Pleasure or Happiness or Well-Being

 

Recently Putin stated “in life there is no happiness, only the specter of it.” Maybe, Putin, politically, was referring to Jefferson’s “pursuit of happiness.”  Putin likely meant that our people are pursuing mass killing, political divide, racism, hatred, acquisition, exploitation etc. instead of happiness. He made a valid point. Is happiness a ghost, phantom or illusion? My take on happiness follows.

Brief comments regarding pleasure and happiness are as follows: 1. In the Old Testament, the word happiness does not exist but the word joy does .Joy refers to rejoice and has a spiritual meaning expressing God’s goodness “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Also, in the prophetic literature “then there will the virgins rejoice in the dance, both young man an old together: for I will turn their morning into joy.” Jeremiah (31:13) 2.  Aristotle, a free Greek with slaves, stated happiness is the highest goal of human life. Happiness can be achieved with the fulfillment of meeting needs and the activity of reason that is unique only to man. In order to obtain the experience of happiness, one had to achieve virtue which is the ability to moderate desires. In other words knowledge, reason and controlling passions are required. Do not forget that man’s extradonary use of rationalization and denial interferes with reason. 3. Aristippus, another Greek, stated that life’s meaning is unlimited bodily pleasure. Happiness, for him, was the sum total of pleasures, especially in the moment and absence of pain.  Do not forget, for some, dominating, exploiting, subjecting, and killing is sadistic and pleasurable. 4. Epicurus added that pure pleasure is the absence of fear since achieving pleasure is generally followed by unpleasure. True pleasure was serenity of the mind along with the ability, prudence and foresight to reject immediate gratification.  I agree and will comment later. 5. Spinoza believed that joy was the result of virtuous living; happiness was a virtue itself and related to potency which means achieving man’s potential. Thus, pleasure was not a primary mode of action but a companion of productive activity. That makes sense. 6. For Hobbes, happiness is essentially a continuous progress from one greed to another. Yea for capitalism. 7. Buddha, was a prince and had every pleasure and luxury that he could possibly want. He discovered that having and consuming resulted in unhappiness and suffering. For Buddha, Nirvana, was a state of joy, serenity and peace of mind.  No doubt, Jefferson was significantly influenced by the Greek philosophers. He would likely have realized that pleasure is subjective and limited to some while happiness is conjunctive with the good but difficult to obtain. Further, Jefferson’s idea, were limited at best. It was not based on an understanding of unconscious motivations and the dynamics of character. Yes, the pursuit of happiness sounded good at the time.

Interestingly, the words happiness and well-being cannot be found in a “Dictionary of Psychology” nor a “Psychiatric Glossary.” However, that does not mean that there is an absence of research. There is  research that suggests that  people  who score higher on well-being scales, have better social and work relationships, make more money, live longer, have healthier lives, and are more contributory societal citizens. Some, even refer to serotonin as a “happiness chemical.” Serotonin increases feelings of well-being, confidence and belonging. Humans are social animals and being around others is what causes happiness for many of us.” However, that can be a trap as there are many egoistic, sadistic, irrational and hateful Homo sapiens. More than likely, these individuals have no unconscious awareness of their unhappiness.

An economics professor, at Harvard, teaches a class on happiness. Happiness, according to this author, was too vague, too subjective and contained too many competing ideas to be adequately researched. That didn’t matter, he provided three equations for well-being: 1. Subjective well-being was composed of genes (can’t do much about that), circumstances (numerous and very difficult to quantify) and habits. I agree. 2. Habits are composed of student’s consistent faith (differences in faith and philosophies), family, friends (vague and we know that individuals relate to each other at different times aggressively and/or caringly} and work (vague and self-report) 3. Satisfaction equals what you have divided by what you want.

Difficulties for any research, are simply the operational definition of terms. The terms have to be concrete and measurable. Often, questionnaires are employed. One major problem with questionnaires are the various individual meanings applied to the questions. We’re not sure that we are always measuring the same item or idea. Some questions cannot be simply answered accurately. Individuals through the use of denial and rationalization generally do not see themselves very honestly. Translated this means, that the averages collected on the scale are just means for that one biased population studied. Therefore, it’s difficult to generalize the results to the population at large. In essence, we should be measuring not just a state of the mind or certain behaviors but the entire character of an individual. More simply put, a cursory response, on a questionnaire, of believing oneself happy, when it’s not the quality of the well-being of the whole person, is an illusionary thought and personal fiction. It is simply unrelated to genuine happiness or well-being.

A more thorough evaluation of well-being can be accomplished through in-depth interviews. However, that research is costly and time-consuming. As a result, questionnaires, reading of biographies, other opinions etc. are often used. On a side note, Freud’s psycho dynamic theory was largely based on his in depth knowledge of his patients and their case histories.

