Authoritians

 

Our Republic is characterized by authoritarian rule.  AI synonyms of authoritarian include dictatorial: exercising absolute power or control; oppressive: unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint;; totalitarian: centralized control by an autocratic authority; despotic: exercising power in a cruel or arbitrary way; and autocratic: relating to a ruler who has absolute power.  Antonyms include a democratic system of government by the whole population; liberal favoring individual rights and freedom; participatory involving all stakeholders in decision-making; egalitarian promoting equal rights for all people and freedom not under control of another, or independent.  This  brief essay provides a limited view of a couple of psychological factors associated with  authoritarianism. 

In Sigmund Freud's structure of personality ,the superego is the third and last system to be developed.  Essentially ,it's an internal representation  of the traditional values and ideals of society as interpreted to the child by his parents and regulated by the use of  rewards and punishments directed to the child.  This system is the moral component of the personality and represents the ideal, rather than the real and that strives for perfection rather than pleasure. The system of rewards and punishments pertains to identification and introjection by the child from his all powerful parents .. 

Simply put, the early formation in the superego is based on authoritarianism.  Parents have omnipotent power and control and they can exercise it either in a loving and supporting manner, or in a cruel ,sadistic or arbitrary way.  The father ,according to folklore, is the king of the castle and has absolute power  as do authoritarians.

Years ago, psychologists and other researchers from the Fells Research Institute, employed interviews, questionnaires, home visits, and  structured observations  to evaluate psychological development associated with parent-child relationships and their effect on development.  With children of pre-school age , they evaluated democratic homes that were defined by general permissiveness, avoidance of arbitrary decisions, high level of verbal contact between parent and child - consultation about decisions, explanations for family rules and supplying answers to satisfy their child's curiosity.  They also evaluated authoritarian structured homes with control- these homes were characterized, in part,  by friction over disciplinary procedures.

A few findings pertaining to authoritarian controlled homes with low democracy  follow . These  children were described as quiet ,well behaved, nonresistant and  were socially unaggressive.  In these homes ,conformity was associated with restricting curiosity, originality, which was obtained at the expense of freedom of expression. Also, in these authoritarian homes, children were punished for manifesting curiosity, spontaneity, self-assertion, and were rewarded for obedience by their parents.  There was conformity with parental standards and suppression of curiosity. Compliance and conformity became strong habits for them.

In another study,  it was found that authoritarian parents did not  always practice what they preached.  They were more concerned with their own ideas and standards than with their child's interests and welfare .These homes were also associated with punitive discipline  and high restrictions.

Aggression and its antecedents were also studied .Findings  are as follows: !. Reinforcement was related to that behavior.  2 . There were imitations of aggressive models with elements of anxiety and guilt 3 .Parental use of physical punishment for aggressive behavior to enforce that aggression did not always work  but  it  actually enhanced the aggression instead 4 . Boys  highly aggressive in preschool were more likely to be highly aggressive in later childhood , adolescence and  adulthood 5 . Frustration and inconsistent discipline ; withdrawal of love, or other socialized techniques were factors . 6.Giving love and affection when the child behaved or withholding these rewards when the child  disapproved produced children who are highly dependent at home.

Another variable relating to authoritarianism relates to cognitive growth and moral development.  Kohlberg found that the average child in preadolescence was limited and able to think about moral issues simplistically. They were more apt to be influenced by conventional moral reasoning .In other words, behaviors approved by others(consensus and conforming) were perceived as good and right. Add social media and its negative affect on cognition and moral thinking which is familiar to those with authoritarian attitudes and orientations .

Developmentally , the next stage of moral development was characterized by more autonomous moral principles which have validity and application apart from the authority of the groups or the person who holds them and apart from the individuals identification with those persons or groups. 

 Many adolescents, particularly the brighter and more sophisticated,  no longer  adopted ,without questioning, the social or political beliefs of their parents.  They thought about moral behavior in terms of general rights and standards which had been examined and agreed upon by society as a whole. 

 As adolescence proceeds ,this orientation toward inner concerns in the individual's own conscience may increase for some as they become less other directed and more inner directed.   At the higher end of moral development, the moral reasoning stage was characterized by being able to formulate and be guided by abstract ethical principles appealing to logical comprehensiveness, universal reality and consistency.  For instance, the golden rule in which good was no longer defined in conventional moral terms of approved behavior to persons or action was considered good only if the adoption by all the persons would work out successfully.  It was not about conforming, but rather consistent internalized moral standards.  Only about 10% of young people over age 16 showed clear-cut principal thinking. This functional level of operational thought ( ability to conceptualize, reason, become more introspective and analytical)  is not associated with an authoritarian conscience.

