An Evil Human

 

Elon Musk  is the news  And, his massive contribution to Trump's reelection puts him in the White House.. In fact, the White House has given him a special position with neither  oversight nor significant negative consequences .Favorable consequences come later.  This essay provides a character orientation supposition of  Musk.

Homo sapiens are saddled with existential anxiety, biological and ego needs during  development.. Existential needs of separateness, dependency, powerlessness, insignificance are based on awareness, intelligence and imagination  This  condition results in a state of constant disequilibrium as man has to deal with  being.  As a consequence, various passions, such as love, justice, truth, hate , cruelty, sadism and masochism affect and are represented in the character orientation of man..Moreover, In dealing with the frightening reality of life, the tendency for unlimited power, possession and status become neurotic for some .

Man requires an orientation and a devotion. He requires a map, a concept of his national ,social,economic and psychological world .A frame of reference  or roots that incorporates ideas often derived from the consensus of others ; rational and/or irrational doctrines pertaining to morality, socialization, economics, politics and religion. These reference points  make man vulnerable to  following false prophets. Money can be an object of devotion . Needs, goals of  devotion  become a focal point for his strivings, which are unsuccessful strategies employed  in an attempt to protect him from his loneliness, his isolation,his existence and  to provide security  which gives some meaning to his life.

Homo sapiens begin life in the womb that provide nurturance, warmth, security and safety.  Then with birth, there's a trauma resulting in terror, symbolically and realistically of being alone, helpless, insecure and not safe.  Mother becomes the fountain of life as she provides nurturance, safety, warmth and meeting the biological needs.  The first three years present psychological trauma as in the oral , anal and pre phallic stage of development.with significant  psychic implications during these formative years and present themselves in various degrees and intensity throughout one's lifetime.  Notably, the birth trauma separation represents a longing for situations as it once existed psychologically  but never ceases completely.  In other words, every adult is in need of assistance, warmth , dependence and protection for being . The dynamics of these needs continue to be repeated during a lifetime.

Elon was born in 1971 to wealthy parents in South Africa.  His parents divorced in 1980 and he  initially chose to live with his father.  He stated his father beat him after learning that he was beaten severely by a fellow student  leading to him being hospitalized for his injuries.  He hated his father and later reunited with his mother.

These early traumatic experiences resulted in him being  dependent and emotionally tied to his mother  especially during  the oral, anal and phallic stages of development.  What are Elon's dependent , emotional and cognitive ties?  How does Elon recapture that need for warmth,  affection and security  ?  Because of him being early tied to his mother, what other  avenues has he chosen ? 

For instance, a few Issues associated with the anal stage  of development  for Musk are as follows: 1.  The sphincter battle for autonomy  between mother and son.  Who was going to win this conflict of when to hold onto tightly or when to let go of his prized or special possession ? A bowel movement is a thing , not a person as in  an example symbolically of dehumanization.  All the people that were fired were simply things; all his companies are just possessions; all his wives,girlfriends, children are his possessions.  These possessions are associated with malignant hostility ,and control 2.  Will there be a defiance or fear that's associated with being sensitive to a loss of love?  How many wives and how many relationships are required to find and recapture symbolically that first love?  How much power, money and possessions are needed and required to fill his depth  of insecurity ?  3.  His  defiance of norms, humanness and morality expressed suggest  that there is only one way of doing things and it's his way?  Dismantling and destroying without significant consequences the federal government.is his way .The legal system and monetary fines are irrelevant .  4.  The tendency for noncompliance, negativism, controlling others and invoking arbitrary rules with no consequences are sadomasochistic and hateful with contempt.

Proceeding to the pre-oedipal and oedipal stage of development suggests the following :The pursuit of love ,comfort and security results from his first identification and imitation of his mother or his first sole love object.  His second identification  and imitation was his father.  2 How and to what degree is he expressing” love “ for all the relationships and with his 13 children?  Does he  model his mother or his father?  3.  The origins of his conscience, and superego of good ,bad ,right ,wrong are established.  And his transactions with his mother and father set the stage and range for him being a helping ,loving or a hindrance, hating mankind.  His actions toward government employees and programs are sadistic and cruel.  4.  Oedipal fears are related to sadomasochistic tendencies. Are his wives, other relationships sexually motivated or are they simply object possessions that he acquires ? Are his children likewise possessions too? 5. With the  castration anxiety dynamic,follows  anger, jealousy , resentment and the talion principle of revenge. His symbolic chainsaw  attack is simply one example ..6. His narcissistic unfulfilled fantasies and wishes seem to be symbolically acted out hatefully. They are clearly sadomasochistic  with malignant aggression . 