Turning to our capitalistic society, it has been driven toward private property (in Latin to deprive of), wealth, profit, and power. It seems, this drive state has been with us forever. In fact there is no consistent or patriotic way not to think about the motivational power of economics.  It’s about the accumulation, possession of money and all the items that can be possessed. It’s about having, accumulating and increasing by owning and possessing. What’s mine is mine and don’t touch it. One can fulfill that passion of acquiring by not only owning items, but by owning living beings like wife, children, pets etc. We can even acquire and keep increasing our friends, lovers, ideas and objects like art, books, music etc.

Many are expected, while in high school, to think about attending college in order to get a degree in order, primary purpose, to acquire wealth. Of course, money is supposed to result in happiness. Research puts a limit on the amount that supposedly equals happiness and even suggest there’s a diminishing return. Roughly, $ 75,000-$100,000 is supposed to be the magic number.

It should be stated, that this so-called seeking happiness which is the satisfaction of fulfilling any desire, is simply egotism, selfishness and greed. The system of generating and acting on irrational or false needs and harmful pleasures do not lead to harmony and peace but mental illness. Countries go to war in order to acquire resources regardless of the consequences. Profit is king and the hell with the workers. So what if they’re making minimum wage, crazy work hours in non-meaningful work. Hire them part-time so one doesn’t have to pay their health insurance etc.

Let’s take a full-time worker as an example. That worker generally has to commute to work from home. That could be a car or public transportation. How many people experience happiness, well-being or joy during the commute especially in heavy traffic?  How many people experience happiness, well-being or joy when making car payment, car maintenance, car insurance, getting a driver’s license etc.? How many people experience happiness, well-being or joy in a working environment sitting at a desk or workstation, taking orders or being supervised? In other words, the work time experience might equal over a third to a half of waking hours during a five-day week. No wonder, many count the days to their retirement. Many distort and rationalize their work experience and call it “happiness.” If one calls their work experience “unhappiness,” the dissonance would be great and would have a terrible paralyzing emotional effect. Thank denial, rationalization and the unconscious for not being able to see oneself realistically. However, observers witness fiction and reality more clearly.

We have a high rate of divorce which suggests limited happiness at best. Maybe happiness occurs when there is a divorce. Even marriage, without divorce, does not always equate in much happiness. Statistics on depression, suicide, (drug, alcohol and obesity are harmful pleasures) also translate into short term pleasure- happiness. Buying guns and ammunition do not equate, contrary to rationalization and fiction, in much happiness only in false security and hate. Physical illness, Dr. appointments, surgery insurance coverage hassles(21 million Americans hold $46 billion of medical dept.-No succor here) also do not bring much happiness nor does natural disasters like fire, hurricane, heat and cold waves, flooding etc.

The things we acquire such as home, car, electrical gadgets, household items, etc. are dead, not alive. They can be acquired, they can be stolen, can lose its value and be easily replaced. It’s an illusion of permanence. Items are made to be replaced and it’s important to the economy for them to be replaced.

Let’s use an example of millionaire NBA players. Currently, they state they are seeking an NBA championship. During their playoff series, they are asked, by reporters, about the game, why they did what they did etc. They don’t talk about the happiness of winning the game but instead say that they will look at game tape tomorrow and work on improving or getting better for the next scheduled game.  Any happiness was short-lived at best. When I finished my 100 mile Western states run, I smiled for the victory pictures, had a coke and went home. When I arrived home, I puked and could not make it up the second flight of stairs to bed because my quads and hamstrings were shot. During the run, I don’t remember experiencing happiness but I do remember feeling relieved and satisfied when I crossed the finish line. I valued my need for achievement with accomplishment.

Putin made a positive point. Pursuing happiness, finding pleasure, acquiring things, can be a self-defeating journey resulting in unhappiness. Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs acquired, exploited, dominated, and controlled their physical world. I would call them competitive geniuses but not the happiest people in the world.

Happiness, according to the great philosophers of the world, was an important motivational factor for man. In psychology, Freud discovered the dynamics of mental health and mental illness. Later, Maslow identified the concept of self-actualization as a motivational factor. Although, he did not deal with happiness he did identify 18 characteristics pertaining to the highest form of functioning in human beings.  However today, there has been much social science research pertaining to happiness and well-being. In fact, there exists popular college courses on the science of happiness.  Does this suggest there are many unhappy college students?

Happiness is an emotion in which one experiences feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense pleasure. When I was in private practice, I found that individuals had great difficulty differentiating feelings from thoughts. In everyday language, I continue to hear the words “I feel …” In essence, individuals express their thoughts, ideas and opinions and not their feelings or internal sensations. So any questionnaire asking somebody how they feel likely will not elicit a feeling but an attitude or belief. In other words, a pseudo-belief in pleasure and happiness is just that when it’s not part of one’s insight into self as well a characteristic of character. It’s just words, simply put, of self-deception and illusion.