In our culture, there are common stereotypes transmitted to our children, at an early age, about male masculinity.  For example, males are urged by their parents to be aggressive in the face of attack, independent in  problem situations ,sexually aggressive, in control of aggressive urges and suppressive of strong emotions, especially anxiety and crying. Check out the lyrics to Big Boys Don’t Cry.

 Further, there's great emphasis placed on authoritarian  American males to be adventurous, self-confident, assertive, ambitious,  aggressive with an emphasis on competition ,materialistic values  and less of concern for social justice, truth, reason ,civil rights and inequality about civil rights but wars are ok. These masculine roles are acquired and transmitted , at home, primarily through identification ,reinforcement with the imitation of the parent of the same sex ,like minded peers  especially as boys model themselves in their father's image. 

These male masculine sex roles become  instilled  early on as values , attitudes and  behavior explain why these boys are highly masculine,  In authoritarian households, these male sex role masculine concepts become values and attitudes early on as the result of identification along with  the development in the superego and explain why these boys are highly masculine and aggressive. Little boys play with guns and big boys are proud of their gun arsenal .During one presidential election cycle,  one of my neighbors displayed his Trump poster. This poster had a picture of Trump's head on Sylvester Stallone's Rambo gun holding a muscular body.

Just the other day, I heard an Elvis titled song Surrender and an Olivia Newton John song Hopelessly Devoted To You.  Both songs represent sadomasochistic tendencies associated within an authoritarian character structure. In addition, John Steinbeck's East of Eden novel depicted the authoritarian father Adam and his subservient son Aron.  And his Of Mice and Men novel  portrayed an authoritarian relationship between Lennie and George.  Hollywood has done a  terrific job in their movies depicting Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Henry VIII ,No Country For Old Men , The Wild Angels ,Easy Rider  and of course the Greek tragedy  Antigone by  Sophocles  along with Wuthering Heights and  so many other authoritarians from our history.

Sadomasochistic character tendencies and orientations are not new . According to AI, the word authoritarian is derived from the Latin word "auctoritas" meaning authority and influence  while the prefix "author" relates to the concept of an author or creator. Psychologically speaking , Freud's  super ego,  parent -child relationships , cognitive ,moral  development, masculinity stereotypes, with the  influences of society and culture are some factors associated with authoritarianism , it's no wonder or surprise that there’s  such a preponderance of authoritarian sadomasochistic tendencies in our civilization .Elect a neurotic  narcissistic authoritarian with the most powerful military in the world and nuclear codes and …….

Reference

Mussen,Conger and Kagan. Child Development and Personality.

A Religion

 This essay has to do with Trump’s  supporters as evidenced by a recent No Kings protest, a Hegseth comment and TV news. On Saturday, Linda ,Pat, Diane and I joined a large group in Auburn for the No Kings protest.  I was told that a few people going  by  in cars gave them the middle finger and also  heard about a few people being shot with BBs from a passing automobile.  Hegseth , during a press conference, prayed to God or something for the Iranians to be killed.  And, late night comedians are scheduled to be on a "vacation" because of their  anti Trump comments.

In Genesis-Chapter 1 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kind in the cattle according to their kind .... and God saw that it was good.  And God created man in His image of God He created him male and female.  He created them    And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea.........  Note that God created man in His image and they were to be fruitful and multiply and subdue all the other creatures that he created. Unfortunately, there wasn't any mention about killing or treating other humans inhumanely nor about wiping out and extinguishing  any of His creatures.

Is claiming to be a Christian a symptom of unresolved conflicts ; simply a convenient, manipulative slogan of inclusiveness or some other combination of  motives ?  We currently have an authoritarian government.and with this “Christian’ leader ;is his government associated with loving your neighbor ,promoting justice, reducing human suffering,  speaking the truth of happiness and contentment in an image of God? 

