Obviously, the repressed anxiety and hostility is not manifested every time the process takes place over one's lifetime.  Additionally, other activities may serve as a “protection “ against the hostility which might be hitting  that golf ball over and over again or verbalizing , tweeting, lies, hate , being wounded and so forth

Neurotic individuals experience  relentless hostility , anxiety and repression that become interwoven and  experienced. It’s  anxiety  that is commonly  based on the feeling of being menaced . The individual  becomes easily provoked  and  hostility is common  but  is not always expressed in healthy ways.. Examples of  fear, anxiety with repression may include but are not limited to : 1.Excessive amount of high velocity gun purchase 2. Hate and prejudice expressed on  anti social media; 3.Tweets 4, Being bullied 5. Obesity 6, Drug and alcohol  abuse 7.Suicide gestures and completions. 

PS

Linda and I just returned from Donner Lake visiting  lovely Pat and Mike , kayaking , and discussing the past , present and future.  Then we learned about that 20-year-was not old enough to to vote , legally purchase alcohol, but  irresponsible , emotionally sick ,, and intellectually  capable to accurately shoot an automatic  firearm and  committ suicide . That  factual information covers  just a portion of our insane,nonsense  and contradictory laws. He walked  with  a  loaded rifle , dressed in camouflage gear near the presidential rally. That weapon was his father's.  Was that his camouflage gear ?  Who paid for the ammunition, gear and practice at a  target practice facility ?  Did he attend that facility alone? There is a psychological history that's been lost with his death.  Yes, the FBI is going to come up with a limited psychological story at best . Perhaps an irrelevant motive ?  Unfortunately, we won't know the full story regarding this mentally sick kid. This story is  old and repetitive .

Reference

Horney, Karen.  The Neurotic Personality of Our Time.

Truth or Fiction

 

A liar  "Is a person who doesn't speak the truth."  Mythology   is "the study of ancient stories or popular beliefs are not necessarily true... Most people don't consider mythology to be entirely true.  The myth has its authority not by proving itself, but by presenting itself.... It's the study, interpretation of sacred tales or fables of a culture that explain natural phenomena, human origins and the meaning of life and death."  Fiction is "literature in the form of a process that describes imaginary events and people."  Synonyms include fabrication invention, fibs and lies. Conditioning is "the process of training or acc costuming a person or  animal to behave in a certain way to accept certain circumstances . This essay has to do with the distortion of reality, truth  and conditioning . 

Aldous Huxley's brilliant Brave New World published in 1932  describes conditioning.  Conditioning  occurs and is a  repetitive process  with the same message, information or propaganda    daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and so forth.  Conditioning  fills the mind with lies , mythology, and fiction.. Joseph Goebbels , in charge of Nazi propaganda stated "A lie told once remains a lie, but as  told a thousand times becomes the truth."  In Hitler’s  Mein Kampf  "The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly- It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over." 

It was reported that Trump had a copy of Mein Kampf on top of  his nightstand. And “learned” from his role model .  In any event, Trump has been effective with the conditioning of lies, mythology and fiction pertaining to  his elections. ,covid -19, immigrants, making America great , rule of law etc.  Beginning in 2016, he began criticizing the election as being unfair and rigged because he knew that he would not win the popular vote.  Again in 2020, he criticized the election prior and continued to repeat the unfair election  and claimed it was rigged . Elections in the South were rigged under Jim Crow laws..  How many times has the stolen election propaganda been repeated on TV , rallies , social media and by his faithful politicians ?  At his  most recent debate, he stated and predicted  that the 2024 election would  not be fair.  People buy into fiction, lies, mythology, propaganda, regardless of the fact that it is biased, misleading and pertains to  a particular political point of view. Are some people intellectually limited about the credibility of the election process ?  Are some people suffering from a cognitive and memory impairment, thus distorting reality?  Are some people ,with cognitive  dissonance, so gullible they believe in what the pathological liar says? The identification ,hero worship is alive for many of these “adolescent” minded folks.

Fiction is ancient and familiar .  For example, the concept of God  in the old and New Testament , Adam and Eve, mythology around  Cain and Abel, Noah, Jonah, David and Goliath are riveting and demonstrate a  monotheistic belief in "God" as the creator, ruler, and frame it’s being as the one and only moral authority.  When  young and impressionable.  I loved the Samson and Delilah movie with Victor Mature, Hedy Lamarr,  and George Saunders. I identified with Samson and certainly would've been  seduced by the shiksa  Delilah too.  The triumph over evil ,being seduced and committing suicide for ones belief was powerful.  Hollywood did a  masterful job.  I was a young kid and my mind was filled  with terrific fiction.