In spite of the natural disasters, mortality of body and the insanity within our socioeconomic and political culture, the Greek philosophers, Spinoza, Hobbes, Buddha, Freud, Maslow and others thought a lot about pleasure, happiness, well-being, mental health and self-actualization. With that being said, there are numerous recipes for pleasure, happiness and well-being but there is not one guaranteed magic bullet, pill, religious idea or philosophical construct that fits the uniqueness for each living human.  Employing an id, ego and superego framework, the following is a path for human activity without a guarantee. Our culture has created and produced a plethora of short-term pleasures and/or desires. Incorporating the id, let’s distinguish between psychic tensions, needs or desires that are rational like achievement and irrational psychic tensions, needs or desires that are irrational like greed, alcohol, power, possession and prestige. Thus, it’s important to be able to moderate, delay gratification, discriminate and control acting out the irrational passions. The pleasures or irrational passions are easily obtained and contribute and facilitate an escape from the conflicts, craziness and contradictions within society. When employing our ego, we encounter hate, false information, paranoid ideas and normative lying on a daily basis. For productive reasoning, one has to have the ability to synthesize, integrate and accommodate information while not acting on the false narrative or fiction. This process or ability is related to conscience or superego. Having virtue, knowing and behaving( choices and decisions ) about what is right versus what is wrong, differentiating between a good life and evil life, and exhibiting humanistic values are required and necessary. We have to apply virtue behavior to ourselves and to others. Further, it is necessary to find intrinsic meaning in life; engaging in competitive physical behavior; and enriching one’s emotional life by mutual physical contact, within the behaviors of caring, sharing and trusting. Simply put, pleasure, happiness and well-being are not ends in themselves. The means to the ends are extremely important. The above are ideas likely necessary for dealing effectively with the art of living. When one makes full use of his ability, which is demonstrated, by choices, decisions and experiences that furthers growth and development, one is more likely to reach a fulfilling emotional state. Per David Bowie “It Ain’t Easy,” Einstein “Once You Stop Learning, You Start Dying,” and Epicurus “He Who Is Not Satisfied With A Little, Is Satisfied With Nothing.”

Reference: Fromm, Erich. Man for Himself. Henry Holt and Company. New York.

Humanism and Altruism

 

 

I am pleased to acknowledge a humanistic economic model that’s fully functioning in Mondragon, Spain per a January 3, 2021 edition of The New York Times. In this humanistic economic model, a number of cooperatives were established. Cooperatives were composed of a number of businesses like grocery chains and various manufacturers. In this arrangement, the businesses humanized the workers working conditions. They did what? They fostered a Democratic process in which the workers were owners and voted democratically on wages, working conditions, hours, profit sharing, pensions etc. This humanistic socialistic principle was founded, in the 1940’s by Jose M. Arizmendiarrieta, a priest .This model counters the ridiculous, unfair and exploitive conditions found in neoliberalism. In our country, for example chief executives, in the largest 350 companies, earned about 320 times the amount of a typical worker. As contrasted, a chief executive in a Bosque model made about 6 times as much as their workers.

These Spanish workers know that they benefitted from sacrifices, which in turn strengthened their businesses. The priest viewed cooperative principles as a key for uplifting living standards. There is nothing wrong with this humanistic economic model.  In our country, The Democracy Collaborative was founded in 2000 at the University of Maryland. This model was implemented In Cleveland in 2010. The organization’s goal is to create a foundation for a democratic economy built upon liberty, community and prosperity for all. Within this form of altruism, self-esteem and concern for others increases.

As far as altruism goes, a number of wealthy millennial’s, in our country, are dissatisfied with the status and the disastrous negative effects of neoliberalism capitalism. They are altruistic in their giving per an article in the November 29, 2020 edition of The New York Times. These young are the recipients of the largest generational shift of assets in American history-the great wealth transfer. Tens of millions of dollars are expected to pass between these generation types in the next decade alone. The money, like all wealth in the United States, is concentrated in the upper brackets. These millennial’s, in the last six years, have taken the Democratic Socialists of America, once a fringe organization, to an average membership age of 60. This organization has national chapters in every state with a total membership of nearly 100,000 with most under age 35.  One millennial stated my money is mostly stocks which means it came from underpaying and undervaluing working-class people. Not only that, it’s impossible to disconnect from the primary economic legacies of indigenous genocide and slavery. She added, once I realized that, I could not imagine doing anything with my wealth besides redistributing it to these communities.

A professor added  these wealthy millennial’s are inheriting from a mammoth redistribution away from the working masses, creating a superrich tiny minority at the expense of a fleeting American dream that is now out of reach to most people. Another group called Resource Generation is a nonprofit group that focuses on organizing wealthy young people as a result of their unearned privilege. Other groups like Grassroots International and Thousand Currents are other philanthropic networks working for facilitating altruistic improvement to others.

Altruism is a concern for happiness and welfare of other human beings .It seems to have been lost in the dog eat dog world of economic competition. Altruism is very different than the survival of the fittest. The ideas of altruism can be found in the writings of all the major religions. It counters the neoliberal ideas of capitalism which is based on the greed, accumulation, possession and selfishness. It’s an attitude of egoism.

