Russ Kiernan

 

 I was saddened when Tony and I talked last week about  Russ Kiernan’s passing.  More bad news -death.  On the positive, Russ was instrumental in my first Ride and Tie experience.  I had the horse and all I needed was a human partner. Curt Riffle teamed me up with Russ for the Quicksilver event.  I don't remember, prior to the event, knowing anything about Russ.  He was tall, thin and athletic looking when we met.  He told me that I should start out on my horse, I now know why, and he would meet my horse and later catch me on the trail.  That sounded reasonable. That first time was a hand tie  on the left side of the trail.  I dismounted ,handed the reins to Robert and started up the trail. Within seconds there was Russ and my horse Running Bear. There have been one or two more exchanges before the Vet check.  Russ took the horse in and I was going to take my horse through the vet check .  I didn’t see Russ again until the finish line.  We came in seventh overall and I was certainly refreshed.  Thinking about it , at the time, this was not  difficult.  Yes, Russ  ran the entire second half of the race out ahead.  Anyway,this neophyte was hooked. What a fun sport, even though I knew nothing about long-distance running; training for  hill work; nutrition; hydration; running gear; or strategy at that time. 

My second  ride and tie event was the championship held in the Fort Bragg area.  This time Curt set me up with Paul Robinson.  immediately after introduction, Paul said” this time it's not going to be so easy.  I have to run, you're going to have to run. “ It wasn't till the end of that event that I realized that the Quicksilver event was a fluke because I had a phenomenal running partner. My aching body, the next morning, told me that  the sport was extremely difficult to say the least. But, what a blast.

Russ was the third team member to have passed.  The deaths and losses really suck, and continue to hurt. I eventually found out about Russ and his accomplishments when I interviewed him for "It Has Nothing to Do With Age."  Like most stories of exceptional individuals, there's a history of ups and downs.  Russ came from a working class family and they moved from Oakland to San Francisco.  Academics in high school were not his strong suit.  Fortunately, Russ had an older brother Don whom he admired and who took care of him.  Russ was rudderless , but thanks to Don, he enrolled at the community college .  Don  was also instrumental in directing Russ into elementary education as a major.

Within executive ego functioning, Russ’s ego strength was weak.  He was irresponsible and drank too much during his early 20s, even though  married.  Tragically, he lost his alcoholic father in a fire and his wife in the same year -1966.  It wasn't until about three years later that his decision-making became more realistic.  His first introduction to running  was the historic Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco when he rode his bicycle keeping up with the five-time winner Kenny Moore.  In Marin, Russ started running and found mentors along the way.  In fact, Marin has the Dipsea race, another longtime illustrious event only surpassed by the Boston Marathon in longevity.  Russ met the Dipsea Demon and they became great friends.

Ross's executive ego functioning became apparent in his approach to that event, with its 671 stairs that lead up to the side of Mount Tamalpais and finishing at Stinson Beach .  Russ broke down the distances on the spreadsheet dividing up sections of distance with pace times per distance.  He pretty much knew what  pace to run, in order  to become a winner.  In essence, Russ used his memory, planning, prioritizing, organizing, managing time and defining and achieving his goal efficiently and productively.  Russ was a three-time winner and 11 time winner of the Double Dipsea putting him in the Hall of Fame.  He is the Dipsea Legend.

On a more humorous note, Tony, Russ and I were having lunch in Marin one Saturday when  Russ told us about the time that his friend Warren Hellman ( also passed) introduced him to "Diane's husband."  That man was married to Dianne Feinstein, a personal friend of Warren.  The sad part is that there are so many good memories from the past. I miss the present and  future.  The passing of so many include Leslie Yates from Kentucky, Mark Richtman from Novato, Jim Steere, Tom Christofk of Grass Valley and Bud Johns, the Father of Ride and Tie. 

 Bob Edwards and Jonathan Jordan were not only partners but, dear friends that I miss terribly.  Yes, memories are good but the loss is very significant and cannot be replaced. Bob was a free spirit, an excellent horseman and a terrific partner. Our  exchanges were perfect, except when  I ran past his tied horse at the Eur Valley  Ride and Tie  Championship.  In any event, we had fun and he was a good friend. Bob was with me when I purchased my house over 22 years ago.  Jonathan was a southern gentleman lawyer like his father.  In fact, Jonathan reminded me of Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's “ To Kill a Mockingbird.” Both were defense lawyers  protecting the unfortunate from society's prejudices and wrongs .  Jonathan's oldest son was named Atticus.  Jonathan , I miss your intellectual understanding and our laughter together. He was a fun person. Life can be humorous .

Talking with Paul , another ride and tier, I learned more about Jeff and Jeanine  Windenhausen as well as Chris and Cheryl Knoch, all good friends with Paul.  It's  terrific to be able to share experiences and stories  and learn more about people that you like .  However, with aging, losses  accumulate, pileup and never end which is our fate . One disadvantage of longevity is that you outlive your friendships.

Thank you Russ for your straightforward introduction to the sport.  You were the perfect  model at that time.  Although I didn't  realize it,the vector of my life  over the next decade was put in motion  by  you and all the other world-class athletes. Russ, thank you again. Memorial is scheduled for December 17, 2022 at 11 AM at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Mill Valley .I hope Tony joins us. 

It's More Accurate

 In 2009 I suffered an equine injury, when I broke  bones in my neck.  The orthopedic surgeon reported that if I was thrown again from my horse, the consequences would be more severe. We talked about Christopher Reeve and his paralysis. I liked riding  Gypsy, in endurance, but  my passion was Ride & Tie.  I just did not want to continue just  trail riding , so I  focused on running.  During my rehabilitation time, I wrote my first book titled "It Has Nothing to Do with Age."  At that time I was 68 years of age and had won the  one day, 100 mile Ride and Tie at Swanton Pacific. My friends and associates were accomplished  world-class athletes.  I decided that I would interview exceptional performing athletes at least 65 years of age and that book title depicted these elite athletes.   Ride and Tie does not have age groupings and running events have a last age group  for 70-year-olds on up.  Today, I would have titled the book "The Ego's Executive Functioning."  This essay has to do with that title.

Briefly, psychologically the ego mediates an individual's drives, needs ,  illusions and morality within reality testing.  One can gain insight into an individual's  ego functioning or strength by  appearance and with conversation.  Freud , Jung , Adler , Fromm , Horney, Sullivan, Rogers and others have utilized ego or self within their theories of personality.  Coopersmith In his "The Antecedents of Self-Esteem"  provided  research pertaining to parental characteristics, early history ,and  parent-child experiences affecting self-esteem .  Although ego and self have been widely researched, they are commonly  misunderstood.