In other Hollywood movies, I was programmed about good  and bad guys.  The good guys were always white skinned like John Wayne.  He had no difficulty killing the brown skinned savages armed with bows, arrows and face paint. Irrespective of  the fact that their land was  taken, they were killed and placed in reservation arrangements with treaty's or formal agreements that were frequently broken by the good guys that did not register nor seem to matter .  World War II movies were also effective with their propaganda messages  and  cruel treatment.  Killing was the norm.  Nowadays, we get a different message regarding Indians  and bad guys as in Kevin Costner's "Dances with Wolves"; Marlon Brando's "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon" with  Tom Barringer, William Dafoe and Charlie Sheen.  

As a youngster, I must say that the Disney movies and cartoons also filled my head with fiction.  Snow White , the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi.,Bugs Bunny etc. Later , Treasure Island  ,Alice in Wonderland, The Story of Robin Hood, Peter Pan, were great make believe. movies.  Concurrently, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp  and Avatar are just a few  other examples of filling the mind with fiction.

Halloween with its goblins, skeletons and ghosts;  Santa Claus   Rudolph, elves and reindeer's; Easter Bunny; tooth fairy; and Valentines Day which originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine are capitalistic delights y.  What about saints , angels , heaven or hell ?  Capitalistic advertising takes advantage of  lies and false claims ."  I remember "Drive the USA in your Chevrolet;" "Lucky Strike Is a fine tobacco;" "If you want my advice sir, use de icer;" "More bounce to the ounce;" An ice cold Pepsi, it's better than sex;" "Coca-Cola makes good things taste better;" Things go better with Coke;" and "You can't beat the real thing." American advertising is surpassed by   no one.  It lies, distorts, deceives, creates emotionally based desires and wants with  attractive smiling faces.  Have you ever been around a group when everyone  smiled while drinking a Coke?

Fiction, mythology and lies have been effective forever.  Is there only  one true God, and is your God the best? The priest Martin Luther created havoc in breaking with Catholicism . That was followed by a 20 year war.  They were fighting about what ?  And the many crusades accomplished ?   Another tragic and terrible lie occurred on"August 29 1255. “ The body of a nine-year-old English boy called Hugh was found in a well in the town of Lincoln... The story spread that Hugh had been ritually murdered by the local Jews.... More details followed with glory description of how prominent Jews from throughout England gathered in Lincoln to fatten up, torture and finally crucify the abducted child.  19. Jews were tried and executed for the alleged murder.  “Similar blood libels became popular in other English towns, leading to a series of pogroms in which whole Jewish communities were massacred.  Eventually, in 1290 the entire Jewish population of England was expelled."  

There are many intrapsychic  reasons for lying.,for distorting reality  , Anna  Freud’s "The Ego And The Mechanisms Of Defense" provides detailed analysis of the egos many  defensive operations which include :  The ego’s defensive operations, considered as an object of analysis; the mechanisms of defense; orientation of the process of defense according to the source of anxiety and danger; identification with the aggressor ; denial ,and fantasy .  These unconscious intrapsychic processes serve to provide relief from emotional conflict and anxiety by making it “safe” to distort reality .  The mechanisms of defense  include compensation conversion, denial, displacement, disassociation, idealization, identification , introjection, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, sublimation substitution symbolizing and  undoing.  In other words, the human mind is proficient in distorting and justifying one's reality..

Trump's  conditioning motivation for lying has been simplified as him wanting to remain  in office, with his number of amoral and criminal actions.  His repeated lies have been successful in  that many believe and follow his fiction especially from his and other sources. When Trump lies, is he merely stretching the truth; is it  because of a severe disturbance in conscience development; ;  does he have a limiting capacity and mental sickness for distinguishing reality from fantasy or combination  in his quest for power ? And , will all the organized greed defeat the disorganized  democratic majority  ? We will see . . 

The process of lying  ,conditioning seems to be the norm , especially for politicians,and It’s  difficult to determine fact from fantasy and fiction . it's so  pronounced and has become  an integral part of American mythology.  The West was the American frontier and symbolized American individualism despite the reality of its savagery ,disrespect for the law, and especially the treatment towards Native Americans. Currently,  pay attention and determine the amount of  conditioning with lies, mythology, and fiction that surrounds our daily life.  Look at a dollar bill and see  a  picture of a dead white man on that piece of paper; repeat the Pledge of Allegiance and ask yourself are we one nation under God ,undivided with liberty and justice for all;  the  patriotic song America the Beautiful with "God shed his grace on thee... from sea to shining sea;"  the testimonial commercials; the politicians; the news; TV,  movies; and the novels . Further , talk with people and  soon discover  the paucity of superficiality ,small talk  and incorrectness transmitted. And, don't forget to get the truth and their predictions from the "experts" on TV ,within 30 seconds. Compare them to Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent . In man's  configuration, and  in varying degrees,  he twists and distorts  reality for survival.  The  ego has many means to shield and protect against threats .Depending upon the  character structure and if neurotic ,like Trump, who exhibits  behavioral tendencies associated with the  pursuit of power  possession , status and abasement .. His actions are  directed against self and  others in sadomasochistic ,prejudicial and exploitative ways. . 