Hegseth's comments pertain to rallying around the “totem” flag, patriotism , nationalism ,power, and hate with  killing the  'evil’ Iranians all in the name of God. In what manner does  Hegseth resemble God ?  To what type of God was Hegseth praying ? Praying for God that he will assist you in killing another is simply evil, crazy and irrational.Pope Leo XIV rejects the idea that God justifies war.The authoritarian orientation of Hegseth claiming to be a Christian  is  doubletalk as he only speaks in God’s name. Love thy neighbor  and love thy enemy as thyself are just words for  Hegseth and  are indicative of religious hypocrisy 

This Hegseth character has  had multiple marriages, countless affairs, an alcoholic who stupidly gave away past military operations to a reporter. He’s a  faithful” Christian’ that worships himself and the pursuit of power, lies and destruction with  an authoritarian moral and ethical foundation. So, who is good- who is evil? And, Hegseth is good and those that oppose him are evil and should  submit .Hegseth is an authoritarian Christian .His professing prayers does not make him religious.

Christians go to church and hopefully  the  sermons are about love and charity.  And when political, hopefully they did not support the withdrawal of food and medicine - aid to foreign countries, nor  was there  support for all the various   raids and killings ignoring legal warrants by Ice.  How did the sermons address the injustice of the tariffs  AI, White House graft, the Save Act ,threats to the Constitution, attacks on the Free Press, Rule of law, the Epstein files and the Iranian war?  Were the sermons  humanistic or authoritarian in attitude ?

Freud, briefly the origins of religion, is essentially a repetition of early childhood emotional and behavioral experiences with authoritarian parenting orientation .Primitive man found himself helpless ,powerless , at the mercy and fearful in his encounters with the daily hazardous external forces of nature, as well as his own  instinctual drives.  At that  time ,primitive man did not have  the availability of scientific knowledge and thus was unable to use his  reason and rationality to deal effectively with all  these outer and inner forces. 

For all practical purposes, primitive man utilized  a magical illusional thinking  by  reverting back to the time  when he was that fearful , powerless and insecure as a  child. In essence, he remembered the safeguarding  and security he experienced with the  father , mother or leader of his tribe . That young child perceived those figures to be extremely  smart, with wisdom, omnipotent , strong and powerful  He learned that he could win  love,protection, defending and  a sense of belonging by obeying their commands. However, the  child remembered he would encounter anger,displeasure  or even being dismissed when he transgressed and/ or ignored their directions. These emotional  and behavioral dynamics represent authoritarianism - leader providing love and protection only with submission but rejection, loss of love and expulsion when disobeying .

Thus, the belief in authoritarian  religion is an illusion, magical thinking ,being part of a like minded  group  based on man's worship,obedience and loyalty only .But  for not believing, it was punishment and  eternal damnation. Illusion and magical thinking also interferes with critical thinking which impedes the power of reason , rationality and ethics  with a belief in an all present omnipotent God .With a lessening belief in  God and Him being dead leads to a destruction ,an attack on moral ethics, principles,values and behavior. And, it provides a blocking of anxiety awareness with its obsessive rituals, practices,prayers and traditions. For one example, listen to the  Tradition lyrics  from “Fiddler on the Roof.” 

And, when 22%, on one poll,  give the opinion that they are very happy with Trump’s  policies, this suggests  cognitive dissonance, rationalization, denial, authoritarian conscience  with their worship, support and devotion .With identification,he became their  orientation,  system of thought , action , conscience and “religion.”  A “god ,” who is their savior  and will  protect them . He is their safety net. They remain faithfully revering  subjects no matter what he says or does, as they are totally dependent, loyal and submissive to  him. When he says fake news  they agree and reinforce his distortion of reality. His reality is their reality. If  they rebel , he withdraws his love , attacks and punishes  those non-believing traitorous  infidels.

In essence , these Trump's followers have projected that he is associated with  love, wisdom and justice . And,in doing so,they are depriving themselves of these qualities.  They have become  small, completely powerless without strength as  their  thinking “ powers “have been projected onto Trump.

This mechanism of projection is also associated with  an interpersonal  masochistic submissive character structure . In that, one person is awed by another, and attributes his own powers and aspirations to the other person.  This projection  mechanism makes people endow Trump with many  human  qualities of super wisdom , justice and fairness ..Also, this dynamic results in  alienation, loss of faith in self and less empathy and an inability to love self and others different than themselves.

Are these Trump followers as happy as the characters are in all those television commercials?  They cling to the happiness  belief that we are the greatest country in the world and that Trump is making America great again .  Yes, that messaging is being drummed into them endlessly.  Just listen to Fox News , a Trump  tweet or interview . These followers are not longing for the truth, justice and love as their life is not based upon a solid foundation . Essentially, they  are ignoring the shadows of uneasiness, anxiety and confusion, which is constantly there by claiming to be a  good Trump Christian .

