God's Mistake

 

The  Roe versus Wade uprising based on the Alito draft received my attention. The idea for the overturning of this law, not surprisingly, goes back in historical time and belongs in the past. This essay is about male and female gender .

In Genesis, Adam was first created by God and then Eve followed, thus establishing male dominance. She was not only subordinate, but she was also cursed- referring to the pain of  bearing children in sorrow - devaluing her even more. Further, Eves, tempting Adam to eat from the tree of knowledge represents a sexual temptation. Now ,females are sexual beings that plunge man into misery .Can man overcome his lust and sexual temptations—Delilah, Medea, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra and Marilyn Monroe come to mind. Man can be at the mercy of his passions. On the other hand, below the surface, in his unconscious mind , man  attempts to control women because he is anxious, helpless, fearful, jealous with distrust .As a consequence, these repressed dangers result in his hostility. Aggression becomes easily activated and expressed in so many different ways. That fear is primarily although not exclusively rooted in sex.Despite being sexually attracted to women,men are conflicted by fear of being kept in bondage by them.

Anthropology has provided us with information regarding primitive cultures.  We know that in primitive tribes, the woman was surrounded by taboos during her sexual maturity development. For example: 1. Women of the Arunta tribe were magically able to influence the male genitals. If she sang to the blade of grass and then pointed it at a man ; he became ill and lost  his genitals altogether. Women lured him to his doom.  2. In East African tribes, husband and wife cannot sleep together because her breath might awaken him.  3. If  the woman of a  South African tribe climbs over the leg of the sleeping man, he will be unable to run. Thus, the old wives tale of the general rule -sexual abstinence. No sex for five days prior to hunting ,warfare, fishing, sports  4. A fear of menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth-a man who touched a menstruating woman would die.  Women are  mysterious beings who communicate with spirits and have magic powers that could be used to hurt the male.  He must therefore protect himself against her powers by keeping her subjugated.  Let me repeat, keeping her subjugated 5.  The Miri tribe did not permit the women to eat the flesh of the Tiger because they can become too strong.  6.  The Watawala tribe keeps the art of making a fire secret from the women or the  women could become their rulers  7. In the Middle Ages there was the cult of the virgin side-by-side with the burning witches. Thus, pure motherlyness completely divested of sexuality next to the cruel destruction of the sexually seductive woman 8.  Females in a God-given natural state are not the equal of the male. Moebius, the cartoonist, stated that the female brain weighed less than the male one 9. There is current evidence that shows that men's brains shrink more in advanced ages compared to women.  Some studies show that women have a larger corpus callosum than the man, suggesting that this may allow women to have more language functions in the non dominant right hemisphere . With stroke, studies show women tend to recover language faster. 10.  Women use more of their brains than men in doing nearly every cognitive task, possibly mediated by their larger corpus callosum  11. In Salem, 78% of people accused,  convicted of witchcraft were women and were hanged- because the devil overtook these women and their souls 12. More men died from Covid- 19 than females13.  Women are destroying” masculinity” according to Tucker, The New York Times, May 1,2022. American men are in deep trouble.  Modern life…. stressed and miserable . It’s …. a biological collapse of the species. If men are keeping women down, why are women doing so much better than men? Shouldn't women be helping men to be better?  if you destroy men or complete the destruction of man….. Wow ! The power of women is scary and it’s becoming harder to compete with them 14. 1 in 4 women are victims of severe physical violence15. Women are gaining on males in the educational, economic, and social areas. !6. How many women are school shooters ? 17. Conservative Maureen Dowd in a May 8, 2022  article in the New York Times made the following points: A.  Alito is returning to Puritan times   B.  Even Saudi Arabia allows abortions If a woman's physical or mental health is at risk  C.  Thomas was a pervy liar regarding Anita Hill and he helped open the door to dark money, along with helping gut the voting rights act  D. Five unelected, unaccountable and relatively unknown political operatives are masquerading as impartial justices. They are interested in constructing a society that comports with their rigid, religiously driven worldview.

 Is Tucker right that women are emasculating their man? Perhaps for males to regain their masculinity, it's important for them to obtain satisfaction and security(S&S).  The following are standards for these types: 1.  Man must be king of his castle, if he can afford it.  2.  Females are his property and possession 3.  His females must be dependent , obey, comply, give in,loyal, giving , and be subservient with limited education and intellectual qualities.  4.  Contraception and abortion not permitted.  5.  Homeschooling is required for censoring books  materials ,interests and friendships  6.  Voting by females is restricted-in my community, the CCR's allow one vote per household for the Board of Directors 7.  Driver's licenses are to be restricted.  8. Church attendance required  every Sunday, holidays etc.9. Exorcism’s are permitted 10.An automatic weapon present on every birthday.11. Corporal punishment for every derogatory remark 12. An allowance for food purchases.

Perhaps, part of a males resentment towards women is that she has a life creating power that men can admire, but this admiration fosters resentment toward capabilities that man does not possess. Yes, men can create religion, government, art, science that has an obvious masculine imprint . Man's resentment towards women is obvious when it comes to the children she produces.  Do not provide her or her child medical insurance ,medicine, food , housing, preschool  assistance etc.  Just using median hourly earnings of both full and part-time workers, the male- female gender gap for the last 15 years has shown that women earned 84% of what men earned according to the Pew Research Center.  Further, the gap between white and nonwhite women is even more; women earn less than men in nearly all occupations; women earn less than males in their same race and ethnicity at every level of degree attainment. The pandemic caused women's labor force participation back more than 30 years.

 I interviewed Doc Shay-Sharon Shay Bintliff in "It Has Nothing to Do with Age."  This Dr. began medical school at the University of Texas at Galveston in 1962.  She was the only female in the medical program of 76 students.  She was also a paddler and has completed the most competitions from Molokai to Owahu.  In 1952, the first Outrigger  canoe race began for man.  It wasn't until October 14, 1979 that women were given permission by the male US Coast Guard to compete and enter that race.They were told that It's just too dangerous for women. And just yesterday I heard that Trump would have won the popular vote in 2016 against Hillary if votes in California were not counted.  Counting California ,Hillary won by more than 2.9 million votes.

Discrimination against females goes back to recorded time.  Our Constitution was created and ratified by white males. Females were finally allowed to vote, but 100 years ago. Yes, males fear women as they can easily tempt men based on  testosterone and other conditions.  Yes, many have been puss.. whipped by  women since recorded time.  Women are extremely competitive and are tremendous athletes.  Not only that, many women are so verbally proficient.  Unfortunately, man has created an ideology that perpetuates and maintains his power position and is clever enough to make this position acceptable to the weaker one.  Man has concealed his struggle and feelings of being inferior.  So man has to obscure this fact and places emphasis on a  religious belief that causes women to adopt the same archaic beliefs. Yes man can and does fool some females, especially the evangelicals.

One time, in the days of old, women were the property of men.  That's an historical fact.  Just ask Thomas Jefferson about his relationship with Sally Hemmings ? He promised her what?  Oh yeah, when they returned from France, he changed his mind.  Rape is another example of discrimination.  The woman wanted it. It was consensual. She dressed seductively and she was flirtatious.  So what if I got her drunk.  It didn't happen.  Both Thomas and Kavanaug  supported that idea.  Their record speaks for itself. And these men should have power over women regarding sex?  Unconscionable!  The Supreme Court has too many undesirables.

