Group Connections

We have heard many so-called solutions to our epidemic of violence ranging from raising the age to purchase weapons, eliminating the bump stock accessory, to adding more firepower to the burning inferno by arming teachers. The Parkland students encountered a real-life version regarding the learning of civics. They visited the state legislature in Tallahassee to find that the lawmakers had already voted not to deal with this important issue until next year. Those members voting not to deal with this issue reportedly received an A rating from the NRA, while those voting to deal with it this year ,didn’t do so well according to the NRA’s grading system. Another personality component related to this major problem is the motivational withdrawing of energy from others, as reflected in impaired attachments. This is coupled by difficulties with objective reasoning and less interest in the complexities that exist in the outside world. Examples of this personality component are often expressed verbally. The individual can talk incessantly coupled with not being open to another. One may verbalize about his all-encompassing knowledge about a whole range of topics; his superior wit, brain and intelligence; his prowess; his wealth or acquisitions; his superior family; and his famous friends are some examples. These are simply the objects of his attachment and are mechanisms to inflate a vulnerable ego. The individual identifies and becomes part of a group that provide safety , a sense of belonging to provide relief from feelings of aloneness and fear from the dangerous and immoral world. In addition, engage in the distortion of rational judgment. There’s also a prejudicial accompaniment. My clan, my religion, my race, my nation, my political party, my team is greater, better, more honorable, more superior, more fair, or more righteousness than the other. This inflation is in the absence of reason and rational judgment and is based on consensus, as there are many others in the particular group or groups. Once again, everything outside or different from” the group” is undervalued, perceived as dangerous, immoral or corrupt, and simply bad and not worthy. For those that are economically and culturally poor, with very little realistic opportunity to better their lives, pride can be gained by belonging to a particular group. Since the world is dangerous, unpredictable with violent others on the loose, one can experience a false sense of security by obtaining a weapon and belonging to that particular group which continues to promote and disseminate fear and anxiety about losing that killing device. The one that you’re going to kill is unworthy, violent, without morals, mentally ill or UN American. You are simply protecting your family for survival. Yes, survival is a necessary and an important biological function. In this case, this group essentially symbolizes violence and has tremendous input with many of our political representatives. Unfortunately, choosing a group is not necessarily based on rational judgment, but is based upon something lacking. PS I entered the Salmon Falls 50 K last Saturday with my friend Jonathan and his two teenage sons. I significantly smashed last year’s finishing time, as did Elijah age 16.

More about Violence Part 2

At the other extreme, we have an opposing personality orientation that values love of life as in Jesus Christ and Mother Teresa. With these individuals, there’s a strong tendency to preserve life and to battle against sickness, disease and death. With this dynamic, there’s also exists a tendency to integrate, to unite, and to fuse with different and opposite entities. Growth is dependent upon having a future. With growth, we have an attraction to the process of life, which is to construct rather than to retain; experiencing adventure as opposed to living with certainty. In other words, life approaches the functional and the individual strives to mold, to influence by love, rationality and reason. In essence, we have a duality between the motivation to kill, hurt and disrespect self and others; verses, the drive to love, respect and give beyond oneself. With this duality of poles, we have significant degrees, mixtures, and blending’s of the two extremes. Aspects of the duality can be expressed not only in physical behavior, but in conversation, tweets, slips of the tongue, thoughts, attitude, feelings, dreams, and fantasy. Sometimes one trend of the duality becomes more dominant over the other. In fact it can even extinguish the other. Negatively, it’s like a hardening of the heart in that the love of death seems to be logical and a normal response per one’s life experience, which is essentially a passion to destroy humanity. Further, this negative aspect in man can become the dominant force and when that happens, it becomes malignant and psychopathological. Perhaps, instead of focusing on the typical political talking points regarding the Florida shooter, we should be focusing on the contradictory aspects of the nature of man. Long-live death as a norm should not be our motto.