To be clear, altruism benefits both the giver and the receiver. Feelings of empathetic concern are contrasted with feelings of personal distress which compel people to reduce their own unpleasant emotions. People with empathetic concern help others in distress even when that exposure to the solution could easily be avoided. Those lacking in empathetic concern, find it difficult to avoid helplessness when exposed to another’s suffering. Altruism can be expressed through helping, comforting, sharing(powerful, unites and its importance can be found in religion, politics and philosophy), cooperating, philanthropy, and community service. Those wealthy millennial’s express effective altruism as they work to help people less fortunate than themselves. Yes, there is hope.

PS

The theory behind alienation, yes, it’s an actual theory with hypotheses, is irrefragable, and previous research suggests that the workers in Spain would not meet the criteria for alienation ,egoism and exploitation. A study, for example, comparing them to Save Mart workers would.  Would the workers in Spain be happier with self, relate to others more productively, employ higher levels of reasoning with a higher functioning conscience and be better adjusted  than our workers at Save Mart?

I would welcome the task to conduct research evaluating the mental health of the workers in the Democratic model in Spain with the Save Mart workers in our country. I would control the variables for gender, education level, marital status, and age. Measures on variables that I’d be interested in include: 1. Perception of reinforcements; internal- external locus of control 2. Family cohesiveness, child and spousal abuse 3. Moral development and criminal behavior 4.  Altruism 5.  Egoism 6. Measures of attachment, depression and anxiety 7. Empathy 8. Worker absenteeism, disability, morale 9. Measures of self-esteem, happiness and well-being 10. Attitude towards politics, religion and work.

Greed and Craving

 

Why do we have a multitude of exploitative manmade problems facing our nation? For instance, when it comes to income in the United States, according to the Federal Reserve in 1990, white households owned 90.7% of household wealth in United States whereas black households owned 3.8% and Hispanic households owned 2.1%. These numbers have changed little over the past 30 years. White households now own 85.5% of wealth in 2019, black households own 4.2% and Hispanic households own 3.1%. Income inequality in the US is the greatest compared to all other 67 nations according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Moreover the wealth gap between America’s richest and poorest families have more than doubled from 1989 to 2016. Further, middle-class incomes have grown at a slower rate than upper tier incomes over the past five decades. This disquisition focuses on the disastrous effects of neoliberalism capitalism from a psychological and physical health point of view.

Sigmund Freud identified the impact of parents on the psychological development of their offspring. Subsequently, Neo-Freudian Erich Fromm in” Escape from Freedom “penetrated socioeconomic conditions in society that contribute to man’s character.

In our economic system, capital and wealth are the master drive of economic actions. Within these actions are drives for power, success, prestige and material gains. They become ends in themselves. To pursue, to amass, to have, to accumulate capital and things become the pursuit regardless of cost. With accumulation results in possession and ownership. Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” comes to mind. Fences, as it protects ownership, become barriers that separate and result in aggression between individuals.

Examples of the irrational are found in clichés.  What’s mine is mine, new is better than old, and its state-of-the-art are illustrations. Research has found that money alone does not bring happiness or well-being. However, greed and drive to have, to possess is an irrational passion fueled, chased, pursued and expertly reinforced by our society. It is our society.

 We are told to attend college yet, student loan debt in the United States totals 1.68 trillion and grows over 6 times faster than the nation’s economy. 42.3 million Americans with federal student loan debt each owe an average of $36,520 for their federal loans. Going to the right college or university is too expensive for most. Being left out means just that-left out.

Another example of exploitation can be found in the Fortune 500 companies of which 90 pay no Federal income tax. Taxes are for whom? 

During an earlier time, there was skilled labor and the laborer determined and had control over the selling of his merchandise. He was alive and productive. Today, things are very different in the work world.  Huge corporations are amassing more and more capital. The profits are put back into the Corporations with huge CEO monetary packages, while worker income levels have either decreased or become stagnant. In fact, corporations do not want to pay “benefits “to their workers so they hire them part-time. For example, Save Mart Supermarkets has 250 locations in Northern California and Northern Nevada. It has 23,000 employees and had a $4.6 billion revenue in 2019. When hiring a part-time worker, the new worker is encouraged and directed to apply for food stamps assistance.

Some of my friends have been or are employed by corporations or the State of California. Everyone, when near retirement, counted the number of days for their release. It’s like they had a sentence and were waiting for their freedom. Although happy to be employed, with great benefits compared to unemployed, they were neither excited nor fulfilled with their job. They were dependent and a cog in a large wheel that continues to go round and round. Being bored, non-fulfilled and helpless in their situation, they had no control and submit by going along with salary; hours of employment; benefits; time off , vacation length ; and working conditions that has been decided by anonymous sources. Their world, in their place of employment, is very small compared to the gigantic anonymous system in which they exist.

