Are We Doomed?

 

 

Being a PhD psychologist in the eighth decade of life provides me with both a personal and professional perspective of the aging process. I looked back and traced my beginnings. I’m going to use aspects of my life story as a metaphor and compare it, using a few significant psychoanalytic concepts, to a brief history of the United States. Of course, I’m going to take some liberties.

Otto Rank described the birth trauma in his book “Das Trauma der Geburt.” Rank believed that there was traumatic change in the transfer from the all-encompassing, bliss of the womb going to painful postnatal conditions. He wrote that this propulsion had a deleterious effect on the newborn. This physical and psychological experience, results in a “mortal fear. “ It not only effects life but it is also a consequence of it.  Therefore, it is most normal for us, to carry a load of primal anxiety throughout the life cycle. This means, the first human goal is an attempt or need for a reinstatement of embryonic bliss and second, to avoid the greatest human terror which is fear of separation anxiety.  On a side note, separation anxiety is a main barrier and psychologically interferes with Covid -19 public health recommendations.

The Puritans, in the 1600’s under King James, the father, lived in the greatest empire on earth. Living conditions were not copacetic for these Puritans residing in this most powerful country, where the sun never sets, on this Empire. They experienced significant socio -economic and religious conflicts. Regardless, it took great courage to separate from one’s mother homeland and set sail for uncharted lands across the Atlantic. In 1607, with the London Company, they established the first colony in Virginia. Thus, these new settlers experienced a traumatic homeostatic change in their psyche, from separation, the rough voyage, and encountering Native Americans in a new land. There was separation anxiety in leaving their familiar homeland. Did they make the right choice to leave the “womb? “ They had to eat, make shelter and deal with all the necessities for survival. Thank goodness there was a “Pocahontas” to provide nurturance. Did the Puritans think about returning to their womb, of course they did?

 I was born with all my fingers and toes. I was totally dependent on my mother for meeting my physiological needs. Could she or any mother know what I needed, at the exact moment, during my early existence? How could she know or anticipate when I was hungry, cold, warm or thirsty? Yes, I could cry, move my arms and legs uncontrollably. Was she able to meet all my physiological requirements? Yes, but exactly when I needed them is another story. Psychologically, a mother is to provide some delay in meeting one’s gratifications in order for healthy ego development. In doing so, the ability to delay and develop frustration tolerance is important for the development of a healthy ego. A spoiled child, has not experienced a delay of gratification and is without boundaries. That child never learns about limits and consequences for actions.  Moreover, Alfred Adler wrote that the spoiled child forms the expectation in life that he will always be taken care of and that his whim is law. He added that many criminals were spoiled children. Currently, we have a criminal in the White House.

During development, I learned quickly about dependence, dominance, power and control in terms of interactions with mother. My jaw muscles developed and I guess, it’s only a guess, that I was aggressive during feeding.  Did I bruise her nipples? Perhaps, and the next major battle of wills between us, dependence, dominance, power, and aggression was over toilet training. Did I win that sphincter control battle? Then of course, I identified with both parents and began incorporating societal, moral and ethical rules and regulations. During this process, I formed my ego -ideal.

 Psychologically, my ego -ideal provided me with an unrealistic and narcissistic overvaluation of myself related to the idealization of parental power and perfection.  Notably, the ego -ideal can provide a source of dissatisfaction with life because its goals are perfectionist, requiring evidence that’s often unattainable. However, I fantasized about sport heroes and followed the careers of these individuals; and their teams became my teams. I identified with Gordie Howe of the Red Wings; Ted Gray of the Tigers and, Doak Walker of the Lions and others along the way.

 As an ordinary person, I learned more about delay of impulses, frustration, aggression and conflict. I also experienced dependence, dominance, aggression, and power in interactive experiences. Moreover, I  won football honors at  Denby high school in ; received a football scholarship to the University of Detroit; attained  a  PhD from Wayne State University ; earned a  100 mile Tevis buckle; mastered the Western States 100 mile run and conquered the Swanton Pacific 100 mile Ride and Tie.

Going back to the colonies, there were many dependence, dominance, aggression and power interactions over the next 400 years. Just think of all the conflicts between the land grabbing settlers and the Native Americans. Originally, we were dependent on the Native Americans but eventually dominated and wiped them out. A current fictional story between John Dutton and the Native Americans can be viewed with Kevin Costner‘s Yellowstone.

There were delays, frustration and conflict in separating from the mother homeland and their Kings {father}. The British Empire taxed the colonies unmercifully. On December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts, a political protest occurred.  The dependence, dominance, aggression, and power conflict was exacerbated in the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783. We fought for separation or independence. The founding fathers identified with Great Britain and incorporated a government with a president instead of a king along with other legislative branches similar to their home country. Because of separation fears, they created safety constitutional amendments such as freedom of speech and the ability to form a militia. In fact, George Washington, our first president, was called the father of our country. Dominance, aggression, power, and submission conflicts occurred again with our English parent country in the War of 1812 on June 18.  We’ve had other battles for dominance, submission and separation as in the Civil War.

It cannot be a surprise that the South did not want to relinquish their dominance, power, control and exploitation with their slave based economy. In fact, they wanted to separate from the union. They had total social and economic dominance and they did not want to be subjugated, controlled or told by Abraham Lincoln that slavery was not allowed.  The battle of wills, frustration, conflict, delay of gratification was experienced with sadomasochism practices in the process. Do not forget about Andersonville and the destruction of Atlanta. Separation from the union was not allowed.

Our country also had conflict with others as in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. General Santa Ana reclaimed the Alamo mission during a 13 day siege. During that fighting, roughly 200 Texans defenders and Davy Crockett died. Later in 1898, there was an armed conflict between us and Spain in Cuba over dominance. Our dominance, aggression and power was established as we acquired new territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

 Dominance, aggression and power over others was predicated on many things such as Manifest Destiny. This belief was that the settlers of the United States, were destined by God, to control North America. Sorry, Native Americans, we have that kind of god! The ego- ideal of the United States to dominate and control the world came to pass on August 6 and on August 9, 1945 with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At that point, we were supreme on the world stage. Other ego- ideals such as the New Deal, The Great Society, and landing on the moon were attained.

In the 1970s, the economic policy of neoliberalism was initiated. Under that dominant and aggressive economic policy, the federal government was diminished or dependent and Wall Street, wealth and the corporations became king and master. The goal was to privatize everything. During this occurrence, labor unions were decimated; federal government weakened; war on drugs specifically incarcerated more blacks; privatized prisons established, wage slavery became the norm; and the disparity between low and high income earners sky rocketed. Once again the dominance, power, aggression submission dynamic played out with greater frustration, anger and resentment among the populace.

Back to my story, in my development, the body-image or representation of body parts was significant. Body image enters into and becomes a necessary component of the self-image and of social roles. Typically, women have a more realistic depiction of their bodies because their body confirmation is more striking .Also, their body narcissism is normally greater than a man’s.  Body image and body contents are distorted for both sexes.  The area of the mouth becomes the initial mouth ego. Moreover, it’s not uncommon for an attractive woman to consider herself ugly. Just ask her if she has put on some weight? Body image distortion may have deep unconscious roots.