 A March 20, 2022 article appeared in the New York Times regarding a # MeToo movement.  Some testimonials from  Swedish women: 1.  I was 17 and was raped by a Stockholm politician who is now a top candidate in the 2018 election   2.  Sitting with colleagues in the dining room hall, one of them fixates his eyes on me and says, "I can really understand why men rape sometimes."  The other colleagues(male) laugh."  3.  After I left the court as a law clerk, one of the judges became my mentor.  He was supportive, offered advice, and one day he came to the office and wanted me to pay him back with oral sex.  4.  We were greeted on the first day of law school with the phrase: Here we educate Sweden's best lawyers and Sweden's most educated housewives. 5.  When I did my court service, a now retired judge called me into his office the day before I was sitting in on the rape trial with him.  He showed me photos of the three defendants and asked me, by whom I would rather be raped.

Yes, males exhibit power  over others or whom they fear and/or those that they know they can bully.  Endless exploitation; endless wars, endless income inequality, endlessly exploiting the earth, the seas and the climate while bringing us closer to nuclear war and AR 15 killers.  Way to go guys .It’s fear and  inadequacy that fuels hate, destruction and murder.  God, you made a mistake.  It should've been Eve and then Adam.  George Eliot stated, "Falsehood is so easy, truth so difficult.

Reference

Horney, Karen.  Feminine Psychology.

Institute for Natural Resources.  Cerebral Dominance  The Left and Right Brain.  

PS

Peter Abelard born in  1079 was a medieval French scholastic, philosopher ,leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician.  He fell in love with the younger Heloise and wrote her beautiful passionate poems of love.  Unfortunately, he was castrated by her uncle and became a monk.  600 years later, Josephine Bonaparte  entombed  them together in a cemetery in Paris.  They had promised to remain "Forever One."  Although they never met again, his famous love letters endures.

Insanity

  .Our Insanity 

 It's not surprising that there are mass shootings in our country. It's not surprising that a negative identity neurotic ,military armed teen murdered unarmed individuals in a residential setting. It's also not surprising that there’s an increase of bias, hostility and hate in our country. Might this be a clue? This brief essay addresses a few significant causes for the continuation of our insanity.

The baby's main issues of insecurity, helplessness and dependency begin early, accompanied by seeking survival. Survival depends on acquiring proper and necessary amounts of satisfaction and security. It doesn't take long before  a  rivalry develops for meeting one’s satisfaction and security.  It's important to be first, favored ,pampered, loved and liked by one's parents. Initially there is rivalry and competition for satisfaction and security for favoritism parents. Then, a competition and rivalry becomes apparent between siblings called a sibling rivalry.One example arises with the arrival of a newborn. The child is expected to  be joyous.happy ,thrilled and say ” I'm so happy” “ I love the new baby.”  The child doesn't dare admit “great, now I have competition, that infant gets all the attention, praise, love, affection-I hate him.  Get rid of him.”  If the child told the truth about his feelings for this new arrival, that would be met with a negative reaction and rejection. If sensitive to rejection, that would be catastrophic. Actual feelings of anxiety, resentment and hostility don't dare get expressed but instead are hidden from the parent and  psychically repressed . Of course there are other examples when frustration occurs impairing satisfaction and security. In those anxious experiences, the feelings of resentment and  hostility are also hidden from others but internally repressed from consciousness.  As a result, in childhood, children frequently  experience anxiety, repression, resentment and hostility that occurs because of rivalry and other people encounters. With repression, it's like there's a festering reservoir of enriched uranium-235  of semantic memory traces that with low frustration tolerance can be violently erupted without any apparent external cause or by some minor infraction . The tendencies for a verbal and/or physical volcanic explosion erupts as if it comes out of the blue. As the child progresses mentally and physically, eruptions become more frequent, severe and damaging. However, with repression,the danger exists that a child can ,on the surface, seem to others to be generally quiet, reserved and well mannered as both  self and others  are fooled.

Rivalry, competitiveness and conflict continues during the school years as well, interfering with acquiring satisfaction and safety.  If one can be the teacher's pet, that can be super; if one gets to be picked by the teacher more than anyone else, that can be super; if one gets to be picked first by classmates, that can be super.  In school, teachers grade and evaluate students.  They have favorites and rank students accordingly.  Are there competitions and rivalries in elementary school, you bet?  Who's the best reader; who's the best speller; who's best at math; and, importantly, who's the prettiest and whose best at sports?  Peers are aware of rankings as well as the teachers.  There are those that are popular and are those that are not.  Moreover, with rivalry we have success and we also have failure and fear of failure.  Not everyone can be first.  In fact,one acquaintance told me coming in second was the first loser. Rivalry, success, failure affects the development of self-esteem.  With more satisfaction and security results in higher self-esteem and greater expectations.  With too much failure, we have anxiety, repression, resentment, hostility, hatred and low self esteem.  Often these emotions become repressed.  However, we've all seen bullying in elementary school.

 On the other hand, interactions can become associated with anxiety which sends the individual into isolation, loneliness with fears of rejection. Further, it should be noted that hostile impulses are a main psychological factor in promoting anxiety. Repressing a hostility means pretending that everything is alright and a refrain from assertiveness and making oneself heard.  This repression generates a feeling of defensiveness and reinforces previously feelings of defensiveness.  In essence, this allows others to take advantage of the child or teen.

Rivalry, competition and friction expresses themselves in high school as well. Once again, being liked by the teachers and especially by the peer group becomes important. During my high school years, there was rivalry between being popular; the "hoods" and the “socialites;"  becoming class president; making the team; becoming first string; and the dreaded and fierce rivalry with Pershing High School.  In fact, there used to be Friday night football games.  But due to a knife fight between Denby and Pershing patriots, Friday night games became Friday afternoon games.  Once again, rivalry competition comes with hostility and hate.

Our Republic, and the capitalistic economic model, thrives on competition and rivalry.  If one is to make a profit, one has to be better than his rival.  One can only make a profit by being better than the rivals.  Large companies take over small companies.  Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook , etc. slam the competition.  Being number one is so important.  Also, take the competition among universities, as they are ranked on so many dimensions- majors, degrees etc; - the football rivalries as well.  In fact, college football teams are ranked months before the season begins.  Further, there are rankings of the wealthiest in our country; the rankings of CEO salaries; the rankings of best places to live, start a business, etc. We even have competitions for Grammy awards, Tony awards, Academy Awards, etc.In fact there is competition for one's voice as in The Voice and American Idol.  Currently, the NBA has its playoffs for a world championship.  As of today, there are only four teams fighting for that top spot, the top ranking or the very best.

Politically, we have elections, rivalry between the Democratic Party and the Totalitarian party.  We have polls. Our government is set up for winners and losers for the wielding of power.  There certainly is competition , opposition conflict and antagonism between the  have and have not  groups. Make a long story short, rivalry,  competition,winning and losing with envy, jealousy and” I’m entitled” which is a victim stance plays a significant role in our culture.

Back in the 1950s, there was rivalry and competition among the white folks.  The high school educated white could and did enter the middle class with a home in the suburbs, TV, two cars and send his kids to college.  At the college level, there was a token black athlete and a small number of Blacks attending the University.  The football team was white; the student population was white; and the local, state and federal government was predominantly white.  The music world was predominantly white; the movie industry predominantly white; the Ed Sullivan show, Dinah Shore, Milton Berle, etc. were white.  With segregation and discrimination, there was an absence of competition or rivalry between white skinned and darker skinned individuals.  Competitive slogans galore- dream house, most toys wins, keeping up with the Jones, state of the art etc. were capitalistic propaganda for white’s only..