With  evolution, are  "Three Brains Of A Human Being."  For example, we have an Archaic Brain.  This has also been called the Reptilian Brain as with  lizards and snakes.  Its functions include temperature control, fight or flight threat responses, defending territory, keeping safe. The caudate nucleus is involved in the psychopathology of the obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Second, we have the "Old Brain."  This  has been called “ The Subconscious  Brain"  with cats and dogs as examples .  Its functions include mood, memory, and hormone production control- the major functions of the limbic system.  The anterior cingulate is a structure primarily responsible for mood and  impulse control and the hippocampus is the primary memory formation nucleus. The amygdala is primarily responsible for fear, fight or flight responses and anger. The hypothalamus is the major controlling organ of the system.  The third brain is called the "New Brain,” the Cortex, or the Conscious Brain found in humans .  It's functions are higher cognition, abstract thought, usage of tools, formation and comprehension of language and  social behavior  Within the cortex, are found Executive Functions  and skills that include   self-restraint, working memory, emotion control, focus ,task initiation, planning/prioritization, organization, time management, defining and achieving goals , flexibility, observation and stress tolerance . In other words the potential to  meet one's needs efficiently and productively are the ego..

A well executive-functioning ego is important and can accurately describe extraordinary athletes competing in extreme sports.  It's important to have a well physiologically functioning body for placing extreme stress .  That means understanding  theory regarding aging that includes a normal aging body within damage caused by overuse and abuse; bio chemicals that govern the release of hormones and other body vital elements

LeBron James and Tom Brady both illustrate the ability to overcome the typical  lifespan of professional athletes as they continue performing at extraordinary levels during their aging process.  They present an antiaging model utilizing ego executive functioning.  For example, the Free Radical theory of aging suggests that these molecules differ from conventional molecules by possessing a free electron, which is a property that makes it react with other molecules, but in a volatile and destructive way.  Free radicals have an extra electron which creates an extra negative charge which results in harmful  effects by adding  oxygen which is called oxidation, also known as antioxidants.  Natural antioxidants include vitamins C ,E, and beta carotene which  produce vitamin A.  This suggests that these athletes are knowledgeable about the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients that allow them to maintain a constant weight which is a key element for optimal aging.

The Wear and Tear Theory suggests that the body and its cells  are damaged by overuse and abuse.  When young,  the body's own maintenance and repair systems keep compensating for the effects of excessive wear and tear.  However, with aging,  the body loses its ability to repair damage and overuse injuries .  Professionals are necessary in the fields  of chiropractic care, massage and physical therapy and the employment of ice, heat , whirlpool  and rest for recovery which is important  for dealing with damaged muscle, ligaments and tendons. For example, watching NBA players sitting on the bench with  an ice  wrap is typical  and the norm.

  Tom Brady and LeBron James have personal training staff that advise them regarding the latest information  about performing at unheard-of levels.  This planning, prioritizing, organizing, time management and goal tasks are part of their executive ego functioning. They  focus on training and stressing their  body, developing stress tolerance in the process.

These athletes in addition to exercise include nutrition,  with vital anti-toxicants with their diet for athletic longevity.  It's not so surprising that they also have other assistants working with their stress levels as well.  Brady, for example, is undergoing  stress within his relationship.  I would expect that he is engaged with someone to deal with his emotional difficulties.  There is no  quick fix or pill dealing with the stress of separation and potential divorce.

Individuals and the elite athletes in my book have a number of things in common.  Take Jim Steere for example.  Jim was involved with horses very early in life and that became his passion.  As a youngster, he rode and also overcame  difficulties resulting from his  parents divorce .  As a junior high school student ,  Jim rode alone the 90 mile distance ,in two days, from his fathers home in the Mojave Desert to his mothers  home near Griffith Park  making that  trip flawlessly and  was greeted by both   parents . He learned to take care of himself and take care of his horse both valuable life lessons. Aside from his passion with horses and other animals, Jim was a bright, intellectually curious individual.  He was a patriot and was involved in World War II becoming a  Norden bombardier expert .  Lady luck was with him as his crew was killed when  the B 29 exploded during the Guam takeoff.  Jim was visiting an ill  paternal grandparent at that time.

 Jim was a Fulbright scholar and enjoyed his time in Denmark becoming more humanistic in his philosophy of life.  He learned humanistically about abortion ,about suicide as suicide was part of his families history.  Jim did graduate work and became a Veterinarian.  He was instrumental in the beginning of Ride & Tie and its illustrious history.  Jim was also part of Tevis history as well, as he had a personal relationship with Wendle  Robie.   Jim pulled Wendle’s  horse on one Tevis and that was his last Tevis.  Jim was an exceptional athlete and completed  in his mid 80s.  I was fortunate enough to have talked with Jim a few days prior to his death, I remember him for his warmth and caring.  He was an exceptional  man .  Tony and I went to his funeral and that was a memorable event with respect and the involvement of so many.  Jim was dedicated.  He was passionate and he was a hospice support for his father during his demise.  Thomas said, “ I’m dying, I'm dying. Help me.  Oh, God, help me.  Jim, help me die.  I love you, son” . ....  Jim woke his mother, announcing, "Mother, dad is gone."  Florence replied, "Oh, I'm so thankful.  His suffering is over."  

It's obvious Jim's executive ego functions were prominent during adolescence.  In order to make a 90 mile voyage on horseback  from Jim's  home to Florences , Jim had to have higher cognition , abstract thought and use of tools.  He had to care for that horse and make sure that it didn't go lame during a trip or they would've been in trouble.  He had to picture  and visualize” the trip” using memory and all the necessary supplies needed for the trip.  He organized and planned  in order to make the trip.  In essence, he defined his goal and was able to tolerate the stress of being alone while persevering and pushing on while dealing with nature and all its obstacles.  In order to be an elite athlete, performing at extraordinary levels, one has to have optimal executive ego functioning.  Jim's personal history suggests that was accomplished superbly.  Einstein said “ Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of ,many generations. All this is put in your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children.”

Reference

Cerebral Dominance.  The Institute for Natural Resources

Klatz, Ronald and Goldman, Robert.  Stopping the Clock.

PS

Tony just informed me that Russ Kiernan passed.  Russ was my first Ride & Tie partner.  More on Russ next week. 

Is Alvarez Evil?

 

Having, securing, obtaining, possessing, acquiring are necessary for survival while meeting one's physiological needs.  However, having more when it comes to private property or ownership  as my wife ,my kids , my slave , my unlimited right to keep what I have ; it’s not yours ;with  excluding  interferes with  society,  and  with greed becomes criminal and amoral.  Buddha described the ownership behavior as a craving; the Jewish and Christian religions as coveting as it can transform everybody and anything into something they had and subject to another's power Capitalism  requires a having mode of behavior.

