Thoughts about Aggression Part 3

What we learn from our family within society affects the development of a conscience. According to Freud, our conscience is designed to inhibit or weaken man’s aggressive impulses. Briefly, he viewed a state of tension between the ego and the superego. And the tension within the superego is experienced as guilt and a need for some form of punishment. He viewed guilt as a loss of love, or a threatened fear of loss of love resulting from bad- sinful behavior or even the intention to perform the deed. This loss of love is likely from another person- parent upon whom the individual was protected from a variety of dangers. The punishment –loss of love or some restriction etc. could be from an important person, such as parent or even from a family member, friend or society.

Let’s say that an individual child grows up in an environment in which the parents and other family members are involved in maiming or killing an infidel, which is the perceived enemy. And further, these family members are not in any way punished by anyone within their milieu. Not only that, their religious beliefs or Supreme Being- Bible interpretation does not in any way consider killing the enemy a bad, wrong or a  sin. In fact, they are told that their God loves them for this despicable, hateful antihuman behavior. In other words, these individuals are reared without a fear of either an internal or external loss of love from- family, or God. Within this model, these individuals have a distorted view of right and wrong. As a result, a necrophilia’s aggressive or destructive impulses are not in any appropriate way able to be controlled.

Without a built-in internal mental framework or lack of conscience, these terrorists are out of control and continue these anti-life behaviors. Not only that, they model or teach this form of behavior to the young. Over and over again, we view young masked individuals discharging rifles in the air, or throwing rocks, bottles or bombs at the uniformed opposition. Behavior gets repeated without punishment or loss of love, but instead these behaviors are reinforced and admired by their peer group and elders. It’s difficult to expect change in behavior, in the young, if their wishes are taken over or internalized by the significant persons in their lives that have destructive and hateful personal standards of their own. It would be like being reared by an Osama bin Laden and thereby internalizing, and learning his values with his so called conscience. The saying that an apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree fits.

I am glad that my bleeding eventually stopped and I accept my injury as a consequence of trail running. My impulses and conscience are in check and I have no plan to physically hurt another. However, I did run on the trail with Tony and Chris. As it turned out, Chris and I ran a shorter distance than Tony. Despite that, Tony wanted to beat us, regardless which means that he was going to push, punish or even inflict pain upon himself. Chris and I met a friend about a quarter mile or so from the finish, and we were walking leisurely. Tony saw us ahead of him, and did his best to catch up, regardless of the personal cost. Out of breath, Tony caught up to us. After joking, laughing after our run, we sat on the deck drinking refreshments. Tony got up and begin walking and limping like a very old man. We all laughed. Tony knows about masochism as well as sadism. He had to catch us, irrespective of the consequences. He did.