Today, we view our country through a different lens.  Dark skinned individuals, once perceived as being inferior intellectually, are seen on TV.  They are articulate, well groomed, good-looking, and very popular.  The sports world, currently the NBA has four teams competing for the championship.  Three of these teams have coaches of color.  We have a black VP from California, a US California Senator, a person of color .The movie  and music industry are well represented by people of color.  On the other hand, Musk ,Bezos, Gates, Buffet, Zuckerberg exemplify income inequality; and Trump, McConnell, Tucker exemplify white power with hate.  Further, the militia groups also exemplify white hate. Economically , the benefits go where? Follow the money.

The White hate slogan of” replacement” refers to the inability to compete in today's society.  If you have  a high school education, what are your chances for coming in first with positive self-esteem?  In today's cutthroat capitalistic competition, what are your chances of becoming promoted; not being left behind economically; with a buildup of anxiety,repressed resentment, hostility, hatred and prejudice? 

 In essence, many of these teens are not in a good position to  successfully compete. They are being left behind with much  frustration affecting satisfaction, security , coupled with anxiety, and build up of hostility and hatred that's fostered within a severely inept parenting style within a dysfunctional family. Add severe disproportionate economic inequity within and to a  broken ,defective and toxic political system.We have created a sick, insane society. These broken teens have plenty of models to imitate and identify based on TV coverage and social media propaganda and lies.  The First Amendment gives them permission to lie and be misled and our Second Amendment permission to kill. Therefore, with rivalry and anxiety, the reservoir of hostility and hate accumulates and festers. Our competitive driven society allows hate speech and purchasing of killing weapons. Thus,we have an algorithm equation for profit and mass killings. Some might argue that there are more variables required to explain mass shootings or why aren’t there even more mass shootings?  I agree, I presented just a few psychological concepts pertaining to killing with more to follow.  The concepts I presented - satisfaction, security, anxiety, repression, hostility, rivalry and  hate are basic character foundations that are  to be found in evaluating the adolescent shooter. With each individual, there are an infinite number of situational experiences and reinforcements found within parenting and within the society of these individuals.  Therefore, the above concepts are the ground-floor  or building blocks for everyone with an array of  normal and/or neurotic tendencies .Isaac Newton “Truth is never to be found in simplicity.”

PS

While engaging in play therapy, I experienced children unable to express their actual feelings verbally of hostility and aggression towards parents .However ,with toys, they freely expressed their rage regarding their family situation.

Reference 

Freud,Sigmund. Totem and Taboo.

Relationships

 

Jeff' Windeshausen’s passing ,coupled with an article titled, "Can't Stop Loving Her?  Maybe You Should Try Harder`` was found in the April 24, 2022 edition of The New York Times triggered my response.  I'm also  incorporating friendships  from" It Has Nothing to Do with Age” in this discussion and comment on unions . 

 Within the life cycle, we repeatedly experience anxiety,  attachment, loss, grief  and/or depression that becomes associated with disruption of dependency. With death, the physical loss is permanent,except psychologically- memories.Friends that have enriched my life, yet too many have passed. But memories from both my book and from the TV videos bring a smile. Thank you all.

Tony confessed that both of his ride and tie partners died-Jeff and Tom Christofk. It wasTony and Tom that induced me to the Tevis and Western States trail.  I also had two ride and tie partners that  died-Bob Edwards and Jonathan Jordan.  I have devoted an entire chapter with Jonathan when we  came in first in the 100 Mile Swanton Pacific Ride and Tie in Chapter 12.   Bud John's was significant because he invented the sport. And Jim Steere, Chapter 7 DMV: Renaissance Man and Athlete Extraordinaire was associated with the very first ride and tie.  Also, Jim was involved with the origins of the Tevis endurance ride as was Fred Jones in Chapter 6 The History of the Tevis . Wendell provided Fred with the horse for him to earn his buckle.  During my Tevis,Warren Hellman and I rode together for  most of the  ride. This man was said to have more money than God,although you would not know it by looking at the way he dressed. Mark Richtman  came in third in the 2002 Western States run and I was an age division in that race.

I was fortunate enough to meet Jack Sholl and I called  Chapter 14 Patriot, Rower, Gentlemen,  Unparallelled.  I spent  time with Jack and his wife Joan both in Northern and Southern California . Their stories go back to Grace Kelly and the Kelly family. You all were fun. I miss you dearly..

The New York Times article gave examples of moving on after divorce, such as: 1.  Thinking negative thoughts about the person that you're trying to fall out of love with 2.  Think of things that make you happy other than the person you're trying to fall out of love with 3.  Imagine your husband covered in vomit and holding dead kittens.  4. Reframe the notion of falling out of love.  If falling out of love, know that you are still amazing, powerful, fierce, loving  who will continue to grow, love and thrive.These suggestions were based on the administration of MRIs focusing on VTA activation in brain functioning.  It was stated that attachment and physical pain, not emotion were variables and drive was a major factor regarding love and loss.

Statistically,divorce is prominent in our culture . Briefly, it was not uncommon to hear patients say they've fallen out of love and/or they are no longer compatible, especially with kids, as when they separated and left home.Marriage is complicated .Religion, called man  sinful; Mark Twain said man was partially insane; and Freud said man can become neurotic.  Let's start out with a few givens: 1. Man begins life with anxiety, dependence, attachment, separation, ambivalence and sadomasochistic tendencies.  2.  Mother or the caretaker has a tremendous challenge in providing for all the needs.  Mother provides warmth, care, tenderness, rejections, prohibitions, threats and punishment 3.  Can trust be established or  is there a stronger tendency  for developing mistrust? 3.  Man has many needs that include passion, possession ,prestige, power, exhibition, play,achievement, competition, succorance, sexual and affiliation  4.  Often, childhood experiences are met with conflict, anxiety, frustration , aggression and are related to competition ,rivalry and disappointments that also  become activated during life 5.  Man has difficulty with loneliness and seeks affiliation   6.  Couples seek union for a variety of reasons and have  illusions like finding happiness as  Cinderella "Live happily ever after."  7.  Marriage vows are an expectation of lifelong companionship, fidelity and sexual cooperation .  8.  George Gershwin’s song.  Our love is here to stay"   is not always true because, in part, -ambivalence 9.  Jeff and Mackenzie, after their divorce, McKenzie married a science teacher and then began giving away millions.  Bill and Melinda, after their divorce, continued working together giving away their wealth.  When Fareed asked Bill about his divorce , he seemed dumbfounded and was unable to come up with an intelligent response as to the why.  10.  Separation and loss are inevitable.  It's healthier to move on than to remain a victim.

A few points regarding why a breakup of the union: 1.  Everyone brings to the relationship a history of unresolved issues.  Likely, this is not the first time that a relationship has gone sour, and is likely not the last time unless the individual has some self understanding of his own dynamics.  The relationship did not start out with hate even though it may exist now.  Was the initial attraction based on some fantasy that turned into an ugly reality?  It's important to accept responsibility for that initial reality. Did the transformer use magic? Why was reality distorted ?  What factors led to the dislike of a partner? Take  responsibility for the original choice since if that person is all evil, then it might be just the self fulfilling prophecy on your part, which also suggests the abasement need- to hurt self.

2.  All relationships have ambivalence.  So to reframe and imagine someone that's all evil sounds ridiculous to me.  By all means, there had to be something good about the person and the relationship.  Search back and find and identify the positive or positives, otherwise it makes you look pretty stupid if there weren't any.  The memories good and bad are reality and part of your experience.  To create some reframing fiction perpetuates the defense mechanism of denial, rationalization, etc. When I ran Western States, I reframed "put one step in front of the other."  I didn't have to say  going forward. Reframing should be based on truth and reality .