  Having ,as a pursuit or a passion, takes on the  traits  and tendencies of  an anal character. During psychosexual development, the individual goes through a passive receptivity followed by a phase of aggression. It’s an exploitive receptivity prior to reaching ego maturity.  The stage has been called anal erotic  when it remains dominant during a person's development and  leads to  an anal character . Personality is characterized when  one's main energy in life is directed toward saving, hoarding money , material things, feelings, gestures, words, and energy.  The character of a stingy individual is associated with other traits such as orderliness, punctuality, and  stubbornness .   The qualities of the anal character constituted the norm for moral behavior and was once looked upon as an expression of human nature.  In other words, orientation of possession occurs in the period before the achievement of full ego maturity and is pathological when it remains permanent.  The person is primarily focused and  concerned with having, possessing and is  associated with neurosis .  When it comes to society in which most members have that anal character, we have a neurotic society.

For capitalism to work successfully we have consumption, possessing, and the pursuit of profit and greed.  The pattern of coveting  and acquiring profit becomes sought at the highest levels as represented by income inequality..  In our society, greed and an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power ,prestige and possession becomes one's passions. Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street said "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good."  This disquisition addresses the problem of physical and mental health within a greedy capitalistic health care system.

A few statistics pertaining to countries with the best healthcare: 1.  South Korea 2.  Taiwan, 3.  Denmark 4.  Austria .  5.  Japan 6.  Australia 7 8.  Spain 9.  Norway 10.  Canada 11.  United States.  These countries were ranked according to factors that contribute to overall health.  On another scale that measured healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP from lowest to highest, are the following 1.  New Zealand 2.  Austria 3..  Netherlands 4.  United Kingdom 5.  Norway 6.  Canada 7.  Sweden 9.  Germany 10.  Switzerland  11.  United States.

The  healthiest countries in the world are as follows: 1.  Spain 2.  Italy 3.   Iceland 4. Japan 5.  Switzerland 6.  Sweden 7.  Australia 8.  Singapore 9.  Norway 10.  Israel.  The US is not the healthiest country in general with its national obesity, diabetes, cardiology , respiratory  and Covid-19 rates .  However, USA's massive capacity to research, communicate and respond to pandemic level threat,  biosecurity, biosafety epidemiology, workforce capacity, test and approve new countermeasures ,communication with healthcare workers are examples of strength in our country.

Having a healthcare insurance  system in a capitalistic model is counterproductive and interferes when it comes to the health of individuals.  We have excellent doctors  and world renowned hospitals.  A major  problem lies with  health insurance.  The system of corporations and large businesses only  providing healthcare coverage for their full-time workers is  amoral and capitalistic .  Then , at age 65, one is eligible for Medicare . One  political party wants to reduce  and/or eliminate the age for Medicare while the other party wants to increase age eligibility .  The major problem is that the insurance industry dictates who is eligible for benefits, the  when , the where and the degree of coverage.  The exclusion of coverage is  based on profit for the insurance company and only them.  They are the  middleman between patient and doctor.  With this middleman, their motive has nothing to do with providing top level healthcare.  Their motive is to make a profit.  With the pursuit of profit as the primary goal , comes  greed.

 Older citizens generally require more medical services.  At age 65, Medicare was devised as a safety net for older citizens.  When one is eligible for Medicare, one can purchase a supplement or secondary payer.  Unfortunately, that supplement costs more per month than Medicare.  If Medicare doesn't pay for the service, then the secondary carrier doesn't pay for that service either.  The government came up with an idea that it would pay more per patient to those supplementary carriers for sick individuals, providing that the carrier would come up with a  system that would actually reduce inflationary costs.   Okay, get more money per patient, but come up with a better healthcare system sounds reasonable.  What happened ? The October 9, 2022 edition of the New York Times had an article titled” How Insurance Firms Exploited  Medicare Advantage  for Billions .”

Briefly, Medicare Advantage was a clever term employed to seduce individuals eligible for Medicare.  The advantage was for the insurance company, not the patient.  The insurance companies were  going to give  dental , vision , hearing benefits when joining their network of doctors.  However, eight of the 10 largest insurance companies in the country which includes UnitedHealth Group; Humana, CVS Health, Cigna , Kaiser Permanente , Scan Group have been charged with overbilling or fraud by the Justice Department.  In order to get additional money, these insurance companies falsified the health records of their patients.  They sent  the government medical diagnoses that were old, in addition to the current diagnosis.  These old diagnostic categories  were previously treated .  In other words, they falsified the health records by giving incorrect assessments of each patient in order to receive additional money.  Yes, they falsely obtained billions.

A second article titled "Curtailing Diabetes Requires More Than Medicine"  Identified and pointed out the severity of Type 2  diabetes regardless of the new tools or pills for managing it. Better treatments have done little to stem the rise of this disease.  They predicted  that one in seven American adults will have Type 2 diabetes, up from one and 20 in the 1970s. Many teenagers are developing what was once considered to be a condition for older people.  40% of young adults are to be diagnosed with that diagnosis at some point in their lives.  Researchers who study Type 2  diabetes reported a stark conclusion.  There was no device, no drug powerful enough to counter the effects of poverty, pollution, stress, broken junk food system, cities that are hard to manage ,conflict and an inequitable access to healthcare specially for minority communities.

I would add that state and federal politics, lobbyists and big business  are not helpful either.  So it's no surprise that poverty ( minimum wage in Texas is $7.25) ; pollution (does anyone want to drink the water in Flint, Michigan?) ;  stress (just follow politics in the  upcoming 2022 election) ; broken food system (the poor can't purchase healthy foods . Regarding supermarkets, typically, supermarkets have about 15 aisles of which only 3  contain  produce, meat and dairy.  The remaining 12 have manufactured foods or GMO sugar ,salt  contaminants. Also, there  is limited availability in many communities for doctors.

It's clear that the health of our country, especially  for black and brown people, are not a priority.  The priority in this country is profit.  Economic dominance, profit, power, greed, as evidenced by the income inequality and the Forbes listing of the billionaires in this country.  One small step would be to have healthcare for all and not call it socialized medicine; increase minimum wage; and create oversight with consequences regarding the "broken food system."  Yes, take healthcare insurance out of the capitalistic model and put the health of the nation before profit.