The self-image like the body image has both an external and internal or private social aspect. They are not identical and vary as external and personal circumstances change. People are sometimes unexpectedly pleased or shocked to learn how others regard them.  The image they have of themselves often does not correspond to the more objective and less complete picture that others have of them. Self-image is narcissistic because of the origins in the ego -ideal. My dad had free weights in our basement. That identification was clear and I went downstairs and begin working out with the weights. I became particularly strong and had my younger brother Ron and his friend Dave hand me the heavyweights so I could perform 350 lbs. bench presses. With other friends, we placed over 650 lbs.  or so on our shoulders to become comfortable and see how low we could squat.

With testosterone, hGH, DHEA, and free weights my body changed and I developed more strength and muscle. Other changes, over the years, took place as well. As a psychologist, I grew a full-length beard and had my hair tied in a ponytail.

Then, when I reached the six decade of life, things began to change in my body. There was no more pony tail, but there was a change in hair color. Thank goodness that Ron and Dave were not around to hand me the heavy weights. My running times slowed over the yearly competitive races. By mid-70s, I substituted 50 K’s for 50 mile trail runs and ran a fast ½ marathon in February of this year.  I have had a two hernia operation; consulted an optometrist and an ophthalmologist; had two MRIs’; and a meniscus surgery in one knee. Thus, there were external and internal reality changes regarding both body and self-image.

Returning to our country, there have been many changes over the past eight decades. We have the highest amount of Covid -19 death and disease; we have more gun deaths; we more obesity and overweight; we have continued systemic racism; we have more sick hate groups; we have more delusional conspiracy theories with paranoid followers; we have  more disturbed  amoral  and lying individuals and a dumbing down of the populace. Our statistics and achievement, for our students, in science and math are not good. We trail China, Singapore and too many other countries. We are no longer in the Paris Agreement Accord or Iranian Nuclear deal and are rapidly destroying our planet. Our time is running out. The Doomsday clock clicks closer to midnight than ever before. Our outdated electoral college is still relevant thanks to James Madison. Madison did not trust the populace with the important vote for the president .He thereby enabled the Electoral College with the dominant –dependent dynamic. Trump is a criminally perverse and lying threat to our democracy. In our Republic, the Republican Senate continues to disrespect the populace with their lies and silence on legislation coming from the House.

It obvious that my body is changing and I can’t reverse it. Our country is trending downward too. It remains to be seen if that can be reversed. Remember the dynasties of Alexander; Caesars; Ottoman Empire; and the British Empire are dead. Dynasties are made up of people so they are similar in regards to the functioning of the human body and die. We reach a zenith of power, aggression, control and then dependence; and then submission, frailty and “death” follows. Moreover, related to reality and future, are Murray’s abasement need which is associated to submit passively to external force…… To seek and enjoy pain, punishment, illness and misfortune. Freud wrote about the destructive drive that ends in the life cycle of death. The finis.

Call it Dominance

 

 

With Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the Democratic Convention, the comparison and contrast was crystal clear. Earlier, on the Wrap, it was reported that MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski called out diehard Trump supporters: “How Stupid Can You Be?” She added “look at how he’s worn us down, from his paid off porn star to Russian  allies, to racism in Charlottesville, racism across the board, children in cages, mean lie after lie after lie….. Conspiracy theories.” She went on to accuse Trump of “choosing not to keep people alive amid the Corona virus pandemic and accusing his fellow GOP lawmakers of letting it happen.” This foreshadows an August 9, 2020 article in the New York Times titled “Christianity Will Have Power”   How a Promise by Trump Bonded Him to White Evangelicals.” This essay critiques that article.”

Sigmund Freud’s “In Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego” wrote that group behavior or the relationship of the leader to his followers was related to the formation of attitudes toward both the father and siblings. We know that a helpless infant has specific biological needs that are encountered with ministrations and frustrations as a result of the behaviors of parents or caretaker. Thus, dominant-submissive interactions originate and begin. Then, what often follows is a rivalry toward siblings resulting in additional dominant-submissive and aggressive interactions as well. Notably, attitudes are formed. We acknowledge that individuals, because of their needs, are prepared to expect almost complete support and gratification from that outside power. This awakens these early forming attitudes towards the father- leader. This pattern of total self-abnegation and blissful response, beginning in infancy  , can later fill itself toward God or toward any person, idea or whatever that fits well enough to serve as an adequate stimulus. Moreover, what also happens is that the Individual with internalization and identification tends to build or expand the power of the leader based on his own need structure. This allows and results in the demagogue to pander to the will or needs of his sheep. The leader or demagogue with words and actions then demonstrates his power, and cohesiveness to his sheep.

 Also discovered, by Freud, was that the leader conscience, can take over the conscience of the followers. Much too frequently, the substitution of one’s conscience involves the impairment or lowering of the intellectual, rational and moral capacities of the followers. In other words the  leaders conscience and attitudes becomes the individual’s conscience as in good or bad, right or wrong etc. through identification. Also, that leader can formulate with clarity and cogency the trends and needs which are already obviously present in the group.

Freud’s concept of identification, set the framework for submission, for an irrationally-diminished intellectual and moral functioning by the cohesive group followers with their leader.  Turning to 2016 at Sioux Ctr., Iowa, and Trump stated “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and s shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters. He also stated, with a raised finger, this cold January morning “Christianity will have power. “If I’m there, you going to have plenty of power, you don’t need anybody else. You’re going to have somebody representing you very, very well. Remember that.” That wording by Trump is a good example of his internal guide to the rightness or wrongness of his behavior.

A 56-year-old white male, who was present, stated I guess the biggest concern for me is trying to keep our country the way it was. He added you don’t lock the doors and I never take the keys out of the car. Further, small government, ending abortion, judges who share my political views, and traditional families he stated. The religious part is huge for us as we see religious freedoms being taken away. His wife added you don’t believe in homosexuality or something you lose your business because of it. Trump with an executive order put the Bibles back in the public schools. Has something very worrisome and dear to us our religious freedom. We started out as a Christian nation, we want America to be a Christian nation for our children, but you try to protect what you got, you might say. Our town is changed and there is greater number of Catholic Latinos.

Other resident comments by different individuals: 1. Trumps an outsider like the rest of us. We might not respect Trump, but we still love the guy for who he is. 2. There is fear. The fear, the fear of losing everything. 3. Obama wanted to take my assault rifles, he wanted to take out all the high-capacity magazines. It felt like your freedoms were getting taken from you. 4. I’m safe when I’m here. I’m not afraid when I’m here. 5. We have life very easy. It’s laid-back, it’s like-minded people. And that’s just and it’s just, I like the bubble. 6. People in my circles you really don’t hear about racism. I guess I don’t know much about it. 7. This country was based and built in God fearful leaders and changing that is going to change one of the reasons why this country started, the thing that everybody loves about this country. 8. We’re making this huge issue of white versus black. Black lives matter, all lives matter. They’re more deaths from abortion than there are from Corona, we are not fighting that battle. 9. We have the greatest country in the world. We’re going to keep it nice and safe. 10. Mike pence is a wonderful gentleman. This is probably very bad analogy, but I say he is like the very supportive, submissive wife to Trump. He does the hard work and the husband gets the glory.

A Hispanic Catholic, age 64 who became a pastor stated: 1. Doing things like dividing the family, I don’t think that is very Christian. Building walls instead of helping people with medicine, food especially now people are getting sick for not having enough income 2. Maybe they know that they realize that he is kind of persecuting Hispanics, so they won’t talk very much about that in front of me. I want the same thing, but I won’t tell them my opinion.