3.  Often, individuals may jump into another relationship quickly; use drugs and alcohol; become a workaholic; talk with another for reinforcement for their woe.They are attempts to leave the psychological field in some other way.  Repetition compulsion means that one makes the same mistake over and over again.  Einstein said something to the effect of doing the same thing  over and over and expecting a different result is insanity.  Another alternative, is to examine oneself as in “to know thyself “in order to reduce mistakes Oh yeah, insurance says, take a pill and will pay for five therapy sessions.

Furthermore, if mortal, the impetus to connect and attach with another has many variables and might also have to do with avoiding loneliness at all costs- that’s why in part we are called social animals.How realistic is fidelity for many? Ask Bill , Hillary, Monica; Donald,Melania,  Stormy; Arnold, Maria,Mildred; Meg,Dennis ,Russel;Frank,Nancy ,Ava;Brad,Jennifer ,Angelina and Eddie, Debbie and Elizabeth to name a few.

Relationships vary in degree, length ,intensity as well as importance.  The breakup of relationships can be and does vary among individuals.  Not all divorces are the same or experienced the same way.  It's important to deal with the reality of the psychological situation.  Individuals vary as to when they are ready to emotionally commit, leave or separate.

In summary, all relationships are terminal. All relationships have ambivalence.  Social animals don't like to be alone.  Humans have a great capacity for thinking, emotion and memory.  When there's an impairment in thinking, emotion or memory that individual becomes compromised.  Utilize thinking, emotion and memory, along with truth and reality.It’s not surprising why there is a selection of so many unsuitable marital partners.  Man’s imperfections are a good place to begin   Follow the words of Plato  "For once touched by love, everyone becomes a poet ; Heraclitus said, "Of all the  means  which wisdom acquires to ensure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is friendship; Socrates "Neither family, nor privilege, nor wealth, nor anything but love can light that beacon which a man must steer by when he sets out to live a better life."They are wonderful words .

References

Horney, Karen.  Feminine Psychology.

Murray, H.  A.  Explorations in Personality

Intellectual Difficulties

 

I had many  conversations with my friend Paul pertaining to his friends.  I have selected a few segments of  his conversations from just four individuals. Three things stand  out: 1.  The misuse of word meanings  2.Ignorance of political and economic history 3.   Beliefs and decisions that are contrary to self-interest. Thinking about the above leads to the question: “ Are they stupid?”

Briefly, psychologists, about 100 years ago, first engaged in psychometric examinations with school-age children.  One of their concerns led to the evaluation of intellectual performance and potential- that relates to behavioral choices, ability to  learn  and  how personality  factors affect that potential.  David Wechsler and  colleagues created an intelligence scale- test for both children and  adults. According to Dr. Wechsler,” an intelligence test is a psychometric device… Assessing an individual’s potential for purposeful and useful behavior.”  He added,  “information obtained from intelligence tests is relevant to the extent that it establishes and reflects whatever it is one  defines as overall capacity for intelligent behavior.”

In both the children and adult intelligence scales or tests, there are 11 subtests that are associated  in both the left  and right hemispheres  in the brain - the hippocampus,  amygdala and hypothalamus regions. The following three subtests  address the intelligence of the individuals in question.

Vocabulary Is the  first sub test to be applied.  Vocabulary is a measure of  learning ability;  verbal information; a range of ideas  influenced by educational background .  This subtest is the best single measure of general intelligence.  Vocabulary gives an excellent picture of  richness of ideas, quality of language and degree of abstract thinking.  Further, this subtest also provides a semantic use of words and gives insight into an individual's thought process.  Moreover, this subtest provides an indication of the defense mechanism of intellectualization and emotional disturbance.  Importantly, it provides a good idea of familial-cultural backgrounds, and educational level of the parents.  With that being said, a misuse and non understanding of words suggests deficits with parental upbringing, limited school achievement, impaired intellectual ability as well as the difficulty in communicating correctly within a hateful emotional belief system.  For example, Paul told me that his friend used the word pedophile incorrectly in both understanding and application.Paul defined the word for him. That impoverished  believed the slanderous lies told about Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden -eating babies.His general intelligence and learning ability are questionable.

Information was the second subtest  applied.  This subtest measures general information that the individual  extracted from his surrounding environment and his ability to store this information as in general knowledge.  Therefore, remote memory, capacity for associative thinking,  as well as range of interests is limited with low scores .  The depth of  an individual's degree of information is an indication of intellectual capacity and general knowledge.  More intelligent individuals have broader interests, greater curiosity and seek mental stimulation. Also, information acquired is also related to experiences and opportunities available in our society.

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Limited education, not taking advantage of available information, lack of curiosity and restricted intellectual capacity are exemplified in the following episode.  Paul provided a visual and auditory recording of one of Dwight Eisenhower's presentations. In the video, Eisenhower's use of language, knowledge and abilities presented coherent, reliable and valid information .  Paul then presented a second video of  Trump.  Trump's use of vocabulary, lack of coherence, lies, put downs and his disrespect were clearly obvious when Trump deviated from the script. The individual in question clearly had little historical knowledge and was in disbelief about what she saw and heard. She was unable  to compare and  adequately contrast all the inadequacies and limitations of her hero Trump suggesting a limited and biased intellectual capacity of general knowledge.

Comprehension was the third subtest.  This subtest measures behavior that occurs in social situations.  The behavior in social situations takes into account moral behaviors that are required in everyday living experiences.  Of course, parenting, school, and peer group experiences also play a part regarding moral behavior.Individuals with broader interests are more curious and have a greater wealth of knowledge, enabling them to solve practical social problems presented to them in daily living.  Being able to make practical judgments, these individuals have a better opportunity to evaluate and utilize past experiences in socially acceptable ways. The ability to verbalize correctly suggests appropriateness of thinking.  This test also reflects the emotional state and stability of the individual.  Low scores in this subtest are associated with physical and psychological limitations, concrete thinking, limited capacity to accept hypothetical premises to work on hypothetical conclusions.  Moreover, they exhibit and  are associated with an over-dependent character structure.

Paul had a conversation with a Republican Teamster who did not understand the importance of unions, benefits acquired such as healthcare nor did he understand the political party that was responsible for diminishing and curtailing the power of unions and their benefits.  With another Republican couple, an illustration of impaired thinking , amorality , and non coherence was related to contradictory self-interest.  In this situation, the wife had never worked, was disabled and received money from the government for her disability.  She did not know the position of the political party regarding "government handouts."  However, she knew how to badmouth the current president and did not consider the amoral character of the past president. No wealth  of information, common sense or understanding of republican party principles that are not in her self interest was acknowledged by her.

 Walter Cronkrite and Edward R. Murrow provided objective information and did not pander to any particular political party.  Unfortunately, we now have oppositional hateful rhetoric coming from Rush, "he died ''  and some  cable news channels that advertise  “ they are fair and balanced.”

Today's media types remind me of Elmer Gantry.  Gantry was a character in the Sinclair Lewis novel by that name.  Gantry was a self-serving, hedonistic, charmer with a salesman personality.  Erich Fromm described this type as having a marketing orientation in "Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics."  Gantry, with the public, was personable, seductive, an intelligent manipulator driven by the almighty dollar.  This pathetic inauthentic shallow individual was severely limited emotionally-of course hidden from the public.  Were lying, cheating, exploiting, and manipulating his values?  Of course, his amoral character was prevalent.  He had a commodity to sell and that was religious fundamentalism to small American towns-for-profit. He was a true capitalist.