Within neoliberalism capitalism, the individual is not only expected, a contradiction, to be the master of his fate but also expected to become successful. Is work and employment success based on intelligence, diligence, education, courage, thrift, luck etc.? Or, is it just an illusion that’s propagated by the powerful system? The worker has become more dependent on the system that discriminates according to color of skin. In our society, success has been defined by the amount of capital accumulated and the number of items able to be acquired for possession. However, amassing capital in today’s society is related to the laws of the market; the profit motive; corporation greed; technical improvements; artificial intelligence; and in the hands of the employer. It’s the employer that has the power. No longer is the worker the captain of his ship as there’s too many variables in which he can’t control. He is the alienated captive slave dependent irrespective of the cliché rising from rags to riches.

The rich powerful elite control the corporations, political and educational system, the schools and colleges, the church, the press, the theater etc. The rich have the prestige with egoism in the pursuit of their own self interests. Their personal goals are stronger than their moral considerations. However, selfishness is not self-love and greed is a bottomless pit. It can never be satisfied nor filled. It’s not getting enough, missing something, and being deprived and therefore entitled. These individuals are clearly not fond of themselves and exhibit a deep disliking of self. They lack inner security or satisfaction. They are alienated and narcissistic. Narcissism and selfishness overcompensates for the loss of basic self-love. They can neither love self nor others. To compensate, they have created a social self. One’s social self is a role the individual plays in society. Realistically it’s a disguise for a true or authentic social functioning in that society. Further, modern selfishness and greed is rooted in the development of their real self and in full view of others.

Within our achievement oriented economic system, it’s common to experience anxiety and/or fear accompanied by the strong drive and need for affiliation and affection. With this dynamic, the need for power, prestige and possession becomes activated as a result. It’s the component of obtaining reassurance against the anxiety which, in large part, is a result of the external stressful circumstance of neoliberalism capitalism. One can obtain this reassurance when one loosens the contact with others by fortifying one’s own position. Also, coupled with the reassurance against this anxiety is a means of releasing repressed hostility. In essence, the outcome or outgrowth of the need for power results in the behavior of dominating, controlling, being in charge of all others and in all situations with authority. It’s a bossy attitude of getting one’s own way as well as always being right and never apologizing or giving in.

With the desire for prestige, the individual has to be admired by all and everyone. Of course, acquiring wealth gives that sense of power and prestige. Further, one’s attitude and behavior tends to be dismissive and vindictive. With the need for possession, is the drive not only of acquiring money but also exhibiting a possessive and depriving attitude toward others. Cheating, stealing from, manipulating others are typical and common behaviors as well. This individual has to be the winner at all costs and cannot tolerate being a loser. Clearly, these needs are not only examples of egoism but examples of moving against others with the behavioral tendency to domineer, humiliate, exploit, and deprive. On the other hand, these individuals have a great earning capacity and turn those irrational behaviors into profitable channels. The expression “the one with the most toys wins” fits here. It’s up to you to figure out the ridiculousness of that statement.

Today’s worker is angry, alienated, insignificant, alone, conforms, discouraged and powerless to control and master his future. It’s not surprising that many have not done well in the system. The rich and powerful have created the Coliseum so we can watch brutality between players, teams etc. They have created numerous other avenues to escape like movies, TV, video games, alcohol, drugs, “exotic vacations,” assault weapons, fast cars etc.

Take the David vs. Goliath Biblical story and Bond movies that have the same theme repeated over and over again. One individual with a hand gun against the magna forces of evil and hate. But with a gorgeous female, one individual succeeds at the end and saves the world in the process. Little guy or underdog beats big guy that’s hates. Just as in real life?

Some of the consequences of being psychologically cut off, being self-destructive, feeling helpless to make change, being discouraged or stuck, being dependent and/or trapped in the system, and limited opportunity for future are related to the following statistics: 1. 2013, 26% of male deaths in the US were due to heart disease; nearly 33% of men 20 years and older had hypertension; and close to 36% of men 20 years and older were obese 2. In 2020, there were 20.6% drug deaths per 100,000 population; 7,350 premature deaths before age 75 per 100,000 population; and 14.8% suicide deaths per 100,000. 3. Covid-19 is the third leading cause of death for persons aged 45 through 84 years; individuals 45 years of older are more likely to die from Covid- 19 than from chronic lower respiratory disease, transport accidents, drug overdose, suicide or homicide.

 The demand for psychotherapy services has exploded. The demand for depression treatment, prior to the pandemic, has tripled. Lower economic and social resources, and greater stressors such as job loss are some factors contributing for depression. In 2020, there were nearly 20,000 Americans killed by gun violence with Alabama and Alaska leading the way. In 2019 there were 85,688 liver disease deaths among individuals ages 12 and older; 43.1% involved alcohol. The US adult obesity rate stands at 42.4% and the national adult obesity rate has increased by 26% since 2008.