The authoritarian  religion of Trump and his followers  is not their answer to an active faith  and instead  it’s an escape from the intolerable doubt . They have made their decision not out of devotion but in search for protection,security,power belonging and consensus .

 

Demonstration, opposition and resistance are the foundations found in the  Judeo-Christian morality .Initially  it was Adam and Eve's disobedience, followed by Moses and then Jesus. And in our Republic, patriotic Americans such as Paine , Henry, Jefferson, Franklin, Thoreau, Emerson and Lincoln presented courage,faith ,reason, resolve and moral clarity with their thinking,emotions and  disobedient actions. Those middle finger pointing and BB shooting characters are characterized by their   ignorance, moral  authoritarian orientation and exasperated by their insecurity and hate. The peaceful protest of  peaceful  males and females of  Grandparent age  are admired as true patriotic Americans and terrific models .The aged knows and can provide super examples of truth, reason and care regarding our republic.

Reference Fromm,Erich. Psychoanalysis & Religion.

Civilization 2

 

Sigmund Freud, categorized three major categories that  affect the development of personality . Last week I focused on Nature- one of those categories..  This week the  focus is on the body, another  of his categories. I am  the subject.

Not only was I born fearful, timid, insecure,powerless, dependent and timid, but I also had a childhood asthma diagnosis.  One earlier memory relates to my parents taking me to a treatment center in Biloxi, Mississippi. There, I recall having my body pricked all over to determine its reactions. That was unpleasant and scary  to put it mildly.  Another time I remember being at home in the fall with burning leaves  on Evanston Ave. in Detroit and my mother keeping me inside because of the poor air quality .And, I do have early  memories related to wheezing .

Alfred Adler's theory of personality deviates from Freud in that according to Adler, we are motivated primarily by  social urges . And ,this social interest is inborn and relates to specific types of relationships with people in social situations which develop and are determined by the nature of the society in which one is reared. My  address and zip code was 14949 Evanston Detroit ,Michigan 48224 which has served me well  Simply ,Adler’s major concepts related to the idea  that  within the social urge ,there is a striving for superiority with future goal seeking behavior .Thus, man is conscious of his goal seeking to compensate for his physical and/or psychological handicaps or inferiorities in that he thinks,intends, ambitions, plans trains, rests,and eats healthy  with other supporting figures . 

 Furthermore, man is motivated by expectations of the future and his striving ideals are  incorporated in that behavior. Man's style of life is based on early childhood experiences that are largely determined by specific impurities , fancied  or real.  Socially ,man makes his own personality , the constructs from  heredity and experience. His real self gives meaning to his life by creating the goals, expectations and means to achieve that goal .And ,that the final goal of man was to be aggressive,  powerful  and superior. 

.However, superiority strivings  for  primarily self preservation, personal interest to compensate for feelings of inferiority and inadequacy are neurotic. For Adler, superiority means a  drive  for completion  in which the goals are social in character.  In essence, a feeling of inferiority gives a sense of incompleteness and it becomes a great driving force for superiority, perfection, excellence  and social interest.. According to the Adler, " Social interest is a true and inevitable compensation for all the natural weaknesses of human beings."

 Another  of Adler’s thinking is related to the idea that  organ inferiority results in an overcompensation  to compensate. This means,because of feeling inferior  as a result of a developmental abnormality, the individual attempts to compensate for the weakness by practice , building  strength with intensive repetitive  training.  In other words, if there's a feeling of inferiority related to the body, one has a tendency to compensate for that weakness and feelings of inferiority by consciously seeking appropriate and healthy  actions and strategies.  And, Adler also believed that life’s goal was perfection or completion , not pleasure  . 

With the above being said, my early interest and compensation was related to sports with the exception of swimming- the breathing was the excuse.  As a young boy.  I loved baseball, football and hockey  and listening on the radio to Van Patrick. I also collected the players  cards with statistics from gum purchases.  At Wayne elementary, I read books by John R Tunis with his sport themes-heroes overcoming odds and  becoming excellent.  I also competed in gym class at Wayne elementary with my friend and rival Tom Smith.  Tom became a member of Dan Devine’s Missouri Tigers and played in a number of Orange Bowls .

Being outside playing baseball and football were priorities.  I frequently went to neighbors homes and recollected playing in the street or competing at that vacant nearby lot on Harper ave.. At Jackson Junior high  our three on three  basketball team of Tom Smith, Bob Adams and  t dominated the gym class in both  the seventh and eighth grades.  I also remember having my younger brother  Ron attempt to tackle me , in the backyard when  I was carrying the football. He was younger and he had no chance.