The fair and balanced cable channel has terrific, well-educated, attractive         marketing people   -Elmer Gantry types.  They are not journalists, their job is simply to spread hate, lies and  authoritarian misinformation for personal profit.  They have a legion of loyal and gullible followers that they can easily manipulate.  These Elmer Gantry types' success is based on their friendly, seductive personalities.  Some likely believe in themselves, although most are extremely inauthentic.  The messaging is consistent regardless of the spokesperson as if they're all reading the same script.  Examples-2020 election was stolen, with no mention that  the fraudulent Trump and his allies were the ones attempting to steal it.  Of course the January 6, 2020 occurrence was just a political discourse.  Further, it's not a surprise that they are paid well as they are very slick and  skilled in what they do.  Note, the fair and balanced cable channel lies with that description.  Fair and balanced, for whom?  The Elmer Gantry's  live on. 

Homo sapiens begin life with fear and dependency.  In the Prince, Machovelli identified fear as a powerful motivator to control the populace. Fair and balanced media does just that with this wonderful array of marketing personality types.  Years ago, Leon Festinger  identified cognitive dissonance motivation. Simply, cognitive dissonance results from a conflict of imported salient information.  If contrary concrete information regarding belief and perception of self is received from external sources, anxiety interferes.  This tension in the mind is painful and must be eliminated .  As a result, the mind creates defenses that limit or prohibit that information from being received.  Therefore,  the mind takes in, receives, assimilates and accommodates information that is not stressful.  These Republicans,without conflict,take in false rhetoric from their marketing salesman personality types.. The mind does not  deal with the truth,objectivity and reason. With cognitive dissonance,the mind only has to deal with eliminating  the irritation of tension.

In essence our politics are more divisive as ever as the Republican Totalitarian Party fears losing power resulting from the changing demographics occurring in the country.  Therefore, the Party has become more overtly totalitarian in its belief and practice for its minority rule.  Do away with democracy based on popular vote.  The Totalitarian Party can accomplish power by gaining control over state legislatures and the voting procedures.  With  sophistication, this party provides fearful messaging to its own.  They claim the other party wants to eliminate police, allow abortions, facilitate murderers and rapists  and take away  guns.  They also  claim that wearing a mask takes away liberty. This is all the perpetuation of First and Second Amendment nonsense and lies by these politicians.  Oh yeah, book bannings and not being able to teach racial history is what?  The educated politicians are also clever marketeers with their hateful, irrational rhetoric ,exploitative ,restrictive and fraudulent  policies that easily misled their limited, guilliable intellectual and psychological horde. However, it is clear that Paul's friends who vote Republican have the following characteristics: 1. Their amount of knowledge and range of information is politically and historically  extremely narrow.  2.  Their alertness toward the world is biased 3.  Their common sense and practical information is negligible.Their learning ability , verbal misinformation and cognitive capacity  appears to be influenced and limited by  controlled sources. According to Albert Einstein, knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world.I add “ we all know about the fantasies,beliefs and wishful thinking that occurs in the mind.”

PS

As a licensed psychologist I taught psychology classes including research and design  to both undergraduate and graduate students at the University level.  Additionally,for about 25 years or so, I provided psychological evaluations. I used a variety of psychological tests including Wechsler's intelligence scales for children and adults.  Wechsler's tests were excellent in providing insight into intellectual and personality tendencies. These psychological evaluations  were administered in prisons{competency to stand trial} in locked mental health facilities; inpatient group homes; outpatient County mental health facilities.. 

Reference

Wechsler, David .  The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence.

Jeff

 I first met Jeff Windenhausen 25 years ago on Mount Hamilton in San Jose.  Jeff and Tony participated in the ride and tie and I in the endurance ride.  I'm sad to report that Jeff passed couple of days ago.However,  Tony  and I were lucky to interview Jeff on our TV show.  Jeff is a neat and unique individual, and I am blessed to have known him.  The following is the link to the show:    https://youtu.be/FrSGP-FNzcAp

Commonalities and Authoritarianism

 

The ugly war continues and the three leaders come to mind-Joe Biden,Volodymyr Zielinski and Vladimir Putin.  Are there common themes between them?  If so, what are they?  Does that mean that man has common temperaments, personalities or character?  This disquisition focuses  on a few common psychodynamic principles  and Authoritarianism . 

In primeval times , man was confronted by many obstacles and challenges  pertaining to survival.Being born becomes associated  with anxiety, fear,and inability to  survive alone- dependency.Within that dependency , the infant became part of a horde–his family  led by the most powerful , omnipotent authoritarian father type. This omnipotent brute became  master for all and provided safety needs - food ,shelter , rules and warmth etc. for survival. With siblings , rivalry surfaced.  To secure favor,the individuals became grateful, sympathetic, loyal, subservient in an attempt to win the love,protection , respect and gratitude. During existence,  the  omnipotent,despotic leader exhibited  favor , disapproval and even punishment.  Therefore, ambivalent feelings-of liking, loving, honoring,  fearing and hating became the norm. The authoritarian father figure with  unlimited power, dominance, and control used brutality to keep others subservient . All females and others were his property.  They were objects available for hm to satisfy his sexual requirements and gratifications . If the authoritarian felt threatened, or was jealous, he  castrated, killed or banished the rival. It should be noted that  the youngest male was in favor and was protected by the mother.  If the father figure, aged and died, that younger sibling might assume power and control of the horde.  With cannibalism, it became  a totem feast and the  siblings would actually Incorporate the father figure in order to symbolically-magical thinking  acquire his power. With that being said,  the children witnessed, on many occasions , the sadomasochistic  behavior of the father figure, which became a model that they exhibited as well.  In essence, the existence of anxiety , insecurity; dependency;  ambivalence; rivalry; and sadomasochism are behavioral tendencies that were established and surfaced within this social structure ruled by  an autocratic,  dictatorial, despotic, tyrannical , authoritarian father type with unlimited sovereignty  over the horde.

Later, Moses.surfaced from the Iknaton Empire. Was Moses an Egyptian?  Regardless, monotheism was established within that Egyptian Dynasty. It’s believed that Moses led the Levite slaves from Egypt into the desert for 40 years. Moses was an authoritarian father figure  leader?  In  leading his people,Moses required rules ,mores and regulations regarding man’s behavior. In the story, he provided God’s 10 commandments that pertained to the moral and ethical behavior of how  others are supposed to treat others.  Unfortunately, Moses never reached the promised land because he was murdered beforehand. It should also be stated that Jahve was an authoritarian father . That  primeval father. exhibited omnipotent power over the known world.  He established commandments and he could punish others.  He made the Red Sea part and allowed a terrible flood to inhabit the world.With the  power of salvation, he was unchallenged, and the only God.

About 4000 years ago,  civilization became  more established -ceramics development provided impetus for agricultural accumulation, grain availability , etc. In Babylon, the code of Hammurabi was established.  This code  was a collection of 282 rules, providing standards for commercial interactions, setting fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice.  Once again, these codes were for the commoners; it became clear that the commandments of God were not effective in regulating behavior. The Authoritarian father figure  code : “to make justice visible in the land, to destroy the wicked person and the evildoer, and that the strong might not injure the weak.” It could also be said that human sacrifice, god's commandments and codes were moralistic ideas that did not succeed in regulating man’s behavior. Again, insecurity,dependence, rivalry, ambivalence and sadomasochistic tendencies were widely exhibited in Babylon too.