Put the government in charge of keeping its citizens healthy.  Some, and we know who they are, would claim that the government is inefficient.  Back in the 30s and 40s, our government under FDR and Keynesian economic approach proved differently.  In fact, Detroit was referred to as the Arsenal of Democracy in World War II and economic programs benefited the country at large until the 70s and 80s with Reagan and Milton Friedman and their trickle-down economic nonsense.  Reagan said the government was the problem.  He was right ,as he ran the government. Back then in the 50s and 60s, our nation did not have the income inequality as we do now.  Yes, the rich were wealthy and the CEOs  didn't make more than 100 times more than their workers; professional athletes worked in the off-season to support their families. A  high school buddy Dave worked for General Motors in a white-collar position .Dave and Darlene lived in St. Clair Shores with  boats and other vehicles, and retired to Florida.  Dave was an example of the middle class exploding during those times when wages were up and unemployment down.  The government's  economic policies had the G.I. Bill which provided  college education and mortgage assistance.  The Marshall plan  rebuilt war-torn Europe with American products.  The National Interstate and Defense Highways Act allowed the gas guzzling vehicles to move freely and a defense system that ballooned with each new communist threat  real or imagined.  In other words, our country did well with the government behind economic policies and a shared prosperity compared to now.  Yes, the government can manage healthcare and deal with fixing pollution, poverty, regulating the food and drug industry with their abuses.  This country has no need for the exploitation and draconian politics of insurance.  Put the government back in charge as we are best served when that happens, compared to private profit. October 2,2022 , The New York Times, “Populist Mechanics.”

PS

The government  is enmeshed with our poor mental and physical health by its politics on military engagement; unequal tax ; failing public schools; poverty; pollution; unregulated toxic chemicals like Round-Up, Camp Lejeune, alcohol, nicotine ,drugs, etc.; poorly regulated food industry; false and exploitive advertising messaging.  Therefore, the government should play a significant role and actually provide public services, provide economic security and assistance  and pay its fair share for treatment .

Melting Pots

 As a young boy, I was told that the United States was a melting pot.  It's a belief that diverse cultures and ethnicities  can come together to form the rich fabric of a unified nation. The philosopher and educator  John Dewey  popularized “cultural populism “ in the late 40s while I attended elementary and junior high school.  This melting pot  belief suggests that a heterogeneous society can become more homogeneous when different elements appear to melt together irrespective  of various foreigners with their different cultural backgrounds. If  we become a  harmonious society, then we have cultural amalgamation. Although there has been assimilation in this country, we have significant political, social, economic, educational, religious and ethnic differences  or the psychology of man which interfere with  creating a cultural amalgamation.

A melting pot metaphor was employed to idealize the mythology related to the initial immigration and colonization.  In 1782, J.  Hector St. John de Crevecoer wrote, "What then is the American, this new man?"  The American is one who "leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life.  He has embraced the government, he obeys the new rank he holds.  He becomes an American by being received in the broad lamp of her great Alma Mater…  All nations are melted into a new race of men whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world."  His statements are a  fallacy and illusion  and have no factual basis either in the past or current climate  in our country.

 I was taught in school that our country was a melting pot.  Yet, at home during my upbringing, I experienced a different reality.  Residing on the eastside of Detroit while attending  Wayne Elementary ,Jackson Junior High and Denby High School, I was different .  I was Jewish and my friends weren't.  Besides, they celebrated Christmas while I did not .In school the songs we sang  were about Christmas ,  I overheard statements negative and positive  like " That person  jewed you ;Lieb the Heb from friend Maylon and Mitch, one of the co captains of the football team in the middle of the field prior to the game with Southeastern said,” We are going to win this game for Frank for  Rosh Hashanah ."

Dad, President of the Denby Dad’s Club,  was also an undefeated union president in the United States Post Office for over 20 years.  In fact, he fought against discrimination during his reign.  Black and brown associates and friends frequented our home discussing policies and programs to combat prejudice and discrimination.  At one of his retirement dinners,  I heard about  his accomplishments, policies and programs that he fought for  like healthcare, pensions, working conditions, protection against animals etc. In fact, I  have a picture of dad with the Michigan Gov. Frank Fitzgerald signed the Dog Bite Law protecting mailmen from vicious dogs.  Also, there's a picture with JFK when he was in Detroit on Labor Day giving a speech.  In any event, the political and economic  reality at home was  not a melting pot.  My father was falsely accused, by an  anonymous source, of being a communist.  The “evidence” against dad was that Jim, his friend's  wife, was at one time a member of a  communist group. Jim was fired from his government job and moved his family to Canada.  Further, dad told me to work with my brain, not my back and get an education because that can't be taken .  As a result of parental influences, I taught  at the public, college and at the university level and assisted people with mental health issues.  I  clearly  see the illusion in the melting pot mythology. Dad, you've shown me the path, You accomplished  so much in your union leadership role .  I ‘m thankful for your insights, wisdom and modeling regarding your integrity as  that gave meaning to your life. By the way, dad met FDR and that's why  I am named Franklin Dale .

This country was founded economically largely  based on slavery as an important component of profit.  Blacks and their culture were not even allowed membership in the melting pot.  No, Blacks have been portrayed as being ignorant, immoral and 3/5 of a  wealthy hedonistic white man.

  Indians have been called primitive and savage by wealthy white men. Briefly, Zuni Indians have  spiritual and religious beliefs that remind the person of the values that might help him or her live in a more harmonious and reverent way.  Zuni's had shamans or priests that offered prayers and gratitude that related to a new season, a drought, a birth, an illness, a death, the education of Young Hunter, a marriage, or any  number of other events in which an older order was being replaced by a new one.

These priests offered help in identifying hunting trails, they called forth the powers of the master Hunter and made the first preliminary efforts to communicate with the spirit of the hunter’s prey.  Shamans began to understand the importance of living in peace, honoring the earth and living in harmony with nature.  For example, according to one Zuni named   Awahakeewah ``To find the center and live in balance, you've got to jump out of your skin.  Look at the world through the eyes of the soaring Eagle and the blind eyes of the burrowing Mole."  These Indians did not take over the land of the whites;  without justification kill defenseless women and children; destroy their ability to hunt; rape the land ;polute the waters nor  break treaties.  The primitives and savages are who?  “Zuni Fetishes' ' ,Hal Zina Bennett.

In 1914, the Colorado National Guard killed 11 children while defending a Rockefeller coal mine from workers.  Also, German-speaking Americans were  persecuted with public burnings of German songbooks and the German language was banned in many schools.  In 1917, Woodrow Wilson and his administration whipped up anti-German hysteria and  made the world "safe for democracy."   Wilson's enemies were American socialists because they publicly opposed entering a war in which they would kill fellow working men on the behalf of the ruling classes.  Socialist were terrorized and  unions were demonized.  Even J.  Edgar Hoover conducted raids on these radicals.  "Extreme Measures, the New York Times, October 9, 2022.