Yes, one can argue about the importance of the mind-body dynamic and treatment. In our “healthcare” system, third-party payers or insurance companies dictate coverage. Keep in mind that profit for the company is the primary goal and not the health of the insured.  As far as psychotherapy reimbursement is concerned, the insurance company defines coverage based on “medical necessity.” Translated, this means if the presenting problem can be treated with a pill, and limited to a few sessions, psychotherapy benefits can be covered. For instance, symptoms of depression and anxiety are considered medical necessity while symptoms related to marital relationships, school under achievement, employment issues are not covered for payment. In other words, treat the symptom that has developed and assist with the adjustment to the insaneness of the person’s life space. Assisting the individual to fully develop intellectually, morally and interpersonally is not important or a medical necessity. Yes, help that person, as quickly as possible, get him back in the situation that caused maladjustment. There are sharks in the water, help him learn to swim faster.

Yet, God warned about the evils of hoarding, greed and possessiveness in the Old Testament. Abraham was told to give up his country “go from your country and your kindred in your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”(Genesis 12:1). Abraham did so and went into the unknown. Yet, his descendants settled on a soil and new clannishness developed which led to more bondage, becoming rich and powerful while becoming “slaves.” They also lost their vision of one God and began to worship idols. These gods are the rich which turned later into their masters.

Moses liberated his people by taking them into the desert. The desert symbolizes home without cities; absence of riches; and is the place of nomads who owned what they need, and what they need are the necessities of life not possessions. God promises to feed them: in the morning with “bread,” in the evening with quail. God adds “and the people of Israel did so; they gathered, some more, some less. But when the measured it with an omer, he that had gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little have no lack; each gathered according to what he could eat.” (Exodus 16:17-18). The people of Israel were enjoined not to save anything till the next morning. “But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted. (Exodus 16:20-21).

The New Testament adds to the notion fellowship and not possessing. In essence, the people must liberate themselves from all greed and cravings for possession. They must totally liberate themselves from the structure of having and possessing. These ethical norms are rooted in sharing and solidarity. See (Matthew 5:39-42; Luke 6:29 f.; 32-36). A concern for other human beings and complete surrender of all selfishness can be found in (Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37 f.; 41 F.). Further, is the renunciation of property and warning against collecting riches: “do not layup yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but layup yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal? For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:33 f.) Ideas from the past are insightful and valid regarding behavior. They were cognizant about the evils of having, possessing, controlling, exploiting, chasing false idols etc.

Capitalism is great for contributing in the development of egoism, greed, exploitation and selfishness. This system is also deleterious to the planet by the raping, the extraction, and the pollution of resources. Further, too many others are affected by physical and psychological impairments related to the system. The crazy statistics regarding income inequality, guns, killing, wars, depression, divorce, obesity, suicide, military spending, hate, hostility, selfishness etc. cannot be ignored. The sins of capitalism (greed, hate, profit, exploitation, having, possessing) are contributing to our society’s decline. Perhaps, 40 years in the desert to rid oneself of Satan’s material consumption influences is a solution?

PS

Buddha stated that greed and craving causes human suffering, not enjoyment.

Republican Terrorists

 

We can adduce that psychologically, all of us begin life insecure, anxious, dependent and alone. These insecurities follow throughout life. Taking that into account, man’s character is established and developed as a result of parenting interactions within the socioeconomic, political and religious principles within the particular culture. This essay pertains to the character of the alienated terrorist Republicans.

After World War II, the Republican Party with its conservative values, appealed too many even though some of their leaders expressed radical and discriminatory views such as Joe McCarthy in the 50s. Also, William Buckley Junior, a darling conservative, wrote about white supremacy mandate to control and rule. Not to be outdone, The John Birch Society was also established and promoted additional discrimination with their racist policies. In 1964, Barry Goldwater, the archconservative, was the darling of the Republican convention in San Francisco. Goldwater refused to condemn the John Birch society for its views. Hall of Fame Jackie Robinson, in protest at that convention, took his black compatriots out. Jackie then voted for Lyndon Johnson.

Lyndon Johnson changed the composition of his party with his historic progressive legislative policies. However, the southern racist Dixie crat’s switched parties and became Republicans. In 1968, Richard Nixon became president. Richard Nixon decided that the 1969 college championship should be played between Texas and Arkansas. He omitted Penn State from the discussion because they had black player athletes. I decided not to print Coach Joe Paterno’s reaction when he found out that Nixon discriminated against his team.  Historically, that was the last time two all-white skinned college football teams played for a national championship.

Nixon followed by Reagan promoted a capitalistic economic system based on neoliberalism policies and eliminating programs for the poor. That meant the privatization of institutions in our society with more inequality. The balance of power and control went to the corporations as labor and unions were weakened in the process. It meant providing tax incentives and subsidies to our energy, farming industry and other companies. Also, the Supreme Court, thank you William Rehnquist, issued favorable Citizens United campaign finance contributions rulings and protected the police with immunity for other examples of racism and discrimination. Then came Newt and the Tea Party with more overt racism. At the state and local levels, during the last 60 years, Republicans, in control, established gerrymandering and other voting suppression tactics in order to keep their power and domination. Keep the blacks in their place-“slaves.”