George Washington was referred to as the father of our country. What does that make Donald? A rebellious son? A stepson? We know that weak and fearful individuals turn and identify with an individual perceived as stronger as or more powerful than them. We also know that this identification is based on insecurity, a need for protection and security. We also know that the leader’s conscience or lack of becomes the conscience of the followers. Shooting somebody on Fifth Avenue is not part of Christian teachings nor is having somebody vote for that same person that just murdered another. We also know that the enabling follower’s use of reason and logic is diminished as well as their own moral and ethical compass.

These evangelicals express the importance of freedom for religion, for guns and the importance of the original God-fearing leaders. Yes, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, Franklin and others established a U.S. Constitution on March 4, 1789 that was ratified or voted on in 1788. Now we have a Democratic Republic. Since that time, there have been 27 amendments to the Constitution. With our Constitution we have freedoms of free speech; freedom of owning a gun; freedom of worshiping; separation of church and state; freedom to vote among others. There has been no amendment abolishing Christianity nor has there any threat to practicing Christianity.  Our monetary system is symbolized by “In God We Trust”; and various songs like Onward Christian Soldiers have not been abolished. Democracy and its democratic norms allow many freedoms especially freedom of religion.

On the other hand, the evangelicals are more than likely on a mission for power or dominance like the Puritans. They are currently by looking for public school funding and to be the religion of the land. The Puritans or English Protestants purified the Church of England by eliminating the Catholics.  Power is not one of the 10 Commandments? If these evangelicals, are on that mission, then supporting the anti-democratic, lying, amoral, narcissist makes sense. Moral and ethical principles take a back seat to power- dominance needs.

The U.S. Postal Service an independent agency that goes back to 1775 and more importantly is explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution for providing postal service in the United States, including its insular areas and associated states. Back in the 50s, I was hired, as an extra because of increased mail volume, and worked in my father’s post office during Christmas time. My dad wanted me to work inside because of the nasty sleet, snow, and cold weather conditions. I told him I preferred to be outside in the elements so I could deliver the much needed mail. 

Currently, we have this sick, lying paranoid, sycophant in the executive branch who has interfered with our democracy. He now is by attempting to diminish the presidential vote by mail and cripple – privatize the US Post Office service in the process by removing mail boxes, eliminating expensive mail sorting machines, not hiring additional staff, and interfering with timely mail distribution. What would Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison say to these evangelicals? How can you support this anti-democratic narcissistic, sociopathic, paranoid and destructive man that threatens our democracy which we fought so hard to establish? All your freedoms are guaranteed by our Constitution that was democratically established and voted upon. That man threatens your way of life in the most profound ways. We no longer wanted a king or autocrat in power. Your beliefs regarding this man run counter to how our country was established. However, they would understand the pursuit of power -dominance.

Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Holding a Bible upside down front of St. John’s Episcopalian church, while protesters were tear gassed and shot with rubber pellets was not Christian. Not lying, not stealing, not loving thy neighbor/enemies, not coveting thy neighbor’s wife are just some of the biblical teachings. But, is it more important to have small government {forget homeland security and the biggest military budget in the world]; abortion laws {regardless of the circumstances and not wanting to offer financial assistance to the young]; and have like-minded judges? Forget about the values of the 10 Commandments which are based on people treating people in noncriminal and humane manners?

One evangelical supporter made a statement that he doesn’t respect the man but that he loves him demonstrated his lack of understanding love. How can you love someone that you do not have regard for the feelings, wishes, traditions and rights of another or others? If you do not esteem, have positive or warm feelings for a person, you don’t love them. Love is a positive feeling. A few antonyms for respect include scorn, despisement, abomination, condemnation and mistrust.  This man was just making a nonsensical, illogical and contradictory statement.  Having peaceful protesters tear gassed and shot with rubber pellets; having children at the border separated from their parents and placed in cages; sending armed militia to Portland, Oregon and much worse is allowing, without a comprehensive plan, for 170,000 citizens  to die with over 1/2 million   becoming contagious is not a biblical-Christian teaching. For more about love consult Erich Fromm’s “The Art of Love.” Who is going to save Christianity from itself?

Also apparent from the article was the tremendous amount of false information propagated by evangelical residents. They provided no documentation, logic or references to support their phony and false statements. Pres. Obama was not after their weapons. There were no executive orders take away their guns. Abortion is not the fifth leading cause of death in United States. Covid-19 is the fifth leading cause of death. Why should the government have a law regarding the right to choose supersede a woman’s right for that important decision? Maybe the problem for these and evangelicals is that the woman is choosing.  An embryo is an early stage of development of a multicellular organism, and it’s just that that occurs just after fertilization. You can’t kill an embryo but you can kill an unarmed black skinned person? How can this be the greatest religious country in the world with so many sins resulting from racist deaths?

These evangelicals forget that the pilgrims wanted religious freedom and then criticized and burned at the stake those that thought differently.  That’s power and dominance. Our US policy was to eliminate and obliterate the American Indians along with enslaving people with black skin. This practically lily white community doesn’t know firsthand much about racism unless they consult reliable media, history of Little Bighorn , Jim Thorpe, the 1619 project and so much more.  For more about racism, the enslavement of black men and boys in our prison system and the injustices, consult “Mercy, a Story of Justice and Redemption “by Bryan Stevenson.

The words and the behavior for these evangelicals are associated with racism, bigotry, and the sadomasochistic practices of the inept executive. It’s not about saving the Christianity of Jesus. Their moral compass is weak, primitive and cruel as indicated by their irrational following and their silence of the crimes of perpetuated by a self-righteous Trump. How is an amoral, narcissist, sociopathic and paranoid individual going to save Christianity? To call Trump a Christian, is nonsense and a delusion. He’ll do practically anything, or say anything to hold onto the power of the office. What about “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor”? He’s already calling voting by mail fraudulent; cutting back Postal Service delivery; and attempting to stop states from employing mail in voting. Further, dead people from the pandemic can’t vote. The Republican Party also has a long history of experienced ways to suppress voting. His need for excessive attention, admiration, lack of empathy and lying is apparent. You can’t see, what you do not want to see, if your head is buried in sand. These individuals also have a number of defense mechanisms like denial, rationalization and projection to distort the truth.  Mika said they were stupid. They are more than stupid, they are sick, misguided, needy, and amoral, without ethics and misinformed individuals. For the evangelicals, he’s their vehicle for power- dominance.

A Sick and Damaged Executive

 

 

 Donald has narcissistic and sociopathic personality disorder characteristics as previously stated. As a narcissist, his television appearances, tweets, and policies are transparent. With that being said, there is more to this troubled person. This essay delineates Donald’s paranoid reactions.

Lack of trust and the inability to place faith in someone else is associated with a paranoid personality. For him, the world is not safe, stable, friendly or dependable, it’s full of danger with too many enemies.  It’s no surprise that this individual ran his casinos and real estate activities, as a one-man show. He was the ring leader and had a few minor players. He didn’t delegate major responsibilities. He was king and everybody knew it. For the autocrat, it was his way or the highway.