In 1924 the Immigration Act limited the number of immigrants  entering the United States by a national origins quota.  The quota limited immigration visas to 2% of the total number of people of each nationality ,in the United States, per the 1890 national census.  This was a legislative expression of xenophobia, particularly towards eastern and southern European immigrants. It also prevented  immigration from Asia as well.  Specifically, the act prevented any person, ineligible for citizenship, from formalizing citizenship. In other words, the existing laws  prohibited  Asian immigrants from becoming natural citizens.. It also limited the number of Mexican immigrants called aliens to 164,667 annually.  This restricted  policy stayed in effect until the 1960s.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a number of high-ranking government officials and celebrities like  anti-semites  Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh and racist Father Coughlin spoke out against the Jewish people in the United States.  In fact, there was an advocacy for teaming up with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime.  The restricted immigration policy affected many Jews attempting to flee Hitler's slaughter and migrate to the United States.  Instead, some Jews found safe havens in Palestine,  England and other countries.  The United States, during that time, was not a melting pot for Jewish refugees.  Not to be forgotten, American Japanese or Japanese-Americans were taken from their homes, displaced and placed in internment camps in various parts of the country.  The Japanese were not part of the melting pot either.  Furthermore, Stanford University President. recently apologized for its 1950s  policies for admission quotas for Jewish students.  The president said, "this appalling anti-semetic activity was damaging and went unacknowledged for too long.''  Add Stanford to Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth for their limited Jewish enrollment in the 20s through 1960s.  Stanford maintained its white Anglo-Saxon safe haven image for that  melting pot . Article found in October 16, 2022 the New York Times.

The movie "Salt of the Earth"  was the only movie blacklisted because of anti communist mythology.  This movie portrayed Mexican Americans working in the New Mexico mines of wealthy whites.  Aside from the horrible working conditions, they did not have indoor bathrooms nor hot indoor running water compared to the white mine workers nearby.  Anyway, they began to strike and then the Taft-Hartley law worked against the striking union.  So the women struck in their place.  Forming a union and striking was a communist idea and bad ?

Recently, a Harvard professor evaluated about 3000 American history textbooks, dating from 1800 to the 1980s.  A reminder that each state has its own curriculum guidelines and there's about 13,000 school districts making decisions on textbooks as well as individual teachers.  With that in mind , some of his findings found in these textbooks from all parts of the country were as follows: 1.  Ideology regarding slavery existed alongside strong beliefs about abolition and preserving the union that tied the survival of Republic itself to the idea of America as a white nation.  2.   Christian Evangelicalts wanted free black people sent back to Africa ;and some white feminists argued for suffrage by saying white women were morally and intellectually superior to the recently emancipated black men 3.  The myth that reconstruction failed not because of violent white resistance, but because black people were not competent to participate in democracy.  4.  After the Civil War, with the celebration of the union victory marked the end of slavery.  5.  An absurd idea of polygenesis, which held that black and white people were separate species and Slavery being a natural state for the lower black order 6.  The myth that enslaved people ,liberated by the Union Army, clung to their masters rather than embrace freedom 7.  Conditions of slavery were no worse than that of some employees in the mills and factories in the north 8.  Slaves were living in comfortable cabins with plenty of nourishing food and spending their evenings singing around campfires 8. The United Daughters of the Confederacy, still alive, placed positive books about the KKK in Southern  schools  9.  Slavery was only about the past and no use to get worked up about it now. “ Taught to Hate “,The New York Times.

Today  hate crimes are on the rise, especially against Asian and Jewish citizenry.  There’s a Republican attempt to limit and make it very difficult to vote, especially if one is black and resides in a Confederate state.  We have  Republican election deniers per 2020 presidential election on the ballot in many areas as well.  We have increased armed white hate groups.  We have high crime rates in Confederate states per ratio of  population.  We had Supreme Court  ruling on  banning abortion, primarily against black women. Where’s the melting pot ?

Our country was never a melting pot,  and man cannot be grouped totally homogeneously.  First, man does not like man.  For example, man's drives, needs and  his society  interfere with man's giving and liking , regardless of what the prophets of old taught.  Love thy neighbor and love thy enemy are illusions in mythology.  For example, human ego needs, such as abasement, achievement, aggression, counteraction, defendance, dominance ,sex and rejection are just some of the needs that interfere with man getting along with man.  Additionally, irrationality, defense mechanisms assist man in his survival, but often to the extent of hurting or going against somebody else. The hazards of nature, political, social, education, economic, and religious differences also get in the way of man liking fellow man.

All men are anxious or afraid and require some rational or irrational form of protection to ward off dangers of living.  Psychologically, insecurity propels man to identify with a person , a rational or irrational idea or supernatural protector.  Dangers and hazards of living in civilization increase the fear and danger which is exploited by politicians and religious leaders.  It's not so surprising that a great number of the population identify and submit to a protector, regardless or irrespective of that leader's cognitive capacity, narcissism or morality deficits.  The leader or Pied Piper scapegoats , blames , manipulates and calls them evil .  Hate, a negative emotion, becomes easily aroused as the followers blindly follow the leader.  Yes, leaders have authoritarian characteristics.  Moses was questioned as his followers rebelled under Joshua and built and made idols; and eventually Moses was killed before reaching the promised land.  Bo Schembechler, Michigan's new football coach at the time, told his players ``it's my way or the highway and don’t let the door hit you in the ass when  leaving."

Fear of others begins at 6 to 9 months and lasts forever.  Stranger anxiety surfaces as that infant fears another or unfamiliar face.  Yes, a large number of people become somewhat homogeneous under certain conditions.  Football coaches work hard to bring harmony and cohesiveness with their players.  Social psychology provides insights in understanding, bringing people together but is beyond the scope of this essay.  Note, midterm elections are coming up and not  everyone believes in democracy for everyone.  One party believes in limited democracy, for only them and if they don't like the election results ,they talk about changing the results.  There is not enough liquefying heat  to melt our  psychological differences. If everyone melted, what’s left ? However, there are a number of different  melting pots  among capitalism, political, religious, economic, social, educational, governmental and ethnic beliefs.  Just view your own. 

Aristippus, Jefferson and Musk

 

 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable  rights, that among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.  Thomas Jefferson wrote those memorable words in the declaration of the 13 United States of America.  This disquisition focuses on the pursuit of happiness while not addressing a  Creator. 