The Greeks also had their ruler, protector, father of all gods and humans.  Zeus was  authoritarian too.  He was depicted , in Greek mythology ,as the chief Greek deity  and shown as an older man with a beard  represented by symbols of  lightning bolt and eagle.

Philip of Macedon was the Authoritarian  father king who gained domination over all of Greece with military power and diplomatic means until he was murdered. His son, Alexander the Great ,followed .  Alexander’s conquests included Persia, Asia , Egypt,and India.With Alexander,there was a brutal display of sadomasochism.  His loyal army  and generals followed him regardless of hardships during the conquests. Yes, they raped and looted.But ,how much loot can you carry while marching to battle?  The soldiers followed, obeyed and were loyal and  dependent upon him, as he was dependent upon them as well.  Both Alexander and his followers displayed sadomasochism.  With ambivalence , rivalry, love ,hate and resentment surfaced.  Again, insecurity, dependence,rivalry, ambivalence, sadomasochism with an authoritarian father figure leader was the norm. Alexander was murdered too. Note, all  Authoritarian  father figures are represented favorably in the history of Homosapiens .

Authoritarian father figures  were prevalent with  Caesar,Nero, Hannibal, Attila,popes, Cortez,Napoleon, kings, queens etc. .Roughly 700 years ago, the monarch - authoritarian father  of England was Henry VIII .Being a Roman Catholic, he was confronted with church opposition when he desired Anne Boleyn.  He resolved his  conflict by establishing the Church of England with subsequent marriages.  Once again, rules, laws, God’s commandments, etc were not followed by him.  King Henry was above the law. He was the law and manipulated it  to his advantage as well as eliminating  his enemies.Further, he was described as one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne , yet was loved and hated as well.  Again, insecurity, dependence, rivalry, ambivalence, and sadomasochism were exhibited especially with his treatment of his six wives and enemies.Just ask Sir Thomas Moore  and Oliver Cromwell?

Recently, 80 –90 years ago , another  charismatic authoritarian rose from the ashes of World War I.  Hitler was  above the law as he was the law.  Codes,laws and commandments  were irrelevant for him.  His invasion of Poland  was based on a lie.  Insecurity ,dependency, rivalry, ambivalence and sadomasochism were in full sight.  His followers  were even  young adolescents who fought for him even though they were headed to their graves.  He killed , destroyed and ravaged  Europe with his irrationality and hatred.  In the end, this despicable individual took his own life and followers continue to mourn.

Today, Putin is the most powerful authoritarian  father figure on the planet.  He invaded Ukraine with irrationality and lies. His military  has been destroying Ukraine and his treatment by his military exhibits sadomasochism.  They are all guilty of murder.  Are they insecure , dependent and follow his commands?  Is there ambivalence  ? Some said they didn't  know why they were in Ukraine or thought they were on  a military exercise. No one can use the same excuse of thinking now. Can Putin be criticized in Russia?  Apparently not, as even  the Russian  people are not getting a true picture of the invasion. Yes,  rivals  are either killed or put in prison without commandments, codes or trials for protection .Will Putin ever face consequences for his war crimes? Fear,dependency,rivalry,ambivalence and sadomasochism are on full display in Russia.

Biden and Zelinski  are  leaders of their countries. In the United States and Ukraine,  voting for leadership Is different than in Russia.  That doesn’t mean that we have reached a total  or ideal democracy.  Our democracy is under attack by  authoritarian leaning individuals.  In Ukraine, there is insecurity, dependence,rivalry, ambivalence, and sadomasochism as well- but not for authoritarian leadership. Ukraines future is dependent on  NATO’s alliance for killing weapons .

The collective unconscious for authoritarian father rule is alive and well  in our country . A strong father figures' amoral conscience , being the law appeals to many of  insecure ,dependent , rivalry, sadomasochistic and sycophantic followers.Thus, we are at war with authoritarianism too .Can democracy win against the long standing historical collective unconscious of authoritarian  prevalence and dominance ?

In our capitalistic country, with the collective unconscious,human physiology within the context of child rearing dynamics , insecurity, dependency, ambivalence, rivalry, and sadomasochism become  dominant psychological  tendencies. With that being said,Erich Fromm described  a marketing orientation personality  influenced by our capitalistic society and its vulnerability to authoritarian influence.  Fromm stated that  with capitalism, our market  meeting place has changed from earlier times.  The exchange of goods and services  currently has become more abstract, impersonal and not based on value of use, but on supply and demand.  Because of this occurrence, individuals have not only become a commodity but  one’s value has become  based on exchange.  Translated, this means we now have a personality market tendency.  With a personality market, material success is based on personal acceptance by those who need the service and those who employ them.  This in turn facilitates more insecurity , superficial  interactions and roles with alienation-  dependency seeking protection which is authoritarianism.

Arthur Miller’s  Death of a  Salesman, provides an example of  a marketing personality placing those at risk, searching, needing and requiring  a protector. In the story, the protagonist is Willy  Loman. Willy becomes insecure  because of his inability to  successfully sell .He becomes unable to aggressively close the deal and anxiously awaits for the customer to say” yes.”His identity  is totally dependent  on  successfully making a living.He’s ambivalent regarding his employment  as he needs the job, yet is totally discouraged, resentful, depressed and down and out because of being fired.  He could not compete successfully with other salesmen.  In essence, he was a market failure economically and no longer able to sell himself or his product.  His  interpersonal relationships were superficial  and contributed to his  loss of identity and meaningless existence.Thus, insecurity ,identity, meaningless and depression result in wishing for acceptance,love and protection from an authoritarian father figure  as Willy unable to stand on his own two feet.

The battle between seeking an authoritarian father figure -dominant,protective, exploitative, lying, cheating, stealing, with little moral or ethical regard versus a humanistic democratic orientation -truth, objectivity,reason, rationality, fairness, love, respect  continues within  much insecurity and economic discrepancy.  A few words from those enlightened humanists : Lao-Tse  “True words always seem paradoxical but  No other form of teaching can take its place and He who conquers others is strong, He who conquers himself is mighty;”   Plato  “  Who then are the true philosophers?  Those  who are lovers of the vision of truth. And Hosea  “My people are destroyed by the lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.”

PS

Psychologically ,Insecurity, dependence,rivalry, ambivalence–sadomasochistic tendencies were commonalities exhibited within the families.  Two examples from a family of five pertaining to  older and younger  siblings.  The first example, the  younger sibling, because of his anger and resentment, hurled a pitchfork at his brother.  In the second, the older brother took his younger brother out to play football.so the older brother could run over younger brother - psychodynamic tendencies exhibited..

Reference

Fromm , Erich.  Man  For  Himself  An Inquiry Into The  Psychology  Of Ethics.

License to Kill

 

The news for  the past months has been brutal, sad and sickening. We are witnessing killing, hate,destruction, good and evil.One time, Russia was our ally and Japan, Germany and Italy were enemies. Things have changed.  The Russian invasion by Putin was despicable and his reasoning suspect.  Words like” war criminal,””crimes against humanity” and  “genocide” have  labeled Putin correctly. How can  war be classified other than being criminal?  This essay relates to the permission to  kill.

Early in man’s history,there was  evidence of  bashed skulls , human sacrifice, and jealous leaders  of a horde, killing and banishing a rival son for dominance. Cannibalism also was present. Thus, man killed man.

The Old Testament  identified one of man’s sin’s: “thou shall not kill.”   Unfortunately, that message is mixed and filled with ambivalence.  For example, the parting of the Red Sea  saved the Levites,in about 1350 BCE, but killed the Pharaoh Ramsey and his Egyptian army in pursuit.  Also, Noah and his family were saved but not the others with God’s great flood. Thus, the authoritarian father figure Jahve had a license to kill.Further, I did not forget about Pontius Pilate’s killing of Jesus.