Donald had a TV show in which he was the master in charge. He was known for “you’re fired.” Likewise, as the Executive Order in-Chief (Donald holds the record}, he operates the same way. He has eliminated a number of Chief of Staff’s who have been unsuccessful in attempting to change him. He has scripted speeches but doesn’t stay on task. When deviating from the script, his just repeats his verbiage. Demanding complete control and difficulty delegating defines his mistrust. It’s been said that he relies on his guts, which means he doesn’t trust others. It also suggests, that when he’s around others, he’s sensitive to hostility. It is also clear, that his lack of trust is a major factor, and as an executive, it interferes with his interactions and weakens his managerial responsibilities. A lack of a well-rounded plan or strategies or team to protect the health of our country is an example. However, when not threatened, he appears friendly and likable. He knows how and is effective at schmoozing when to his advantage.

Also associated with a paranoid personality, is a man who can be pleasurable and interact with others, but often seems tense and angry. We see him with a mean or angry look, unless he’s at a rally. Generally, having a smile on his face is not typical for him. Donald is prone, with the expectation of an attack especially when asked questions. He whines about being badly treated or deceived by the press. As a result, he is prepared and ready to transmit some cruel, aggressive counterattack to get back at them and put them in their place.  This persecutor role or style suggests he has a low frustration tolerance level. He also seems to be hypersensitive and ready for a fight, in his mind, because it’s as if he’s surrounded by sharks. Psychologically, with anxiety and a lack of inner security, he unconsciously projects his inner turmoil, his anger, his sadistic hatefulness, his racist threats, his misrepresentations, his cheating, and his amoral tendencies on to others. This is a replacement of a real danger, of within, to a factious one. In other words, projection is a defense for this angry person who is overwhelmed by tension, anxiety, impulses of rage and hostility who feels surrounded by hostility.  Moreover, this low self-esteem individual holds grudges, plots against others, never forgets a slight or narcissistic injury, and likely takes it for granted that others know how he feels about them and why. Thus, he is ready and on guard for sadistic attacking and accusing others like the press. However, projection as a defense never brings peace and security but only more turmoil.

Paranoid reactions seem to be a bridge between normal, common sense and delusional thinking. Within this dynamic, the employment of Denial is a major defense mechanism which serves as a protective device. Denial “is used to resolve emotional conflict and allay anxiety by disavowing thoughts, feelings, wishes, needs or external reality factors that are consciously intolerable.” With denial, Donald also disowns the truth. To say that the virus is under control, it is going to go away, our numbers are good compared to the worlds, kids are practically immune from the disease and should return to school, Pres. Obama was not born in United States are examples of sheer hateful nonsense with conclusions that seem to be fixed, adamant, inflexible, and untouched by contrary evidence. Recently, in an interview, Donald maintained his ridiculous Covid- 19 stance and even had a chart to make his point. Within this delusional framework there are some truths, some assumptions, and some probabilities that could be or might be true. He accepts his “delusions”, he sees nothing wrong or peculiar about them and believes in the reality of what he projects. He also has no difficulty spreading nonsense. There is so much distrust in information, one has to pick and choose, often on incomplete data, as there is so much that is not actually known. For example, yes, at some future point the virus will more than likely be contained by a valid vaccine or vaccines? Yes, our numbers are good when comparing them to the worlds.  We have 5% of the world’s population. Yes, children without pre-existing illnesses are not as vulnerable as older people with pre-existing illnesses .But, children are not immune. Barack Obama’s father was a Kenyan .That does not mean he was born in Africa.  That birther nonsense remark was racist.

 Per Norman Cameron’s “Personality Development and Psychopathology A Dynamic Approach, “ “A delusion is a fixed belief which persists even though social reality contradicts it.” Furthermore, we are talking about the knowledge and expertise of the medical-scientific community and not about the political, biased beliefs by politicians, media, laypeople or other consensus found on social networks. Don’t forget, so many of the population hold many irrational beliefs and it doesn’t matter if they do not have supporting evidence or even evidence to the contrary.  Epicurus said, “Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

Within this paranoid personality style, unfortunately others especially the Democrats, Dr. Fauci, Black Lives Matter and the press, are seen as bad, hostile and attacking. His relationship, other than those he perceives as loyal, are subjected to a sadistic, obstinate, persistent and hateful responses. Unfortunately for Donald, we’re talking about the House of Representatives, a major part of the government and the Free Press as in article one of the Constitution. This autocrat does not want to share power with anyone. He also has to deny responsibility for his failures. He does not have a large enough moat around the White House for protection. He has the secret service, the military and other federal agents including a fence but the threat comes from inside him. It’s not a surprise that he misunderstands, distrusts, questions, and harbors resentments. This results with internal tension, anxiety and projection as a defense which means there is no protection or safety for him. He is unaware that it is his hostile attitude that he accuses others of having. In essence, he believes he is innocent and it’s all the bad guys that’s the problem.

It’s obvious that the insecure bigot Donald is doing his best to steal the November election. He covets the power. It’s also obvious that Donald is a pathological liar. Mail-in voting is fraudulent and not safe?  Is he lying or employing denial regarding mail in voting? A lie is an intentional statement meant to deceive. In other words, a lie is conscious contrasted with denial the defense mechanism which is unconscious. One way to differentiate between a lie and denial, is the subsequent verbal or behavioral response when challenged regarding fact or fiction. With a greater verbal attack, it’s more likely an unconscious denial. In essence, his lies, denials and deceptive verbiage, describe this amoral individual. His ignorance and use of lies and denial are extremely noticeable at press conferences and with interviews other than on Fox news. He just does not have a wide range of information or knowledge about so much in our world. Not knowing, for him, results in his attempt at deception. However, his intellectual weakness is so obvious for those that know the truth.

Donald, in his powerful position, and along with his tweets is like a piñata for all to see.  Every word, on or off camera, reveals his character. He is an open book and thus is placed in a vulnerable position. His racist, lack of empathy and sadistic behaviors result in much criticism. Not only that, but he has difficulty being rational, precise, practical, and appropriate. Therefore, low self-esteem Donald faces an emotional crisis and expresses insatiable hostility inward and/or outward on a daily basis. His narcissism, sociopathic and paranoid tendencies get in the way and actually work against him. His personality impairments of narcissism, sociopathy, and paranoia interfere with solid Executive action and thus he is a perfect example of the Peter Principle. Lawrence J. Peter suggested that individuals often reach the level of incompetence in their world of work. Donald’s mistake was that even though he didn’t expect to win the presidency, he did. Wishing for what you want or desire is not always a good thing.

Today's World

 

 

World War II and the atomic bomb destruction of Japan’s two cities, highlighted man’s aggressive sadistic tendencies as well as his scientific potential for good. At this time, there were two main schools of psychological thought. Freud‘s psychoanalytic model of the mind which included the biological drives of sex and aggression. The second model was the school of Skinner and others who described learning as a result of reinforcement schedules with hungry pigeons-thus establishing behaviorism. Were their more to man than aggression, war, and hate and/or stimulus tendencies? Philosophers, Rousseau and Marx had a more favorable view of man within society. They suggested that the socioeconomic conditions of man was the problem. Change those conditions in order for man to be more fulfilled. Also , the existentialists  added that in order for man to overcome his limitations, he had to overcome his irrationality; directly experience life; not to rely on scientific and technical achievements; and to counter economic and social propaganda and certainly not  becoming part of the crowd . With these ideas in place, an exciting psychological force rose from these depths. This new philosophy suggested that man has the capacity for growth and optimum development. Thus, a third force in psychology was created and resulted in a more humanistic philosophy of man. Neo-Freudians like Adler, Horney, Fromm and other clinicians like Maslow, May, Rogers, Goldstein, Allport and others believed, in part, that man can discover his real self and become self-actualized. This essay employed Abraham H. Maslow’s model to the current situation of man today.