 Thomas Jefferson was obviously  knowledgeable about Greek philosophy.  Turning to the Greeks, Aristippus, a pupil of Socrates, 400 years before Christ, taught that through experience was the optimum of bodily pleasure.  Pleasure is the goal of life and  happiness is the sum total of pleasure  enjoyed.  Thus,Aristippus was a  hedonist for whom the existence of a desire  was the basis for the right to satisfy it and to realize that pleasure was the goal of life .  Note , one synonym for  happiness is pleasure.  On the other hand, another Greek  philosopher Epicurus believed that "pure" pleasure is the highest goal.  For him, however, pleasure meant the absence of pain.  According to this philosopher, pleasure was satisfaction of the desire but cannot be the aim of life because such pleasure is necessarily followed by unpleasantness and this keeps humanity away from its real goal, which is absence of pain.

 Jefferson leaned on the philosophy of Aristippus and not at all on the philosophy of Epicurus. Jefferson believed in hedonism for the white acquisition wealthy landowners with their private property slaves like his history with Sally Hemmings suggests with whom he had children outside of marriage.  In fact English philosopher Thomas Hobbes wrote that the fulfillment of every desire, results in happiness as it's a continuous progress from one grade to another.

With the development of production and technology, capitalism has flourished and become the dominant economic, political and social philosophy and practice in our country.  A few illusions related to capitalism follows: 1.  Does material abundance, wealth, profit and unlimited consumption result in happiness or  being fettered with envy ,jealousy , failure, resentment , anxiety,  anger  and aggression ?  2.  Has the computer  with social media replaced thinking , learning, objectivity , reason and rationality for lies, misinformation  and crazy beliefs  ? 3.  Has everyone  secured freedom within their lives  or have they become slaves to wealthy masters of industry  ? 

A few facts : 1.  Unrestricted satisfaction of all  desires is not conducive to well-being,  happiness or even to maximum pleasure.  2. Our thoughts, feelings, and taste have been manipulated by the government and industry within mass communications in control 3.  Economic progress is basically restricted for the rich  individuals, and  the gap between the rich and poor individuals has widened 4.  Technical progress has created ecological dangers  of climate change as well as the dangers of nuclear war which may either or both put an end to all civilization and possibly  life.

In the capitalistic model, having means to acquire, possess and to pursue greed, power, property and profit  which becomes life's meaning and the current god to worship.   If one has nothing, one is nothing.  I am what I have and what I consume as having  cars ,electronic devices, travel and sex, which we are told brings about pleasure and happiness. . Pleasure is supposed to be equated with happiness.  Pleasure and happiness are emotions  short-lived.  In other words, happiness can occur frequently  but without staying power , it is fleeting and not at all like a mood.  Don Juan  had many sexual conquests and  experienced pleasure. while seducing various women.  This fictitious character, In the end, finds himself caught in an unbreakable grip with the statue that fills him with freezing cold while a fiery pit opens  and drags Don Juan off to hell. The moral of the story is that    sexual hedonism is followed by supernatural punishment or don’t  f..k around.

Sexual hedonism becomes self-defeating in the end. , Maslow's theory of self-actualization incorporates sexual gratification as one aspect but not the sole motivator for man .Hedonism suggests egotism, which is  a significant condition of the capitalistic model.  Egotism suggests narcissism and being self absorbed.  Self absorption is not conducive to interpersonal relationships except for  Don Juan ?  Just think of the importance of competition ,rivalry  dominance and being first in the marketplace. Corporations have been bailed out at times  by the government for being too big to fail.  Corporations maximize profit at the exclusion of people.  Corporations are not people.  In the old days, Sears had a wonderful company  for employment.  Most employees benefited and retired .  Things  changed for that wonderful company and Sears is no longer the market force as their employees became expendable during its decline.

We are an uncontrolled  consumer consumption, economic system.  For capitalism to prosper, individuals have to buy, consume and buy.  We have become a consumer personality.  Look in garages, landfills  and ocean pollution  at the accumulation of things.  Useless things are replaced by other useless things.  The propaganda  of the capitalist advertising industry tells us  to buy the dream house and the person with the most toys wins, etc. Has all this purchasing, and consumption resulted in long-term happiness ? Has working long hours, pursuing that prize job, resulted in long-term happiness?  Has a college degree or attending an ivy league university resulted in happiness?  Has buying a dream home resulted in long-term happiness?   Has winning the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA championship resulted in long-term happiness?  We are supposed to be the wealthiest country on the planet and does that  mean we are the happiest of people?

A few facts follow : 1.  In 2020 Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, and Iceland are the top four ranking countries for happiness.  The United States now ranks 16th , in the world , behind Ireland, Germany ,Canada and others.  According to Sutter Health, about 133 million people in our country, almost half the population in our country have a long-term illness such as asthma, diabetes, and coronary  disease( one alcoholic drink per day is associated with a 16 % increased risk of AFIB ) . Do not forget about obesity; homeless (they are poor , dirty, lazy and amoral individuals);  gun ownership and income  Inequality .

 Soren Kierkegaard said that "most people rush after pleasure so fast that they rush right past it.  It should be clear by now that capitalism benefits a few  as the capitalistic dominated  political party supports restricted government spending, against the $15 minimum wage and  supports tax relief for the wealthy.  It's  clear that hedonism means exploiting the majority with discriminatory  policies and procedures.  The survival of the fittest is actually an economic model or philosophy

In any event, pursuit of happiness( money, yachts, planes, cars,  drugs, food, alcohol, guns, jewelry etc.) provides temporary pleasure .  It's destructive, exploitative, narcissistic and associated with amoral tendencies of lying,cheating, and  stealing to protect hoarding  and possessing. Yes, Musk and Bezos can fly 50 miles above Earth in their pursuit of happiness.  What’s next for them  because previous consumptions are just that as they lose their satisfaction .

Specifically applying greed or the egotism of greed to Musk refers not  just to his behavior, but to his character.  A few illustrations follow: 1.  He wants everything for himself.  2.  It's about him possessing not sharing that gives him pleasure.  3. His aim is having, he believes that he is more, the more he has.  4.  He feels antagonistic toward others as he can deceive his competitors, whom he wants to destroy; the workers that he exploits  5. He can never be satisfied because there is no end to his wishes 6.  He has to repress these feelings in order to represent himself to others and himself as a smiling, rational, sincere, and pleasant human being which is his persona, a  pretend mask.  Note, being in the having mode suggests an emotional deficit for him.  This deficit could be a loss of love, admiration, and/or respect.  Emotional deficits are associated with danger or anxiety to the ego with its limited amount of psychic energy for personality functions.  The ego has  ways of dealing with dangerous anxiety.  It can create self talk or internal dialogue in an attempt to mitigate the danger.  Examples could be: 1.  I'm entitled 2.  I deserve this.  3.  I can afford to buy Twitter .  4.  This will give me more status , prestige, and place me ahead of Bezos who only owns the Washington Post.  Unfortunately, rationalization is a defense mechanism available to the ego, but does not mitigate  emotional insecurity and deficits.  As a result, anxiety from emotional deficits remains and rationalizations continue irrespective of consumption. But, on the other hand, to purchase, to take over relieves anxiety because what one has cannot be taken away.  Can Musk destroy his rationalizations and become aware of his own unconscious reality?  