Politically, the congressional Republicans are racist and have exploited with their sadistic power policies. However it should be noted, that they want police protection in their gerrymandered districts. They know that they have to vote a certain way to please their leader or they become an enemy of his people with their guns. These spineless  have routinely stood against increasing the minimum wage, keeping police brutality intact, providing  protective tax loopholes by allowing the wealthy and corporations not to be taxed, providing major tax cuts for the top 1%,  providing monetary subsidies, and stagnating the GDP growth.

These Republican Senators failed twice to impeach their leader; 35 voted against a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 riot; and continue the stolen election lie (70% of Republicans said Biden had not legitimately won enough votes to win the presidency). It’s no surprise that the Republicans are against citizenship for immigrants that have crossed the border. It’s to their advantage to pay these farmworkers and meat processing workers etc. “slave” labor. These slaves have to pay taxes but receive no Social Security benefits. Why give them citizenship? They will likely vote for Democrats.

 Since FDR, in an article published The New York Times on February 7, 2021 the top four presidents -Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, and Clinton, presided over the largest GDP growth rate during their administrations. Trump’s GDP, to no surprise, falls in last place.

  The Republican Party is now initiating legislation in 47 states to restrict voting. That’s not about democracy for all citizens. Its policies on masks, and Coved -19 vaccinations are egotistical, sadistic, masochistic and a devotion to death and illness.

The Republican leadership is supported by those terrorist WASP’s (a terrorist is a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims) that are insecure, racist individuals bent on exploiting people of color. In turn, the party leadership reinforces their insecurity and racism with fear and sadistic policies that exploit. Mitch McConnell’s position is based on minority power. Under his leadership, economic relief for most Americans’ was threatened. They were not even wearing masks in the capital during the previous administration. They are against infrastructure relief because that includes human assistance other than roads and bridges. Childcare, paid college, reducing the age of Medicare eligibility etc. are “no’s.” The leadership downplayed (because the FBI identified the coordination of 7 white supremacy hate groups) the terrorists involvement in the January 6 riot on the capital, and  voted against hate crime legislation (it reinforces the notion that whites can act out their hate and kill others of different skin color] . Even though, many Republicans constituents liked economic relief, they still support these negative voting congressional Republicans. The people in power, that call themselves Republicans, fear not only Trump but his white supremacist hate group organizations. They carry guns, talked and talk about killing.

The group of individuals that call themselves Republicans has evolved into a terrorist organization taking advantage of the alienation of many with their criminal behavior (Bannon, Stone, Flynn, Manafort, Gaetz etc.). The group is based on white supremacy and exploits all others for their political gain. Their goal continues to be about white privilege, white control, white dominance and white exploitation. The ends justify the means. Their racist and discriminatory policies have gone on for a long time. Currently, they are overt, kill Pence, and attack the capital and police in their attitude, stance, and behavior. Unfortunately, they appeal to too many alienated in our country.

Our current devotion is entangled and associated with money, success, power and prestige. The more money results in greater “success” per brainwashing by advertising within our culture. Attending  the “elite” University; employment in the perfect  job  allows rising the corporate ladder; purchasing the “dream” home; taking the exotic vacation; the right union with the perfect blonde; two cars etc. etc. etc. becomes the irrational. These alienated want to have and possess. That’s success for whom and it contributes and reinforces the occurrence of alienation?  However, they don’t want the “others” to have and possess. No “melting pot” here per The New York Times, No Easy Answers, May 23.2021.

With pursuing the irrational passion for money, meant the king of the castle’s wife entering the workforce. One income did not necessarily provide for all the “wants” of countless consumer items many of which are useless. Economic statistics began to demonstrate the economic inequalities and alienation between socioeconomic classifications. CEO incomes exploded according to The New York Times, April 25 2021. In 1989 CEO incomes were 61 to1 .Currently a 320 to 1 economic disparity exists between them and their employees. In 2020, the CEO at Boeing cut 30,000 employees even though the company lost $12 billion. He was rewarded with 21.3 million in compensation. The Norwegian cruise industry’s CEO furloughed 20% and he was rewarded at double. His doubled salary was 38.4 million dollars, and the Hilton CEO received 55.9 million compensation as the company lost 770 million in revenue.

Statistics on family indicated offspring and parenting difficulty as now both employed parents are experiencing alienation.  Drugs, alcohol, poverty, educational limitations and failure, suicide, marital separation, divorce, attending counseling etc. rose dramatically. These troubling facts suggests unprecedented alienation. Not only that, Insurance companies or third-party payment instituted managed-care to drastically reduce and/or eliminate payment for the psych services.

Companies, in raising their profits, reduced working hours in order to avoid providing health insurance for their employees. Labor unions were attacked and diminished in order to provide additional power to the company. Manufacturing and production were transferred overseas. Employment security was threatened and no longer could someone count on receiving that “gold pen” at retirement. More threats to one’s economic insecurity increases alienation in the workforce.