Hearing the malignant sociopath with his meaningless threats, one gets the impression that everything is fine in our country and he should be reelected. His supporters claim that he’s done a good job with the Covid-19 pandemic. They talk about the great job he’s done with testing. Just yesterday, Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon, told an HHS Admiral that he recently performed an operation on a patient. However, that patient was not given a Covid- 19 test prior to surgery because of lack of testing supplies. Numerous doctors and researchers have also complained about the lack of testing supplies and the long turnaround time for results, thus making the test results meaningless. Do not forget about the number of false positives errors. In fact, I can’t get tested because I don’t have any symptoms. Thus, information from the medical community is consistent in that we have a major problem with testing, PPE equipment, social distancing, and the lack of quarantine space in the hospitals. The Trump Republicans say he’s done a good job. Yes, he’s done a good job with ineptitude. One way to suppress the voting turnout is to contaminate potential voters.

Not only do we not have enough health supplies nor a sound plan to confront this virus, we have over 160,000 deaths and about 5 million cases. The only good job is the rampant explosion of this disease in our country. We statistically lead the world.  Schools are going to open despite the health concerns. We know that the schools in certain ZIP Codes will probably do well. We know that these schools are the minority in the country. We know why, South Korea can educate all its children safely, in the schools, from the disease.

Major league Baseball opened last week and already the Florida Marlins are in quarantine because of the Covid-19 disease. For those teams still playing, there are cut out cardboard fans sitting around the stadium with artificial crowd noise for the television watching audience. Professional baseball in South Korea has actual fans in the stadium. They don’t have cutouts of artificial crowd noise. This is another example of the incompetent Trump Republican administration. He wants you to reelect him again?

Just recently, the United States suffered its worst quarter GDP decline in history of 32.9%. We have too much unemployment; too many have received insufficient monetary assistance from the government; and a Republican-controlled Senate that wants to reward primarily corporations and other wealthy individuals. A number of these helpful stimulus funds expired at the end of last month. The Republican Senators are going home? There was a report that one individual was buying a Lamborghini with his stimulus check.  The economic outlook for a country does not look promising. The black, the brown, and the poor are being exploited again. More income inequality as the billionaire’s wealth increases.   Let’s take a look at the mental and physical health consequences, the degrading qualities of life by Trump’s sadistic ineptitude.

Dr. Maslow, in” Motivation and Personality,” postulated a number of instinctoid basic needs. Briefly, if man was able to navigate his hierarchy of needs, he can potentially reach a state of self-actualization. Maslow presented, based on his research, 15 characteristics associated actualized individuals. A glimpse: ability  to perceive reality;  ability to accept others; ability  to mainly focus on problems ;ability for being  autonomous; ability to identify  and empathize with others;  ability for deep interpersonal relationships; ability to develop a democratic character structure;  ability to be creative; and ability to resist conformity by the pressures of the culture.

In order to reach self-actualization, man has to resolve each prior stage within the hierarchy of needs. The stages: 1. Physiological needs like hunger, thirst, sleep etc. In times of disasters, fearing starvation becomes prominent and behaviors attempt to satisfy or gratify that need. 2. Safety needs are next in line and can also dominate behavior. Children and infants experience anxiety and are vulnerable to strangers, sudden noises, the threat of being dropped, parent leaving etc.  For adults their safety needs are generally gratified in a well ordered or regulated society. However in emergencies like war, Covid-19, unemployment, hurricanes, fire and other natural and man-made conditions, it becomes difficult to gratify or combat one’s anxiety when one’s safety needs are not being met. 3. Belongingness and love needs can be disrupted especially with Covid-19, hurricanes, unemployment, and fire. Our affiliation needs are strong and quarantine, social distancing and wearing a mask interfere with the gratification of this need. The tension experienced when alone may be separation anxiety .This results in the need for direct human contact. What about the 700 young that partied in New Jersey?   4. The esteem needs are next in the hierarchy which is a need or desire for a stable, usually high evaluation of self, for self-respect or self-esteem, and for the self-esteem of others.  In addition, there’s a desire for strength, achievement, for adequacy or mastery, competence in the world. Also there is a desire for reputation, prestige, status, dominance, recognition, attention, importance or appreciation.

Maslow’s need structure is predicated on gratification or non-gratification. If a lower need is not met, the likelihood of advancing to a higher need is suspect. For example, if the physiological needs are unsatisfied, that behavior of seeking food gratification tends to dominate the organism. However if the physiological need is gratified, instead of being hungry obsessed, the person becomes more safety obsessed. Going from a lower to a higher need results in a more healthy direction for the development of the person. When the safety needs are gratified, subjective feelings relate to a restful sleep, loss of a feeling of danger, greater boldness, courage etc. are experienced. On the other hand, if the safety needs cannot be met, the individual is apprehensive, fearful, feeling dread, anxiety, tension, nervousness and jitteriness. When met, the person benefits, and is now in a better and improved position cognitively to better able to attend, to perceive, to learn, to remember, to think and to reason more effectively. The gratification of needs leads to a more fulfilled or healthier state of being.

For our purposes, I’m stopping with the esteem needs. According to Maslow his hierarchy is not absolutely fixed. However, more importantly, the failure to satisfy basic needs leads to deficiencies or conditions associated with neuroses. The maladjusted person that has unmet needs related to physiological, safety, belongingness, love and esteem experiences anger, frustration, exhaustion, disease and sometimes death.  The body produces degrees of adrenal, cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline to thwart the threats but Inflammation follows and can lead to headaches, allergies, ulcers, heart disease and depression.

How can a poor unemployed or underemployed individual be expected to feed his family appropriately without governmental assistance? How can an economically poor individual provide adequate housing and pay the rent for his family? How can a low income or economically poor individual provide healthcare insurance for his family?  How many of the economically poor individuals have pre- existing health issues?  How can economically poor individual provide adequate quarantine for his family? How can an economically poor individual provide an appropriate, safe and quality education for his family? How can an economically poor individual cope with a present and future doom and gloom outlook? How can the poor individuals be concerned and vote for the national interest with so many unmet needs? The government, this time the Trump government, once again is racially discriminating against citizens of our country and attempting to suppress the vote. The amount of anxiety and stress continues to rise. The wellbeing for too many in our country is seriously at risk. Will November 3 bring relief?

According to Maslow’s theory, the individuals that have difficulty gratifying their physiological, safety, belonging and love needs are more than likely not in a good place to meet  any of their  needs, especially esteem needs.. We know that loss of meaningful control, having a sense of inadequacy, with societal and disease threats affect a sense of worth and positive self-esteem. However, they are in a good place for suffering. These frustrated individuals will more than likely react with anxiety, anger, and hostility directed both inward and outward. Children and spouses are targets. Other physical and mental health consequences include depression, suicide, gastrointestinal disease, cancer, hypertension, heart disease, arteriosclerosis and/or even die from Covid-19. This disease is now the fifth leading cause of death in our country. By 2021-2022, research and statistics will tell the gruesome illness story of the Trump consequences for mishandling of this disease.