 Epicurus was correct, as after pleasure the day-to-day realities return with the  repetitiveness of life.  A few quotes regarding man and his motivation follows:  1.  It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor -Seneca 2.  He who is not satisfied with the little, is satisfied with nothing-Epicurus 3.  Fame and wealth without wisdom are unsafe possessions-Democritus 4.  Everything in excess is opposed to nature-Hippocrates  These philosophers make their point about  how to live.    Unfortunately , The Pursuit of Happiness has resulted with a population that is angry, destructive, unhappy, lonely, anxious, depressed, obese, dependent, with long-term mental and physical illness issues.

"

Reference

Fromm, Erich.  To Have or to Be.

It's About Stress

  The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche , long ago, stated, "that which does not kill us makes us stronger."  This idea suggests that suffering provides an opportunity to develop fortitude and these challenges can serve as a learning experience that strengthens one's character. I recently talked with Thom Darden about stresses during aging.  I said add  stress to plates  as plates diminish in size over time.  Thom replied, "The plate gets heavier."  This essay addresses the famous philosopher's quote.

Psychologically, the following have to be taken into consideration while aging: 1. Humans have a limited or fixed amount of psychic energy. This means the ego has at its disposal a fixed supply of energy for meeting  psychological  needs .  2. During development, the ego becomes confronted with a series of psychosexual and psychosocial stages or crises.  If the  crisis is successfully resolved at that particular stage, then  the person's ego is in a better position to successfully master the next stage of development. However, if the  ego is unsuccessful at resolving that crisis , the likelihood of it being successful (needing gratification) at the next succeeding stage becomes questionable.  3. Ego functions( thinking,sensing, perceiving, planning, reality , impulse control , frustration tolerance , ego boundaries etc.)  are developed and  established during these psychosexual and psychosocial stages . Successful resolution of issues and conflicts, during these stages, results in positive degrees of ego strength and vice versa.  4.  Psychic energy, psychosexual, psychosocial crises, degree of  ego strength and ego needs affect  and become part of character .  5.  These variables  play a significant role  in the ability to handle difficulties or stresses that confront humans.  6.  Stress does not at all strengthen character, but are challenges that test  ego needs, physiological , psychological health and wellbeing.

A few illustrations follow of the various stresses, hurdles and conflicts that affect one's well-being.  Remember that it's not always what one says about their conflict  , instead  it’s about  attitude, behavior and choices during and after.  A friend recently lost her spouse because of death.  Did the death of the spouse make her character stronger? Her husband had Lou Gehrig's disease and his condition  rapidly deteriorated.  He was confined to a mobile powered chair;could hardly talk and lost his physical ability dramatically.  They put an elevator in the home to transport him from the first to the second floor. He decided  to take his life. With death, there was a diminished amount of stress on her plate that totally changed her life . Her plate became lighter as the amount of stress was lessened with his passing.She’s now dating.

Another  friend has a respiratory illness that has not yet been accurately  diagnosed.  He's an only son and is highly involved in taking care of two elderly parents residing in another state.  Aside from his respiratory condition, which interferes with his ability to exercise and have a quality life of his own, he has taken on the responsibility of caring for his parents, with frequent road trips. Good ego functioning, demonstrates his ability to give to his parents and attests to his character.

Another friend has recently undergone surgery for hernia and  a colonoscopy as well.  During these procedures, the doctors discovered he had a rare form of cancer.  The treatment for that cancer is scheduled for later this month.  This was a shock to him as he was symptom free.  His spouse is stressed not only because of her husband's health, but the fact that she has an Alzheimer's precursor.  Apolipoprotein E is a variant in the main genetic risk factor for late onset Alzheimer's.  Needless to say she has been involved in functional medicine treatment, hoping to successfully address this horrible disease.  So both spouses are confronted with health issues as they age the seventh decade of their lives. Do these physical problems  make them stronger?  They are no longer horse owners and that helps relieve some of the heaviness on their plates.

We've recently had natural disasters of fire and hurricane damage in California and Florida.  On the news, tremendous amounts of media coverage demonstrated the horrific damage and toll on human life and property.  These people are faced with physical, psychological, and economic stress. of damage in southern Florida because of flooding,  winds and so forth . Homes and  businesses have been destroyed and dramatic portions of electricity power failures and the like. To top that, it's been reported that a number of the home insurance companies have gone bankrupt and left the state leaving many uninsured.  I recently heard about an individual that bought property in Ft. Myers and paid 4- $500,000 for it without insurance . That individual just lost that property. With that heavy plate, how can that   make his character stronger?

Physically, one  can become stronger by adding additional weights and by incorporating other forms of exercise to increase strength and endurance .Aerobic activities  can benefit. We marvel at the ability of young athletes in the Olympics and in professional sports.  We also  know that there's an early retirement from these sports.  Michael Phelps dominated  his sport during his illustrious career.  He no longer can compete at the Olympic level as age became a significant factor for him.  Tom Brady, on the other hand, has competed in professional  football and is now 45 years of age.  Is he the same athlete as he was 10 years ago?  Is his accuracy and  velocity the same or has there been some diminishment?  Mentally, he's likely better equipped than he was 10 years ago.  However, Tom and his wife Gisele are in the preliminary stages of separation and/or divorce.  Does the stress, anxiety affect his football performance?  It might be difficult to sort out the degree of physical decline, coupled with his mental stress.  However, he is not the same quarterback. This year  will be a test. Will Brady’s stress interfere with his successfully meeting his ego needs of achievement,dominance,exhibition, affiliation and aggression in football -his main passion ?

 

 A number of years ago, Dr. Hans Selye studied the mind-body connection involved with stress, with patients that had similar physiological and psychological characteristics.  According to Selye, it is not the stress that harms us. It’s the distress that occurs when  emotional stress becomes prolonged and not dealt with, in a positive manner.  He described this as the General Adaptation Syndrome which consists of three different stages, which is alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.  Additional research has described the negative effects of stress-distress resulting in a number of conditions such as  depression, ulcers, respiratory illness, obesity, etc. in any event,  the effects of distress has been well documented and beyond the scope of this essay.