PS

Paul McCartney's "Silly Love  Songs Lyrics."  You think that most people would've had enough of silly love songs  .  I look around me and see it isn't so  .  Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs…….

Brave New World

  Aldous Huxley's Brave New World reminds me and suggests  the nature-nurture argument;  John B.  Watson's quote, suggesting that he could modify, change and determine human  outcomes ;and the AI threat.  This  terrific novel was published in 1932 and then revised in 1958.  This essay pertains to the  Brave New World .

The read begins with fertilization in the D.  H.  C. where 300 fertilizers were plunged.  Thus ,started "human" development. “ This laboratory process continues and subsequently divides all the subjects into different castes of ” individuals.”   In the highest caste are the Alpha Plus Intellectuals, followed by lower divisions such as the Epsilon with less intelligence and other limitations . They are programmed for future manual labor.  With many ongoing  manipulations  or conditioning for the embryo ,such as artificial maternal circulation, this process continues.  During the programing , for example, the individuals are  conditioned for heat  so that they can be predestined to immigrate to the tropics to work in the mines or become steelworkers  . They are conditioned to thrive on heat and learn to love heat.  These "humans,'' are also conditioned to  hate the outdoors,  love all outdoor sports,  be consumers of manufactured articles, and so forth in this State Conditioning Center.  Limiting oxygen qualities , different amounts of alcohol, sleep teaching or hypnopedia, electric shocks, repeated messages ,word and wordless conditioning are some  of the conditioning techniques employed.  In other words, the state fills the mind with suggestions to  control ,  create obedience  and stability in order  to fulfill its power  function 

Within this totalitarian state power structure, there was no courting, falling in love,  rejection ,engagement , going steady, in laws , divorce  or marriage between  individuals.  Also, there was no such thing as planning for a family with children. , adoption or step children .  There was no concern about health insurance, abortion, work time off, hospital visitation, doctor appointments , co-payments, pre existing conditions , vaccinations, nor about term pregnancy, C-section and so forth.  There's also no concern about breast-feeding , separation or stranger anxiety, child care nor oedipal issues, character development, preschool, public school, high school or college.  Dyslexia, hyperactivity. school attendance, academic achievement, college preparatory classes, tutoring are not present.  Going to elite college ,community college,student debt ,college major, are not of concern.  Climbing up the corporate ladder, alcohol, drug abuse, AA, 12 step programs , obesity, disease, homelessness, being lonely, failed marriage,   child and spousal abuse, alimony,  individual or family  counseling nor old age were not part of this drama .

 On the other hand, three articles in the June 9, 2024 edition of The New York Times pertain and illustrate differences  and the expression of  ego needs employed. Benjamin B.Bolger attended Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Oxford, Cambridge, Brandeis, Brown and others and  attained 14  degrees, such as a doctorate, MFA, associates, and bachelors. He donated to Hillary Clinton a sum of.$50,000 for her presidential campaign and donated more than $2500 to Robert F Kennedy Jr. as well.  

Benjamin is a full-time private college admissions consultant ; has a home office in Cambridge and private clubs that include  the Union Club , and Harvard club .. He has a daughter  fluent in two languages who performed violin pieces at Carnegie Hall . She also has  lunch with her father at the Harvard club.  

When Benjamin was 2 , his car was  hit by a drunk driver and parents were seriously injured.  His mother spent months in the hospital ending up with a metal plate in one of her legs . Benjamin's mother spent time working with his dyslexia and spent hours driving to science museums, Cranbrook Academy of Arts, Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, reading  him War and Peace and was highly involved in his  public school and college education. 

Huxley refers to this previous life as Savage.  In other words, during the Civilization's reign , a  Benjamin was not present even if programmed as an  elite Alpha Plus.  He's been able to master his independence;  has surpassed others while meeting his ego's need for Achievement. Benjamin has also shaken free of restraint , and resisted coercion. He’s independent and has defied convention, which is his ego's need for Autonomy.  He has made up for a failure in reading , has overcome this weakness , has repressed his fear and  difficulties to overcome , maintain self-respect and pride on a very high level  thereby meeting hIs ego's need for Counteraction.  Benjamin has made an impression  and is able to excite, fascinate, shock and intrigue others which is  the expression of his ego's need for Exhibition.

The opioid crisis hit the United States in the late 1990s.  First, prescription painkillers, then heroin and tighter prescription rules pushed dependence on opioids in underground markets.  More recently,  it’s  fentanyl.  This epidemic has killed roughly 800,000 people by overdose since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  This is the nation's leading cause of accidental death . A 2022 report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health noted that employees in fishing ,agriculture and hunting had the highest rates of all industries . Closely following are workers in the construction trades. In fishing fleets, people work 11 hour shifts with 4 hour breaks in between. Exhaustion, pain, injury, are associated with this employment.. 