In essence, too many of our brothers, sisters and their children will be unable to live healthy and productive lives as result of the 2020 disaster. Racism and ignorance are two consequences. Lack of loving productivity, creativity, ability to cope, impaired competence, degrading lifestyle and better interpersonal interactions are also at risk. There is too much frustration and conflict present. Trumps administration lying threats to democratic principles places everyone at risk. In order for man to live more productively, he has to be able to reach his higher esteem, social and personal approval and self-actualization needs. Learning, employing rationality and developing wisdom will then follow.

Unions and Separrations

 

I met, in 1997, a number of super first-rate athletes during my Ride and Tie competitions. These Ride and Tie athletes are world-class runners and equestrians. These competitions are made up of two partners and a horse that take place in the mountains of California, Oregon and Washington.  There are many stories of rugged trails, steep climbs with terrific competition. In the competition, one person rides and the other runs. The runner and rider make exchanges throughout the race.  The team starts together and completes the race together.  This essay relates to 5 of my dear Ride and Tie friends.

Bob Edwards was roughly 10 years of age, or older, than me when we initially met. Our first event was the Bloomfield Boogie.  He was an excellent runner and I found out he was selling Arabians in Arroyo Grande. We made many exchanges in subsequent Ride and Tie competitions, running events and equestrian races. In the Bay Area, my young neighbor Sandy was looking for a competitive horse. There was Bob with his horses. Today, Sandy is still a neighbor.

Bob was a lot of fun. He was with me when I was looking to purchase a home in the foothills. We had great chemistry during the Ride and Tie events. We didn’t have to talk much about exchanges and so forth. If we didn’t make an error, like running past the horse, we did well. Unfortunately, much later, Bob’s lead rope got caught around his leg, while training a horse, and he was injured. After surgery, he became aware that one leg was shorter than the other. Bob could not run competively after that injury. During my Western States run, Bob and Jim were to meet me at the other side of the American River aid station with another pair of running shoes. They weren’t there so I ran on. However, Bob was at Robie Point with a number of other friends like Tony. That was special. Hey Bob, I miss you and your friendship.

I also met Dr. Jim Steere the head veterinarian for Ride and Tie.  Jim had a colorful Ride and Tie and Tevis history.  In the early days of the Tevis, Jim, the veterinarian, pulled Wendell Robie during one Tevis ride. That was Jim’s last Tevis veterinary experience. Robie couldn’t tolerate Jim’s action.

 Jim was in Denmark as a Fulbright Scholar .The liberalism of the Danes got his attention. He stood behind their liberal policy regarding assisted suicide.  He was familiar with suicide. Jim was very helpful to me regarding my Tevis days and also was our head veterinarian for our Coolest Ride and Tie. I have a chapter about Jim in my first book “It Has Nothing To Do With Age.” Jim has a terrific life story.  I had a phone conversation with him a few days before his death. Jim was a super hero on so many fronts. I miss him a lot.

I first met Warren Hellman at the Mustang Classic Ride and Tie. However, I spent more time with him on the 2000 Tevis.  We rode together for the last 50 to 60 miles on that ride. Warren was a terrific athlete. He was one of four individuals to have completed the Tevis, Western States, and the 100 mile Swanton Pacific Ride and Tie. I am also a member of that club.

Warren, according to Kathy Perry, had more money than God. Warren ran Lehman Brothers in his late 20s and essentially took over companies. He owns Sugar Bowl and according to one story, put off a Levi stock transaction because it interfered with a Ride and Tie. Warren, didn’t talk about his wealth and would arrive at the events unshaven in a wrinkled shirt. However, for events in the San Diego area, he would arrive with his partner on his private plane. Another competitor employee would transport the horses.

Dianne Feinstein, for one, gave a eulogy at his Memorial service. The San Francisco Chronicle had a massive story about Warren’s life. He sponsors, to this day, a Bluegrass Festival concert in Golden Gate Park. He enjoyed playing the banjo with the superstar presenters. One can find the Warren Hellman Meadow in that park. Thank you Warren for your many contributions. You are certainly missed.

Jonathan Jordan was my partner in the Swanton Pacific 100 mile Ride and Tie. We had a blast during and after that event and I wrote in detail about it in my earlier referenced book.  I spent many days staying with him, Tera and the boys Ethan, Atticus and Elijah in Southern California. Jonathan, Terra and the boys came to Cool numerous times. We had exciting times with the Cool 50 K, Coolest Ride and Tie, and the Salmon Falls 50 K races. It was our tradition.

Jonathan, with his sweet Georgia charm, was also a San Diego defense attorney. We spent hours talking about his cases and I went with him to Redding for jail interviews regarding a mother that killed her new born. Jonathan and I also went to Palm Desert for a book presentation and we stayed with Jack Sholl. We had a ball and heard Jack’s and Joanne’s numerous Grace Kelly stories. I also have a chapter about the rower Jack in my first book.

 Jonathan and I also had numerous discussions regarding the political nature in this country. Sadly, Jonathan left us last year, likely a side effect of his cancer treatment, while running with Elijah on one of our familiar trails.  His son found him leaning beside an oak tree. I miss my dear friend Jonathan greatly.

Mark Richtman was a world-class runner. He has numerous US records before and after turning 60. Mark and I were division winners In the Western States 2002 run. Tony and I, during one of our Jed Smith’s run, saw Mark run by us as he was going for another US 50 mile record. After the run, Mark was with Megan Arbogast a world-class runner from Oregon along with Greg Thornley. We said hi. Greg is now the Race Director for the Western States 100. Mark and I have our names engraved on the Coolest Ride and Tie trophy the same number of times. Unfortunately, Mark was last seen, last year, in his kayak paddling in the Pacific. I miss you Mark.

Tom Christofk was a runner, endurance and Ride and Tie competitor. Prior, he was a rower in college and then left for the Marines. Tom was very helpful when I left the Bay Area and came to the foothills. He gave me a referral to Greg’s Echo Valley Ranch Feed store. In the 2000 Tevis, Greg had a grin on his face as he was leaving the Last Chance Vet check. I did not waste any time at that Vet check. I caught up to Greg just after No Hands Bridge. Shortly, I had a grin my face as I went by Greg placing in front of him on that ride. Tom also gave me a referral to Kris a veterinarian, karate expert and maker of beer. Kris also became a friend. Tom, Tony and I rode the Tevis trail, as well as a few endurance rides prior to the 2000 Tevis. A number of my Ride and Tie friends did not finish that Tevis. Thank you Tom for your introductions and friendship. Tom never stopped competing. I write that with a smile.

Every December we have a birthday run for Tom and Tony.  In 2018, Tom, with an ALS diagnosis, could walk and talk during that get together. Last December, Tom was in a wheelchair that had a motor that he could maneuver with buttons. That was the last time that I saw Tom. Tom left us last week. I miss you and your competitiveness Tom. 

Unions are frequent and separations are inevitable and follow. Some unions are significant and last longer than others. My Ride and Tie experience with so many neat people made my life better. That sport was a whole lot of fun. Teamwork with a partner and horse are like no other. So many stories, so many experiences and so many good times. However, separations are part of life and always happen.  With some separations, sadness follows. Thank goodness, I have numerous fond memories of the stories of my friends as well.