More about Violence

Currently, there’s conversation about guns, violence and killing. For some, there’s talk about their Second Amendment rights; fear of losing that ability to purchase weapons; and for others placing blame on the FBI, police force, school administration or on others. Why not utilize the clinical understanding of the underlying drive or orientation provided by Sigmund Freud and Erich Fromm? We know there are many mechanisms that get in the way of viewing underlying motivational dynamics. Often, Individuals would rather rationalize, project, than look in the mirror, face-to-face. Guns were developed in order to kill people and for survival. These weapons have been developed over centuries - from a single shot to a rapid-fire weapon. I am talking about loss of life, destruction, tearing of flesh, implementing pain and suffering, spilling the blood of others and agony to a community. At one extreme, we have the Manson’s, the Koresh’s, the Paddock’s, the Roof’s, the Hitler’s, and the Stalin’s. Their personality characteristics suggest they were attracted to power, control, and multiple killing. Force was used to humiliate, to destroy, coupled with an unleashed willingness to kill. Not only that, this orientation or pattern became a way of life. It was the powerful over the powerless and the killers and the killed. Their base was afraid and preferred to admire, to follow rather than face the truth. With faulty lenses, they perceived these ruthless types being great, as protectors, not as killers. Further, these sadomasochistic killers craved predictability, certainty, control, along with being orderly, possessive and pedantic. The individuals that were destroyed were not considered of value, nor human beings but rather as statistics, or things. These savage killers worshiped the gods of force, the attraction to death, sadism, and desire to transfer the organic into inorganic. To Be Continued

The Epidemic of Violence

We have had another example of violence in our country. Unfortunately, this also took place in a school setting; and again in Florida. It seems these murderous acts occur over and over. It should be clear by now, that we need to do more than pray. Socioeconomically, in the world, we do not have a monopoly on poverty, lowercase status, employment deficits, political inefficiency, or a deplorable educational system. We do not have a monopoly on mental health issues such as parental loss, family breakups, depression, anxiety and thought disorders. On the other hand, we lead the world in the acquisition of assault weapons, along with serious drug addictions. Some questions regarding this terrible act by this sadistic, narcissistic, young 19-year-old. At the moment, we don’t know whether or not this act was reactive and rooted in fear? Was individual getting back at this population over some wrong done to him? Killing 17 and wounding over14 because of being expelled from school seems to be a superficial explanation. Was he fearful and in danger from someone at the school, so he reacted violently? In other words, was revenge a motive or attempt to restore his self-esteem? Was the shooters faith a determining factor in that he was let down by parents, sweetheart, teachers, or other members of society? Was he suffering from some physical or neurological condition? I’m sure with all the attention that this young boy will receive, that a profile and motive or motives will be produced. That profile will not protect us from future acts of violence. We require more sensible ideas regarding minimizing destruction. It’s not a Second Amendment right to have a military killing weapon. Nowhere in the Second Amendment does it say we should not have background checks. Nor does it say in the Second Amendment that citizens should kill other children or students. We’re not going to end violence, but we might be able to limit its damages and live in a safer country. These do nothing, lawmakers should be replaced. Current legislation favor the gun lobbies, but not US citizens.