Home prices, mortgages, inflation, healthcare has severely impacted today’s citizen. A first-time homebuyer in the 60s was a young man without significant debt. Today’s young man can not only not by a home but is likely in debt while living with a parent or parents.

Today’s high school educated racist Republican faces severe economic and social challenges and mental and physical health concerns. Physical health, cardiac, respiratory and Covid- 19 are the three main causes of death. Mental health with depression, anxiety, suicide, brain pathology including dementia and Alzheimer’s and divorce are on the rise. It’s my position, that physical (obesity etc.) and mental health (depression, hate, aggression etc.); economic instability without future, religious and political malfunction are symptoms of severe alienation.

A word about alienation. Alienation means that man is insecure, anxious, separated from self, confused, easily misled, and consciously and unconsciously feels powerless. Employing the second amendment rationalization, purchasing guns and ammunition does not fix the insecurity. He lacks independence without a full use of reason .He seeks attachment, of some consensus with a power greater than himself. His group is good, American and patriotic while the other groups are evil, bad, liberal and non-American. Thus, another hate dynamic surfaces. With that being said, todays alienated subjects submit, are obedient, dependent and follow the supreme external power forces in the country.

 Moreover, the alienated are not in touch nor love themselves. Their racist attitudes are apparent in that they are also unable to care and respect others which results in aggressive amoral behaviors. With limited thinking, they do not pursue truth, are easily misled but follow consensus instead. They attach themselves to the Republican group which becomes their all-encompassing power. The need for affiliation is the driving force regardless of the preponderance of lies, irrational rationalizations and sinful acting out behaviors. This means that the character structure of these individuals are authoritarian. They follow blindfolded and are loyal to the perceived godlike idol. With that being said, there are too many alienated in our country.

A glimpse into man’s alienation was brilliantly displayed in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men published in 1937. George and Lenny’s story depicts the predatory reality of life for poor migrant workers during the depression. In the novella these protagonist struggle for survival in their oppressive improper circumstances. They are powerless and without control. They do not have the ability to overcome their oppressiveness by the various seen as well as unseen forces.

The ruling party of the minority authoritarian WASPs are victorious with their 402-year-old experiment. Initially, our government was based on the political, social and economic advantages for the few powerful wealthy Anglo-Saxons. The WASPs are still in power politically, economically, educationally, and as far as criminal injustice goes. Unfortunately, limited educated white folks are being left behind in record numbers. As a result, these white folks are becoming increasingly alienated, with feelings of powerlessness, resentment, hate and less in control of their ability to make changes within self and with others. These character characteristics result with these individuals looking for an external power attachment to both placate and/ or appease their insecurities and to emotionally protect them from their fears. This proceeds with submission, obedience and loyalty irrespective of the moral, sinful or amoral behavior by the power or in this case Trump. In essence, acknowledge a regression psychologically exemplified by egoism, sense of mistrust, a level of preoperational cognition, absence of law and order and ruled by irrational passions of hate, exploitation and prejudice. Humanity, right, wrong is currently under attack from within.

 The attachment to this grouping is based emotionally on incestuous ties. These incestuous ties lay the groundwork for a sick conscience of hate and prejudice. My group is good, patriotic and American while your group is evil, bad, and un-American.  The unconscious and conscious emotions of dependence, aloneness, powerlessness, submission, obedience, fear, anxiety and the identification and attachment to a superior power rules. Cognitively, rationality , wisdom, truth and the attitudes and values of love, the Golden rule, respect, concern for the poor  etc. attributed to  Jesus are nonexistent for “ others “ and do not play a significant part in the behavior of this group . The words of Jesus Christ seem meaningless, contradictory and hollow to the group. We know what he would likely say regarding keeping people slaves, second-class citizens, police brutality, guns and killing etc. The blacks worship and pray to the same God as the WASPs. With the second coming, will they be saved?  The authoritarian conscience and morality remains sadistic.

This terrorist grouping is winning. The group is largely concerned with their own survival -voting restriction legislation; while upholding the power of their leaders-voting to keep them in office. These alienated and exploitive character style intimidate by bringing weapons to courthouses, the capital and to otherwise peaceful demonstrations, not wearing masks and refusing the vaccine. Their unlawfulness was in full display on January 6 at the capital. Having an alienated character, one doesn’t pursue happiness and wellbeing. Their character description interferes with valuing self with their accompanying self-destructive tendencies as well as toward others as demonstrated by putting children in cages and social media vileness of morally wrong and disgusting hateful rhetoric. Their intellectual, and moral capacity and functioning is impaired as evidenced by crazy and illogical conspiracy beliefs while believing their lying leader. They support police brutality against the blacks and express their hate so many ways. With that being said, the Republican terrorists pose a considerable threat, not only to democracy, but to the morality, wisdom, and humanity of our country. Yes, we require change.