PS

Jack Sholl, Megan Arbogast, Greg Thornley, Greg Kimler, Jonathan Jordan and others like Tim Twietmeyer, Tom Johnson, Kathy Perry, Julie Sur, Dan Barger, Cathy Rohm and others were guests on Tony and my TV show. Catch the shows on YouTube.

An Absence of Integrity

Mary Trump, in her book, calls Uncle Donald a sociopath. Norman Cameron, PhD from the University of Michigan and an MD from Johns Hopkins in his book “Personality Development and Psychopathology A Dynamic Approach” has a chapter on the traits of a “Sociopathic Personality Disturbance.”  This essay provides examples of Donald’s behavior with comparisons to individuals with the pathology traits of a sociopathic personality disturbance.

A few of the characteristics of an individual with a sociopathic personality disturbance follows. This person, with this disturbance, seems unable to learn from his experiences in certain areas of interpersonal relationships. This interpersonal dysfunctional behavior represses anger that results with interactions of being defiant, being oppositional, expressing hatred, selfishness and prejudice.  These persons may have average or above average intelligence. However, these individuals are unable to control their inappropriate impulses. Their acting out antisocial behavior often leads, and results in illegal acts.

These individuals, with their defective superego conscience, often cannot fully realize why their behavior is socially wrong, and dangerous. Further, they have shallow feelings, do not feel deep remorse nor are they able to exhibit empathy. This suggests that they are likely to insist that there is nothing wrong. Because of their desires for immediate gratification without regard for the demands, rights or feelings of others, they seem incapable of assuming common socially acceptable responsibilities. They have a selfish and withholding lack of consideration for others.  They are without an appropriate or dependable conscience.  With some form of guilt, frustration, then repressed anger follows and directed inward. Because of their defective conscience, and deficient ego functioning, they are powerless to control impulses. As a result, these individuals make the same behavioral mistakes again and again.

The development of a sociopathic personality disturbance individual begins in childhood. Roughly at the age of four, the precursors of conscience, within the superego, begins with the identification and interjection mechanisms. The child initially identifies with the all-powerful parents. The omnipotent fathers are extremely important in the process. That parent, according to his own personality development, has the power to reinforce all types of actions by the child. The reinforcement can include monetary rewards, approval, disapproval, cruelty, love and even rejection.  The reinforcements can be regular, irregular, fair, not fair, contradictory, clear and unclear with a lack of affection and warmth as well. During this Identification and interjection process, the child unconsciously and consciously learns that what is important for that father figure. The child learns the inconsistencies, attitudes, beliefs, prejudices as it relates to the world both in and out of the home. In essence, the child develops a conscience with moral and ethical rights, wrongs, and his conscience becomes like his father’s conscience.  The cliché “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” fits here.

As result of defective conscience development because of the father and mother, the child’s conscience too becomes unable to take on social responsibility while failing to establish stable emotional relationships with others. It’s not surprising that this individual becomes like the identified parent or parents with a similar conscience. In other words, the child takes on the sociopathic qualities of the identified parent- capricious, inconsistent, impulsive, sadistic, selfish, irresponsible, and neglectful emotionally, with meaningless and asocial attitudes toward others. The parental negative asocial qualities are now the qualities of the individual child. Both parent and child can have sociopathic personality disturbance traits.

Applying the characteristics of a sociopath personality, to the narcissistic Donald follows. One example is the sociopath’s faulty relationships with others. Donald talked about draining the swamp and that he knew the best people. This meant that he “put up with” individuals that were loyal to him and would terminate those not loyal to him. Currently, the White House is now conducting a loyalty test with one on one interviews across many departments in an attempt to weed out the disloyal. Donald’s, one time, personal lawyer Michael Cohen did a wide array of illegal acts for him for many years. When Cohen didn’t lie during investigations, Donald quickly left Michael and called him a rat. When Jeff Sessions, his first attorney general, did not do exactly what was wanted pertaining to the Mueller investigation, Jeff was no longer a friend because of his disloyalty. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the coronavirus expert, has a science point of view. Because Fauci’s scientific information is dissonant to Trumps, Donald ignores him and views him as an enemy. Donald doesn’t want to hear nor does he want the public to hear the science of Covid-19.  The insecure, selfish Donald is now silencing the CDC from presenting Coved 19 information. This once prestigious agency is no longer receiving the data. Instead HHS is the focal point. The narcissistic sociopath can now have more control and lie about the numbers pertaining to this awful epidemic.

Donald, the narcissistic sociopath, has provides misinformation for the social welfare of the country. Donald’s messaging regarding Covid -19 has been selfish, cruel, incorrect, and hateful toward the public. The welfare and protection of the country should be his first presidential responsibility. The government, meaning the narcissistic sociopath, has lied, over and over about this disease. It’s going to go away, we have it under control, use a disinfectant etc.’s. His selfishness and lack of leadership is appalling.  He finally said wearing a mask is patriotic. Donald threatens to withhold money from schools for not opening. The Covid-19 numbers are staggering and in fact we have about the same number of cases and deaths as do the next three highest countries-Brazil, India and Russia.

This narcissistic sociopathic fraud says the Covid 19 numbers are inaccurate and that we have more cases because we test more. Yes, the numbers are inaccurate because our tests are not always credible. We have too many false negatives – people, actually being sick, believing they don’t have the virus. About 20% of some test results are inaccurate. Our disease numbers are greater not less. Testing more is not why we have greater numbers. We have greater numbers because we are unfortunately transmitting the disease. Not only do people not wear facemasks, social distancing etc. but for many the turnaround getting a test and test results can take up to two weeks. It’s not about freedom. It’s about selfishness.

The narcissistic sociopath is not confident of his intelligence based on the fact that his sister did his school homework, he did not take his ACT’S and does not want the colleges to reveal his academic record. However, that does not stop Donald from saying he’s the smartest in the room which really inflates the idealized image that he has himself. He falsely said that he aced a recent test. The test in question, Montreal Cognitive Assessment test provides cursory information regarding Dementia .In part it asses short term memory with no letter grades.

Donald’s life is about self-interest that results in silencing prostitutes, nondisclosure documents, numerous lawsuits, a phony University, a phony foundation, being impeached etc. Partially, his anxiety is a precursor to his desperate need to be loved and admired. This man has repressed hostility, which relates to persistent lying, ruthlessness, exploitation and lack of concern for the welfare of others.

This narcissistic sociopath, with his defective conscience, has been able to flaunt, like a king, the rule of law with the help of his current Atty. Gen. He fires “whistleblowers,” federal prosecutors, withholds tax returns, and made a mockery of his impeachment. The Senate did not hear one witness. Up to now, the only restrictions containing him, are the recent Supreme Court decisions. It seems that he doesn’t learn and continues to act as if he’s king and above the law. There is even speculation that the oppositional Donald may not leave the White House. Donald has repeatedly said there’s been voter fraud; he’s leading in the polls;” I’m not losing and I may not accept the election results.”

This narcissistic sociopath does not care about most in our country let alone the world. He withdrew from the Paris Accord; gave tax incentives and withdrew restrictions for the fossil fuel industry; left the Iranian nuclear deal, is now in inefficient, costly and destructive tariff wars, and was an enabler in the tax breaks for the top 1%. Donald also took about $400,000 of campaign finance money and gave it to his Mar a Lago property and uses tax payer funds while filling his properties. Donald is irresponsible, dangerous, exhibits criminal behaviors with a defective conscience. The future of our country and world is at risk.