Finding Fairness

The word fair or fairness was recently expressed in conversations with friends. “How fair is that?” or “that doesn’t seem fair to me” are two examples. Fair is defined “in accordance with the rules or standards, legitimate and with synonyms: just, equitable, honest, upright, honorable, and trustworthy.” Certainly there’s a difference between how a king views fair compared to common folk. King Solomon, when confronted by two women regarding the ownership of a baby, told the women he would cut the baby in half and give each a half child . The birth mother replied, “No, give the entire baby to that woman” Wise King Solomon then knew whom the real mother was. Fair falls between the eyes of the beholder. For instance, two adults have intercourse and an embryo is conceived. Was that being fair to the embryo? What if one set of individuals come from high status, upper 1% economically, a certain religion, a particular country, a white race or other combination of socioeconomic factors compared to individuals from a low level of socioeconomic conditions, etc.? What about the DNA, or genetic level differences between the individuals? At conception, there can be profound differences associated with these significant facts. During time in the womb, a mother may smoke, drink, take drugs and have experiences with other environmental stresses that affect embryonic development. Obviously, the embryo has no control over the many factors that affect its development. One can easily argue about the idea of fairness. With birth, the infant is then subjected to parenting whims without any control. How often and how soon does the baby receive nourishment or get held when crying? Is it fair to the mother that she bears most of the feeding, diapering, and nurturing responsibility? What about the number and degree of positive reinforcements given compared to the number and degree of punishments given within parenting parameters? How was fairness determined in this arena? Being fair is usually defined, determined and implemented by the one that has the power and control. Education begins and there is more variability as far as the competence of teachers, reputation and excellency of the school and school district. Once again, fairness is determined by some other. Then we have coaches, and many other adults defining and determining the meaning of fairness per their own interpretation. The same process continues within the world of work with all the employment and salary situations that arise. Don’t forget about the perception of fairness within the marriage union. Society and culture has so many laws, rules and regulations that are administered and interpreted and enforced by some or a few. As a result, fairness or its absence can only be determined by perception. Perception is the result of cognitive and emotional dynamics. One’s cognitive and emotional makeup is determined by the entire mosaic of influences beginning from conception to the end of life. Unless you are the king -emperor, or can define, create and administer fairness, maybe fairness is simply a fantasy, and not applicable. PS Jimmy Gaoppolo, Tom Brady’s backup for most of the 2017 season and then traded , agreed to a $137.5 million contract or 27.5 million per year over five years with the San Francisco 49ers. This makes him the highest paid NFL player per year.

Trouble Removing Excess Weight?

Tips for dealing with excessive weight were found in the February 5, 2018 edition of Time magazine. The following strategies have worked, and can assist you. 1. Eat a big breakfast. A study in the Journal of American College of Cardiology reported that people who skipped breakfast were more likely to be overweight and coupled with dangerous plaque buildup in their arteries. We don’t want that. Hormonal imbalance contributes to people consuming unhealthy foods during the day. I prefer vegetables, fruits, and a yogurt smoothie for breakfast. 2. Drink one less soda per week. Cutting back on soda was associated with gaining less weight. I admit that I look forward for a Coke or Dr. Pepper after running a 50 K trail run. I’m looking for quick recovery. 3. Eat like an Italian. The Mediterranean diet has many health benefits from treating acid reflex to improving cholesterol levels, and even extending lifespan. In fact, long-term studies of people on Mediterranean diets were found to less likely develop cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, kidney disease and breast cancer. Counting calories was not necessary either. It’s suggested that its’s beneficial to sit down with friends or family while eating. Choose your friends wisely. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, olive oil and lean sources of animal protein are good choices. 4. Exercise to keep weight off. Burn calories to keep the weight off as long as you do enough of it. I agree totally. 5. Get a good night’s sleep .Seven hours a night was recommended .Consuming less sugar was a reason stated. Avoiding caffeine, electric devices, establishing a relaxing bedtime routine and not going to bed, full or hungry are other considerations. The next three strategies are easier to incorporate. Notice, any behavioral or routine change is difficult to accomplish. Repetition compulsion is one explanation. 6. Eat more slowly. Chewing your food well, increases the number of calories your body burns during digestion, compared with eating fast, which barely burns any calories and has been linked to an increased risk for metabolic syndrome. Moreover, a cluster of health problems are attributed to excess abdominal fat. 7. Dump the fake sugar. Drinking one or more artificially sweetened beverages a day, resulted in a higher risk for weight gain, obesity, diabetes and other health issues. Further, they also make people crave sweeter foods; and that interferes with the way the body metabolizes real sugar. I add natural Stevia for my morning coffee. 8. Don’t worry about workout weight gain. Often, when starting a new workout routine, you may put on a few pounds. Water is generally behind most short-term weight changes. And it’s important to prevent dehydration. Keep hydrated. If you are experiencing more energy and your clothes are fitting better, go for it. Remember, keep moving. PS For my reward after completing Saturday’s difficult Jed Smith 50 K, Tony and I visited Baskin-Robbins. Yes, prior, I downed a Coke.