Samson was a hero as he killed  bad Philistines.  However, Samson committed suicide when he destroyed the worshiping Philistines at their temple.  David killed Goliath with a slingshot and Esther and Judah Maccabee had their victory over the evil Syrian general. In addition to the  stories of good and bad, we find the passage in Leviticus “and a man who injures his countrymen……. eve for eye ,tooth  for tooth…. so it will be given to him” which is permission and justification to avenge.Yes,the license to kill was established historically.

 TV , movies ,video games and novels have done a masterful job with historical re-creations with themes of killing , good versus evil, and revenge.A few illustrations follow: Alexander, Spartacus, Cleopatra, Ben Hur and Dr. Zhivago.  Early action heroes starting with Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Earol Flynn, John Wayne, Gary Cooper and many others did their part. We now have  Daniiel Craig, Sylvester Stallone, Matt Damon, Dwayne Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, Daniel Day- Lewis, Al Pachino, Robert De Niro and many others doing the same. We see movie thrillers:  Avatar, Lord of the Rings,Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,Game of Thrones, Pulp Fiction, Gangs of New York, There Will Be Blood and Yellowstone, to name just a few doing likewise.  Do not forget about movies with Generals: Patton, MacArthur, Eisenhower, and of course George Washington-   killing galore  with the good guys winning at the end.  Sometimes  it’s hard to find morals- who is good from who’s bad. Do not forget the government’s message in the James Bond and Mission Impossible movies - you are on  your own -government is not responsible for your behavior. Marvel Comics has contributed with the   glorification of killing “ evil.”Please don’t forget the Winchester ‘73 movie with James Stewart and the famous rifle.Thus, license to kill has been beautifully modeled by the protagonists .

Government decides who can kill and who can't kill based on the laws and the Supreme Court.  In fact,our government even pays individuals to become experts at killing. Just yesterday, one Marine on TV stated  that he was helping train  Ukrainians in their fight against evil and being invaded.  He also said  that his tours in Afghanistan  were not what he was trained for and that he experienced dissonance while on tour in that war.

We also have capital punishment which is supposed to reduce killing.  Per capita state execution rate rankings  based on 2019 population per 100,000 residents  were:  28 .Washington 0.07  29. New Mexico  0.05 30. Oregon 0.05  31 California  0.03. Also,  statistical ranking  of gun deaths per capita by state:1.  Alaska 2.  Alabama 3.  Montana  4.  Louisiana 5.  Mississippi 6.  Missouri 7.  Arkansas 8.  Wyoming  9.  West Virginia 10.  New Mexico.  On the other hand, these states have the lowest gun deaths per capita and have the lowest gun ownership in the United States: 1.  Massachusetts 2.  New York 3.  New Jersey4.   Hawaii 5.  Rhode Island.

Forget morality, we  have  gone to license to kill by our police force.  Everytown  Research  and Policy in a titled  article “America’s  gun violence epidemic includes gun violence by police.”Statistically,  every year police. in America, shoot and kill more than 1000 people; 96%  of the deaths of civilians caused by police are with a firearm and Black people are  the victims  at a disproportionate rate-they are nearly 3 times more likely to be shot and killed by police than white people.A few days ago,In Grand Rapids, Michigan a black individual was lying facedown on the ground with the white police officer on his back. The officer  shot him in the back of the head.  The so-called reason for the initial stop of this black man had to do with some inconsistent license plate data.

Killing is done in all the states with some more and some less.  Gun ownership and killing is a symptom along with fear, poverty,education,and illness. This is our historical pattern : 1.  Horrible killings of children as in Sandy Hook Elementary and Marjory Stoneman Douglas  High School 2.  Public outrage with 24-7  TV coverage 3.  Political rhetoric about gun violence, background checks, automatic weapons legislation etc. 4.  Social media and other sources regarding Second Amendment rights, Government taking of guns etc. 5.  Ammunition and gun sales become all time highs. Thus,  scare the populace to increase demand so the demand  exceeds the supply.  In essence, profits as we witness capitalism at work.

Our government has the largest military in the world and the great majority of its budget is related to defense.  We go to war in order to protect our interests, which are related to resources regardless of location.  Generally, war is based on acquiring territory, resources and oppressing people .  Eisenhower pointed out the  power of the military-industrial complex within the capitalistic model.  We were told going to war in the Middle East was based on an enemy who had weapons of mass destruction.Earlier we had  sold him arms . Putin is our current enemy and Russia actually has weapons of mass destruction.So we are at war again by providing military and humanitarian aid. Some of our corporations continue to benefit. Do not forget the Second Amendment in our Constitution, which also is a license to kill.

In  summary, the history of man,in large part, is illustrated with hate,revenge, killing,war,destruction and misery.  We have glorified good versus bad with revenge. Politics has mastered the ability to increase fear in order to motivate its subjects.  Politics is also excellent at  providing solutions, as in gun purchase, as a remedy, as well as permission  given in the Second Amendment or license to kill. Civilization established  sin and then we created laws defining good and bad. Unfortunately, too many Homo sapiens act on their malignant impulses and kill.  Weapons are a good profit product in the capitalistic economic system. Just look at all the people fighting in various parts of the world and marvel at their weapons.  With that being said,it leads me to  John Lennon.  Although Lennon was not a saint,  for him to be murdered? Yes, Homo sapiens  by physiological and psychological design , have  acquired the potential to kill. Too many  Homo sapiens act on that potential and do kill. The county is limited from making society safer because of the driving force of capitalism, the constitution and our Republic. Morality  is dead, which means God is also.  We have undivided faith in Capitalism which we  currently worship .Now, a quote by Thomas Aquinas.  “ To one who has faith, no explanation  is necessary.. To one without faith, no explanation is possible;” and another by Martin Luther King Jr. “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

 A couple of considerations regarding school shootings: 1.  Deny media attention  for the shooter. Do not provide him 5 minutes of fame. The motivation of his hate of self and others are irrelevant. No relevance of his story to be gained  on TV for the public . His consequences  will be either being killed as in self suicide or finding justice with incarceration.  His contribution to society is hatred and should be ignored.  2.  Provide media attention to the victims, families; school, local politicians and community  for their plans, suggestions and implementation of programs for betterment.

Brady Sisyphus and the Phantom

 The idea for this week’s essay began with a morning walk with Linda and Teddy. Linda made a negative remark regarding aging that got my attention.  She  turned  to go home and I continued on my trail run.  I began thinking more about her comment. As a result,I apply an analogy with Sisyphus  and the song “The Point of No Return” from  The Phantom of the Opera regarding aging.

Sisyphus was a  figure in Homer’s Iliad and subsequently was punished by Zeus because he cheated death.  His punishment was to push an immense boulder up the hill, only for it to roll down every time he neared the top.  He had  to repeat this action for eternity.  Symbolically, the boulder represents the internal doubts ,fears and additional obstacles,  barriers,  challenges and all the stresses that seem to be in the way for goal attainment-reaching the hilltop. The song’s lyrics”: No  backward glances  Our games of make  believe are at an end” suggest the train has left the station and not to return.  These two symbols  highlight the aging process.