 Currently, most CEOs are earning a lot of money while most employees are not.  New accounting measures such as current and potential stock holdings are now included in CEO compensation statistics .  The following five top US chief executives by "compensation actually paid."  In 2023 are as follows: 1 Tesla 1.4 billion 2.Palantir 1.1 billion 3.  Broadcom 768 million .  4.  Coinbase 681 million 5.  Oracle 304 million.

These three articles  represent  differences between the Savage and Civilization experiences.  Huxley presents positives regarding civilization .  In addition to genetic engineering .Soma and pharmaceutical anesthetization  was used to pacify all the subjects.  In other words, the subjects were able to pursue "happiness", and be obedient  at all hours.  If one was anxious, soma was  always available.  If one had a conflict to resolve, soma was available.  If one was irritable or unhappy, soma was available .  In other words, these dependent and addicted  (being dependent on a chemical substance to the extent that physiologic dependence is established) individuals theoretically were never unhappy as the medication was almost always available.  There was no withdrawal or need for any twelve-step program or even hospitalization.  In fact, the police were armed with pharmaceuticals to placate and control any unusual occurrence.  The purpose was to establish happiness , being  free from conflict , self indulgence, predictability, stability and  feeling mellow even after a work day  in which  soma was administered .

In civilization, sex was expected and normal without any guilt or fear of pregnancy.  Sexual relationships were casual and the ego need of Sex was to have intercourse was met .  There was no requirement for courtship , sexual exploitation , rape, infidelity , guilt,  or sexual abuse.  There was every effort by the state to eliminate  frustration  and gratify that impulse or  ego need.  

Genetic engineering , soma and sex was represented by Bernard, Lenina ,Helmholtz and Linda.  Linda, pregnant, became lost in the old world and gave birth to John.  Bernard and Lenina had sex and  both, on  holiday, brought Linda and John back to civilization .  John didn't adjust to civilization.  He was unable to deal sexually with Lenina's seductive advances.  John exhibited many hangups and even self flagellating himself which expresses his Abasement ego need, which is accepting punishment ,admitting to wrongdoing , and attempting to atone ,

Bernard and Helmholtz exhibited the ego need of Affiliation  which is reciprocating, attempting to please , receive the affection of the other, as well as remaining loyal. These two individuals were rebellious , began to question the state and were scheduled to be exiled.

Linda was found to be " old " with flabby skin and other unattractive features.  She was about to die and was sent to the hospital with Synthetic music, perfume scented  room , TV box, and soma.  In fact, a group of individuals visited  her and others hospitalized for dying conditioning There was no  issue about dying or grief.  John was unable to deal with the sterility and Billy Joel's song.  " Only the good die young " is not only applicable but irrelevant. Dying was expected ,normal and not to be feared. In fact, "civilization was protecting their own from catching  venereal ,other  non curable  or cardiac disease, being obese,  burial fees , being impotent, ugly and grieving.

According to  the state , "as a man grows as he feels in himself that radical sense of weakness , " .."of listlessness of discomfort.  which accompanies the advance of age, and  feeling, thus imagines himself merely sick, lulling his fears with the notion that this distressing condition is due to some particular cause  as from an illness, he hopes to  recover...... They say that it is the fear of death, and of what comes after  death that makes men turn to religion is the advance in years."  .....  "  You can only be independent of God  while you got youth and prosperity; independence wont take you safely to the end.".... And why should we go hunting for a substitute for youthful desires, when you say desires never fail? .... "How does he manifest himself now.?"  ....  "Well, he manifests himself  as an absence; as though he was there." ...... "People believe in God because they've been conditioned to believe in God." 

The brilliant Aldous Huxley describes the implications and ramifications of a powerful totalitarian state ruled by few.  Homo sapiens history can be characterized by  those  with a neurotic character structure that have exhibited tendencies for unlimited power . In contrast, we have individuals with  a humanistic based character structure of the likes of Jesus Christ,  Baruch Spinoza, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer, Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi,  Bertrand Russell , Martin Luther King Jr., John Lennon , and Noam Chomsky.  In our  history, peoples have been destroyed, animals decimated, ecosystems changed, cities wiped out along with inordinate climate change.  As a result , expect greed ,lust for power  and neurotic behavior to continue . And if not contained , AI represents another tool , a weapon for that  minority  to exploit, steal , and dominate regardless of  all the fiction ,half truth, lies and propaganda to follow..  Next week’s essay addresses fiction , half truth, lies and propaganda .

Reference

Murray , H.A. Explorations  in Personality.