During high school years, I attacked my dad's York barbells in our basement.  I got stronger and had  brother Ron and his friend Dave lift the  heavy weight barbell so I could do bench presses.  I also played high school and college  football. I continued lifting weights with others and used extremely heavy weights requiring strong friends to be spotters when I did bench presses.

Childhood ,latency and adolescence were characterized by my compensation for that early asthma experience.I focused on being stronger, dominant and excellent  Further, I witnessed dad  dealing with his childhood diabetes diagnosis. Mom and I visited him many times while he was in the hospital receiving treatment.  In fact, he was at the University of Michigan  Medical Center and he became friendly with Terry Sawchuk, the Red Wings goalie.  I'm either 15 or 16 and  dad  had me perform a strength feat , for Terry, by lifting a chair by its one leg with one hand, straight and parallel to the floor.

Living in the Bay Area in the 70s, I recall the running phase with the likes of Jim Fixx.  I liked running around Lake Merritt in Oakland along with high schooler Stephen Hackel .  Years later, in 1997, I entered an endurance ride and met Tony and Jeff who were competing in the Mustang Classic  Ride &Tie.  My running resumed and became serious as I wanted to compete in the sport which includes two humans and a horse.  So far, my body has not failed me.

The next season,I recollect that when connecting my horse trailer to my truck and I hurt my lower back.  Foolishly, I did  setups afterwards and then had to crawl upstairs to my bed. The next day  I  called Ken ,one of my renters, a physical therapist, and he assisted so I was able to get out of bed and head for work.Ken provided treatment every day,prior to my going to my office.  During that week ,I stood while conducting psychotherapy with my clients. Sitting was awful and painful .

During that week,I ran in the morning as I was preparing for the championship Ride & Tie at Donner Summit in 1998 .  Steve was my partner and on Friday he came to my house, loaded my horse into the trailer and drove while I was the passenger.  Every hour or so we had to stop on the side of the road as I had to get out and stretch my aching back.  I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to compete on Saturday.  I didn't want to be found lying in the dirt on the trail.  That morning I mounted my horse and told Steve let's do it.  Running was good for me and I essentially kept myself erect while riding. We finished and then went to the award ceremony as I had to stand .Success!

For a number of years. I did not sustain any equine injuries and only minor injuries from running.  I had a massage from the Monster of Massage-Veloyce, physical therapy from Jim and chiropractic treatment  from ultra runner Matt. Veloyce suggested buying a hot tub and we talked about ibuprofen, Advil and other remedies.  Another friend, Jerome, introduced me to a blender and Georgia gave me a birthday book which became one of my Bibles "Stopping The Clock.”  In fact,  I became one of four individuals to have completed three 100 mile one day events-Tevis, Western States and the Swanton Pacific Ride & Tie.  Incidentally, I was the only one in my 60s to do so.

Then in 2009, riding with Linda , I broke some bones in my neck when I was thrown by my horse Gypsy.  That essentially ended equine competition.  The surgeon told me that I could become like Christopher Reeve  if I had another horse accident.  As a result, I focused on running and running.  I was running  50 milers and 50 K's until age 79 , and then Covid arrived. In my 80th year I ran the Jed Smith  1/2 marathon and enjoyed it.- my last competitive run . 

 With Covid,Tony moving and Linda’s  severe horse injury, competition ended . Currently, every other day  Linda drives the golf cart with Teddy  ,I run in front with music playing  and the other days we are back at the gym.  I am lifting free weights and doing the machines. By the way, I have already maxed out (most weight) on 3 of those  machines. 

Last week I had cataract surgery in one eye.  The ophthalmologist told me I can't lift anything over 25 pounds, but I can still walk as many miles as I want but not to endure strain.  This two week recovery time has been the longest I've had in approximately the last 30 years.  Initially, I felt anxious and thought about how much  it might set me back as a result.  In other words, my exercise pursuit now has nothing to do with my original asthmatic condition  nor competitive excellence.  I enjoy exercising even though it doesn't serve to meet those earlier basic needs. And this current pursuit is called functional autonomy as a motivational aspect of my behavior. 

 I know there will be a day when things change.  However,my orientation and devotion are caring, health , strength ,physicality and enriching the executive functions in my cortex. My lifestyle has been unique , creative ,congruent  and remains in concert with who I am.

Reference

Adler. A . Individual Psychology.