An External Stress Index, to assess the degree of stress, was established with numerical values.  For example, death of the spouse was valued atf 100; divorce at 73 ,marital separation at 65 etc. According to the index,when all the values are added,  the total stress value can indicate  either stress relieving, average stress index of modern life, warning , or a real danger.  Once again stress -distress is not  fortitude but actually harms us.  Should be pointed out that environmental dangers like hurricanes, fires, etc. affect us  personally, interpersonally as well as economically.  None of which is positive but are considered negative stresses.

Developmentally ,with aging,   the ego  ,with negative stress, does not develop more fortitude while meeting physiological and psychological needs within a fixed amount of psychic energy .  Further, the degree, extent  and frequency of stress, frustration, anger, and anxiety over time wears down the immune system .The result can lead to depression,dementia,  cancer and other diseases associated with aging.  A compromised immune system  results in an increase in the production of free radicals and in the release of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine- the stress hormones. Note, high levels of cortisol affects the body's production of antibodies.  Specifically, the loss of cortisol receptors in the brain, a sign of aging, results in a heightened vulnerability to disease.In other words, an assault on ego development  has negative consequences regardless.  The health of the ego is important in dealing with the aging process for both mental and physical diseases, mind-body connections suggest.  The heaviness on our plates interferes with need gratification and can  cripple us.  Thus,  suffering,stress, frustration,anger ,depression and /or other diseases are not associated with strengthening one's character, but interfere with ego needs for  physiological and psychological well being. Chief Joseph stated, "it does not require many words to speak the truth." 

Reference

Klatz,Ronald and Goldman,Robert. Stopping The Clock.

Brett Stevens Said What?

 Brett Stephens wrote an article titled "I Was Wrong  About Trump Voters" in the July 24, 2022  edition of the New York Times.  Earlier, August 31, 2015 Brett Stephens wrote, " If you watched Mr. Trump mocked fellow candidate Lindsey Graham's low poll numbers and didn't cringe at the lack of class, you are incapable of class."  Mr. Stephens presented some arguments for him being wrong . This  disquisition addresses the inaccuracies of that article. 

In Stephen's article ,he regretted almost nothing he said about the man but didn’t accurately describe his ( moral ignoramuses) followers.  He saw a bigoted, self  grandiose  blowhard making one ignorant argument after another who raised his middle finger at a self satisfied elite that had produced a failing status quo.  Yes, he did make ignorant comments and he supposedly told others to f...k off. But, Trump didn't do anything to restore a failing status for these economically left behind.In fact , he made it worse. These followers are in worse shape psychologically and economically now than they were prior to him being elected.  So you turn to a narcissistic personality to do what?  Narcissists have poor reality perception themselves. That means, they are incapable of  acknowledging and addressing your needs.  They are more angry and acting out their frustrations as evidenced by social media hate,  hate crimes and  following  anti government Covid-19 recommendations.  Our country is now politically,economically and psychologically in worse shape, not better.They are in debt with  children living at home because they're financially unable to leave as well. On the other hand, Donald gave a tax cut to the top 1% and bent over backward financially supporting large corporations during the  Covid -19 boondoggle . Donald didn't protect the unprotected lives in failing neighborhoods or their schools  either.  Stephens went on to say that he understood why these people were angry. Yes, but to scapegoat and blame others while believing lies of  a narcissist. ?

Stephens went on to say that the anger was not unfounded, illegitimate, or  aimed at the wrong target .  Really, expressing anger on social media that’s based on falsehoods, scapegoating and pure prejudice is inappropriate. It's just a convenient medium to act out one's frustrations and emotional difficulties without value .  It also highlights their inadequacies as humans who demonstrate a lack of  empathy or caring for others.  One sees aggressive Irrational nonsense.  Anger and frustration  should have been expressed towards  unworthy Trump as he failed on the Covid -19 pandemic , lack of infrastructure spending and his  crazy tariff  policies with China.  Yes, he was impeached twice.  He's the evil one.

Were these bigoted individuals betrayed by the nations elites,or were they betrayed by  a paranoid, morally inadequate , self serving individual  with the do-nothing Senate.  Stephens went on to say that they were betrayed financially and bore the brunt of the cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars  while the financial class was being granted a bailout. Busch lied and the country supported it.  I agree that individuals were betrayed financially and did bore the brunt of the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  On the other hand, individuals  have to take responsibility for their economic well-being too.  In our capitalistic society, one has to develop skills so that he can sell himself profitably on the market.  That means some form of university or trade school education.  Without being able to sell oneself in the market, the likelihood of economic success is limited.  Moreover, aligning oneself with the GOP party also sets oneself up for failure.  The GOP is against minimum wage, health insurance, infrastructure, support for public school education, voting against FEMA disaster relief  and so forth.  Without skills, and aligning oneself with the GOP, one can expect being betrayed for the financial elite in our country.  To blame others for your misfortune is simply scapegoating and not taking responsibility for your own decision-making.  

The Republican Party hides the reality behind the real problem facing this country.  The significant issues are not CRT,antifa, same-sex marriage, etc. but are economically  based on our capitalistic system of greed, profit and exploitation.  Small minority of wealthy people or venture capitalists are becoming more wealthy.  Blame is placed on Biden for gas prices.  Biden does not decide on oil crude oil prices.  The increased wealth is going to?  With inflation, the CEOs are not complaining, but are happy because their profits are increasing.  Further, certain financial groups are acquiring more businesses in exchange for stock  and corporations so that they can better control  and exploit those markets.  By consolidating the power, they controlled the supply and began to monopolize those industries and services.  These takeover practices benefit only a small minority and discriminate against the many.  The GOP does not want any regulation that affects these takeovers.  That's the hidden crime facing this country and not these social, religious distractions.

  Let's face it, same-sex marriage, sex segregated bathrooms , abortions, reverence for patriotic symbols has accomplished what for these followers ?  These diversions do not put bread on the table.  These issues express narrow retentiveness with thinking and  beliefs that goes back to earlier times.  These people were not able to acknowledge and understand their moral ineptitude and lack of humane thinking.  Do these people in the Republican Party talk about our country's problems in a way that makes sense? No, it's a clever distraction and it's easy to  scapegoat and blame others.

I agree with Stephens when he said few  of these people have been honest with themselves about the elaborate hoax-there's no there's just no other word for it-there was a Steele dossier, and all the bogus allegations courageously parroted in the mainstream media that flowed from it.  I think that the biggest hoax was not the Steele dossier. What about the  lie that the election was stolen?  If one can't acknowledge that truth then we are   a deeply divided nation  based on lies, paranoia and fiction . Are we too gullible to separate fact from fiction ? Too many Republican  crazies  are in power. I would agree with Stephens that morally it's one thing to take a gamble on a candidate who  makes irrational promises. It's another to do that with an ex-president with a record of trying to break the Republic itself.