Homo sapiens grow and develop physically until certain physiological occurrences set in.  For example, we have what’s called the human growth hormone. HGH is a protein made up of a single chain of 191 amino acids.  The primary function of HGH in childhood and young adulthood is to help bones lengthen and expand. By the mid-20s, we are taller, with longer limbs, stronger bones etc.  The HGH hormone reaches its peak around the age of 20 and then steadily declines. DHEA is another hormone . It is produced by the adrenal glands and has been called the mother of all hormones because the body uses it to produce male and female sex hormones-testosterone , estrogen, progesterone as well as corticosterone.  The body's DHEA levels continue to rise up until roughly the age of 25 and then production drops off.  At age 65, Homo sapiens are producing only 10 to 20%% of the DHEA that  bodies manufactured  at age 20.  Also, estrogen is one of the most powerful homes in the human body.  Some 300 different tissues are equipped with estrogen and estrogen receptors. This means that estrogen levels in the body can affect a wide number of tissues and organs in the brain, liver, uterus, urinary tract, breast, skin and blood vessels.  Estrogen continues to produce well before the onset of menstruation and then begins to fall well before the onset of menopause  - earlt 30’s.

Testosterone is the male sex hormone.  Testosterone affects sex drive, fatigue, mood, osteoporosis, loss of weight and secondary sex characteristics.  After puberty, levels of testosterone drop  gradually in men.  Further, as many as 20% of men over age 50 have low levels of testosterone.  Once again, growth accelerates until a certain point and then begins to decline with gradual and continuous loss of strength, libido, etc.

Athletes are good examples for physical superiority.Consider Tom Brady, George Blanda , Joe Montana, Brett Favre ,Mohammed Ali,  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lebron James, Gordie Howe, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicholas and Tiger Woods, to name a few.

Brady is a current example.  Tom Brady retired for about a month and then announced he was returning to football.  Does Brady have enough economic power and prestige at this point?  His attractive wife is exceedingly wealthy and he’s been called the goat-greatest of all time.  Yes, it’s true that he’s  strong and has affiliative ,dominance, play and  exhibition needs.  Do not overlook his need for competition as they relate to needs of power, prestige, and  possession as well.

Competition is a struggle with others that take place in all spheres of life- social relations, play , economics, etc. Everyone is competitive to some level, but Brady is extremely competitive.  With competition, one measures self against others, even if there is no reason to do that.  Has Brady had enough success and prestige from winning?  He has accomplished so much and appears to be unique and exceptional.  He may actually believe that he cares more about the team, teammates, etc. not just about his own success. Tom may or may not be aware of this dynamic.  However, he has great frustration and sensitivity regarding losing.  His last competitive game was against the Rams and he lost.  It actually might be more important for him to defeat his rivals than to succeed.  Note he retired. while coach Arians  was the boss in Tampa Bay.  Was it a coincidence  that when Arians retired, Brady came back?  Perhaps Brady must prove again that he can win with or in spite of his coach.  Brady proved that point with former  coach Belichick.  After Belichick let him go.  Brady won the Super Bowl that year with a different team.  Further, the other side of competition is fear of failure.  Brady’s competitive needs are strong as well as his fear of failure. A few illustrations to combat his fear of failure are as follows: 1.  He watches  and studies game film compulsively.  2.  He treats his body like it’s a precious vessel.  He has experts on nutrition, physical therapy, conditioning, etc. 3.  He practices his skill repeatedly. Has Brady reached the point of no return?

On the cognitive intellectual level. We also see growth and then decline with words, understanding, intellectual and creativity.  Discoveries by Freud ,Einstein , Mme. Curry, Pasteur, Sabin and Lawrence Bragg were youngsters that did not exhibit long white hair , long white beard, or dressed in long robes.  What was once believed that  scientific discoveries that were not made prior to age 30 will not be made at all.  Today’s research found that scientists awarded the Nobel Prize have an average age now of 48.  Beethoven became less socially involved around 50 years of age and Mendelssohn’s famous works began when he was 17 and lasted until the age of 37.  These famous individuals reached “The point of no return.”

Cognitive memory has a period of growth and then declines as evidenced by findings in  the cerebral cortex.  The first decline is called normal forgetting.  Do not forget the brain reaches maximum size in the teens, and then shrinks in size until about  age 28.  With brain volume decline, there is continuous loss of neurons, connection with other neurons, reducing blood flow to the brain and then atrophy.  After normal forgetting, the next progressive stage is called age associative memory impairment.  The next stage or third stage is called mild cognitive impairment and the last  is the deadly stage called dementia.  Losses are progressive and strongly affected by aging.  Yes, we can say that a point of no return  becomes established for too many.

Recently Linda and I received our second booster shots for Covid-19.  While at the drugstore. I saw a number of cognitive memory supplements for sale regarding improving memory.  Unfortunately, the bottles did not describe the variables related to age, length of memory improvement, nor were semantic, declarative, long-term, short-term or other memory deficits mentioned.  Also , on the shelf were supplements regarding  improving strength.  Once again an absence of definition on the bottles nor what variables were going to be improved or how they were measured.  Just minor details omitted

With the Sisyphus analogy, I view aging as being affected by genetics, disease, accidents and lifestyle choices.  Aside from these givens, we  create goals and pursue them based on our needs and character. Regardless of the goals, there are challenges, barriers, roadblocks, interferences  from our own thinking mind and from external sources.  One challenge might be a bachelor’s degree, Master's degree or a PhD.  All types of obstacles and hurdles must be addressed  in order to succeed.

While aging the degree of hill slope changes.  We don’t have to win or come in first in the trail run. We can come in first in our age division.  Bolder dimensions  also change.  Winning a trailrain depends on age, tremendous mechanics, excellent training, a strong will etc. Age division winner is different and varies a lot.  However,a strong will and positive  reinforcements along the way are necessary.  Thus, the boulder and  hills change but expectations and motivation are the main key irrespective.

Tom Brady is not the same physiologically that he was while he was playing for the University of Michigan.  Intellectually, there may be a decline but his wisdom and experience regarding the game and conditioning facilitate his effectiveness.  Sure, he requires an offensive plan ,lineman ,skill position players, and a good defense as other variables.  Obviously he believes that he has not reached the point of no return.  He’s not playing for money but for power, possession, prestige, affiliation, play, dominance, exhibition and competition.  Being at  home with his family was not the same as receiving the adulation from fans, players and coaches–his extended family..

Tom Brady is likely to have difficulty this football year as a result of his ambivalence.  He announced his return to the game, suggesting earlier  some doubt about his ability to succeed at the highest level- fear of failure.  For the past 20 years or so, he accomplished an unbelievable amount of success, thus establishing a strong expectancy or expectation.  Then doubt surfaced, and he retired  . Shortly after announcing his retirement, he indicated he was coming back to the game.  

With ambivalence , mixed feelings  or conflict,  Brady, in his thinking, has to change the negatives into positives - to undo his thoughts, a reversal from the initial emotional reasons given to retire.  In other words, anxiety and stress  were created by his reversal.  The mind has to be able to control, reduce, and subdue the previous emotional based thoughts in order to bring back  harmony or balance.  In order to accomplish these cognitive gymnastics, the mind has protective thinking devices at its disposal called defense mechanisms.  A combination of defense mechanisms  were employed which allowed him to reduce his mixed feelings .His defense mechanisms and dissonance include–repression ,reaction formation, denial, rationalization in order to justify playing again.  Hopefully Brady can deal with his emotional conflict.  If not, Brady faces another hurdle regarding football.  When did Brady seriously ever not want to play quarterback?  Tom Brady, your window of opportunity is closing. Another point of view from the brilliant George Bernard Shaw  “We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”

References

Freud, Anna.  The Ego And  The Mechanisms Of  Defense.

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