I agree with Mary Trump that he should resign. I also agree that his behavior is similar to sociopathic personality traits. Yes, he can be charming, manipulative, and competitive. As for his concern for others, he has been impotent and inept about the health and welfare of our country. His lack of respect, his sadism, his racism pertaining to George Floyd and the separating and incarcerating policy pertaining to children and parents, at the southern border cannot be forgotten. His 38% selfish approval rate for handling the Covid 19 virus is scary.  He has too many followers that are like him.

 Donald has a history of bankruptcy. Donald is intellectually bankrupt; he has bankrupted the economy; he is morally bankrupt; he has ethically bankrupted the office of the presidency, the rule of law; and he is without integrity. It’s important to make this narcissist, sociopath, racist, sadistic anti-Semitic Donald a one term president.

The Happiness Illusion

 “Happiness in Hard Times” was an article in the June/July AARP Magazine. Are you kidding me? My endurance, running and ride tie friend Tom has an ALS diagnosis; my dear cousin Shelly has a Parkinson’s diagnosis; and my running friend Tony is on Whidbey Island, running in Tango’s paddock. Seriously, this essay critiques and challenges the notion of the pursuit of happiness.

Aristippus of Cyrene is regarded as the originator of the philosophy of hedonism. He believed that pleasure, in the moment, is the only thing worthy of striving for, and that pleasure and happiness are good .Epicurus, held that happiness and pleasure should be the goal of life. The pleasures he advocated were acquiring mild and tranquil states, like the absence of pain or the satisfaction of a desire like hunger. Thomas Jefferson, the wealthy privileged plantation slave owner knew happiness. He had no difficulty satisfying his sexual needs. Jefferson coveted hedonism.

In the AARP article, Dr. Laurie Santos, the Yale psychology professor, developed a course titled “Psychology and the Good Life.” In her course, included physical and emotional aspects of happiness. Nearly 1,000,000 people, of all ages, signed up for a free online version of the course. Included in the course, were suggestions such as eating well, sleeping well, exercising, and yoga to minimize stress.

Happiness and pleasure are short-lived. Positive longer-lasting mood states are influenced by one’s attitude, and appropriate mental and physical lifestyle choices. Historically, our country was founded on the privilege of wealth which equaled power, which then resulted in political control. The House of Representatives was the only branch of government that is directly elected by the American voters since its formation in 1789. The Senate, until 1913, had its members elected by individual state legislatures. Thanks to James Madison who wrote “in England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people, the property of landed proprietors would be insecure. Madison, must have read Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.  Therefore, it is important to keep the power with a few because otherwise, the people would take over the wealth .For their happiness, pleasure and satisfaction, under no conditions, will the privileged wealth and power, of the few, allow that to happen.

In the 1920s, advertising was created to tranquilize, brainwash, to provide short-term pleasures or hedonism to divert the attention of the masses away from their powerless position. The sophistication and understanding of hedonism has been incorporated by Madison Avenue Advertising. They have created a demand for superficial, non-essential items, gadgets etc. The decision to purchase the desired “label” are irrational and superfluous. Advertising messaging does not list the rational benefits of comparing a Ford to a Chevrolet. The plethora of messages appeal to emotions and often are just lies. In its place, we find an attractive smiling woman driver with her hair blowing in the breeze etc. The purchase of items are supposed to bring pleasure and happiness. There are no shortages of examples of these various goods and ideas associated with short-term happiness. These are some of the messages:  pursuit of making money [Is Jeff Bezos the happiest man in the world?}; purchasing a dream house; going on a wonderful and memory filled vacation; ingesting a giant burger; purchasing the right hair and skin products; the one with the most toys wins; taking a pill for all these obscure illnesses-don’t forget about the disastrous side effects. If you have this gadget, you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood; and you better keep up with the Joneses. Working your way up the ladder for that special promotion and procuring that most wonderful job are messages too. On a side note, I remember “See the USA in Your Chevrolet;” “Brylcreem, a little dabble will do you;” and “Do you want my advice Sir, use deicer,”

Take the sociopathic individual in the White House. He has the most powerful position in the world. How often do you see him portraying happiness? He has power and very little happiness. He escapes to a golf course and hits and hits that little white ball forgetting to count all his strokes. He would likely call happiness going to the golf course and his rallies where the individuals cheer at his falsehoods.

How can you be happy with the imbalance between manufacturing and the financial institutions? In the1950s and1960s, we were leaders in manufacturing. In the 1970’s, the power structure moved production offshore for cheap labor. While this was happening, the growth, without regulations, of financial Wall Street grew tremendously. By 2007, the unregulated financial institutions procured 40% of the profit of the United States. Then the economy collapsed; taxpayers bailed them out-not for the first time; and no one went to jail for all their shenanigans.

How can you be happy with the collapse of the middle class? Opportunities were aglow in the fabulous 1950s and 1960s. People had good employment, able to afford a home and bought into the “American Dream.” Not so today, as we have a ridiculous minimum wage; part-time employment so the corporations don’t have to pay benefits; dismantling labor unions which provided necessary protection for its workers. Today we have less than 7% of unions in the private sector; and an unfair tax code that’s shifted from corporations in the 1950s and 1960s to the rest of the population. Amazon and General Electric pay no federal income tax and Warren Buffett stated his secretary pays more federal income tax that he does; a defunding of public education and Social Security. College has become unaffordable and many are enslaved because of their debt; 70% of our population cannot influence public policy; stagnation of the socioeconomic class-who gives and who follows orders?; In the 19^th century, the Republican Party called wage labor, slave labor; racism that goes back 400 years  and was necessary for production and economic exploitation.

 Adam Smith, the Scottish moral philosopher, in 1776 stated in his classic Wealth of Nations “All for myself, results in less for everyone else,” “Those in control of manufacturing are the Masters of Mankind.” As a result of keeping the power and wealth in the hands of a few, along with political divisiveness, and brainwashing by television, radio, and advertising, we have  too many that’s primarily concerned with self and less concerned with others. It’s your fault for your economic mess. Legislation, political parties, Supreme Court decisions, criminal justice or injustice, employment and housing opportunity with overt and covert systemic racism are in place to protect the Masters of Mankind. The masses should obey per Allan Greenspan, former Chair of the Federal Reserve “Keep them from our throats.”

I propose that, those that are able, focus on becoming a healthy individual and a positive mood follows. Being mentally and physically healthy is not easy. No one says it is. Freud said something to the effect “The ability for productive work and the ability to love are necessary for a healthy individual.” I would add to Freud’s model. A further cognitive use from the ego: to utilize the scientific method, to incorporate rationality and wisdom, to accommodate and synthesize information, and to refute populace illusions are also necessary. With optimum ego development, better choices can be made regarding mental and physical well-being .Productive work refers to both being significant, and creative in the physical and/or mental domain. Being productive perpetuates, is consonant, and accompanies the individual’s pursuit in finding significance and meaning in life. The individual also has to be capable of loving oneself. If one loves self, one has the capacity to empathize, care, respect, like and love others. Therefore, the ability to be involved productively, lovingly with positive mental and physical health decisions are the necessary components equated with being able to maintain a longer-lasting positive mood. Thus, the dynamics of these decision making behaviors are equated with a healthy lifestyle. The obvious result is that the individual now will be better equipped to deal with nature’s hazards and manmade exploitations. The pursuit of happiness is a capitalistic illusion.