 How many wives , divorces and  impregnations  ?  He obviously can't find safety, security, affection and dependency in any one woman. His notion of marriage and  family ?  Perhaps his relationships do not have to do with sex and pleasure, but with fathering children.  He fathered 14 children and one  died as an infant.  How much nurturance ,love, affection, attention   and personal involvement as a father does he  exhibit with his children?  Also, his malignant sadism is unconsciously expressed in subjecting his wives and children to divorce.  His wives, girlfriends and children are simply possessions.  His malignant sadism is also expressed in naming the children on their birth certificate  letters that are impersonal ,nonhuman characters,and symbols. associated with an oral and anal character, tendencies  

Other illustrations  of an anal character orientation are possessions as  pleasure in his possessions and in his properties. Characteristics of a anal character orientation are associated with being stingy, suspicious, cold, anxious, stubborn, indolent,obsessional and possessive.His possessions over the years have included: 1.  Zip2 2.  X.com and PayPal.  3.  Space X 4.Starlink: 5.  Tesla 6.  Hyperloop 7.  Open AI and X AI. His foundation donated money to his Open AI and the assets reached 9.4 billion by the end of 2021 but he only dispensed 160 million to charities that year. His self-serving foundation received another 6 billion . A World Food program director David Beasley said the money could have fed 42 million people for a year .Musk says he’s  a christian with what moral code? He pays what in federal income tax ? He knows fraud with intimacy. 

Elon's exploitive character orientation has been  certainly more on public  display since January 20.  Behavioral tendencies , of him, include being exploitive, aggressive, egocentric, conceited, rash and arrogant.  How many civil service and federal  employees, agencies, government contracts have been severely affected by his cold, narcissistic, malignant actions?  He was seen smiling on the stage with a  chainsaw . A chainsaw is used to cut wood. Limiting democracy, stealing  data , neutralizing investigations into his companies  and use of government funds and technology are his goals .Also,,his sadistic representation of people is characteristic of his dehumanizing hate. Furthermore, this smiling dependent apartheid  South African has terrific  use of his sphincter muscles with his expulsions on people of color ,vets, and our country.

Aggression

 The behavior of Homo sapiens are varied , contradictory,  complex and it can be argued whether or not man has an essence or human nature.  With that in mind, are a couple of  ideas pertaining to man’s motivational tendencies including  benign and malignant aggression 

A few examples of ideas from the days of old, depicting man, incorporating  his ability to think and his aggression related to good  or  evil. 1.Socrates suggested that it was man's ignorance that was the source of his disposition.  His evilness was a vice and  man's error 2.  The Old Testament described man's  disobedience. This disobedience (benign aggression) was a basis for man's self-awareness ,for his capacities to choose between good and that of evil, and that man must choose between good , evil ,blessing,  curse,  life and death. And it was the messengers and prophets that taught the norms which led to the realization of goodness.; Identify the evil and to warn and to protest but it was man's decision and his alone. They also recognized that if man does evil, he becomes more evil as represented by Pharaoh's heart which hardened because he kept on doing evil . 3.  In the Middle Ages, Augustine described man's nature as corrupt( Adam's fall  was malignant aggression.  Each generation was born with the curse caused by man's disobedience and only God , the church and its sacraments could save man.   4.  Later ,in the Middle Ages, were the ideas  and beliefs in man's dignity, power and natural goodness  5.  Luther and Calvin expressed man's intrinsic (malignant aggression) evilness,and powerlessness .  The greatest obstacle for man was his  pride that he can only overcome by guilt feelings ,repentance, unqualified submission to God and faith in God's mercy.

Psychologically speaking, Freud believed in reason ,the right to protect man’s natural claims against societal conditions within the existence of cultural pressures;. He saw man as lazy, self-indulgent, and had to be assisted to be socially useful . He also saw man's irrationality and destructiveness .Further, a mentally healthy individual was one that was able to love and work productively.

In the  “archaic “ and “old” brain structures of Homo sapiens are areas associated with aggression ( Hunger ,fight or flight ,fear responses, defending territory, keeping safe) and research has shown they can be activated or deactivated.  Aggression is built in and necessary for man's survival and has been identified as an ego need.  We witness the newborn expressing aggression by biting the nipple, crying , thrashing all related to its survival ; in  the terrible twos we see more aggression, disobedience, and the power of no which is not  related to the infant's survival. Furthermore, when a youngster says to his mother,  "I hate you" that's an example of benign aggression and very likely the  child is angry with no  intellectual concept of  the emotion of hate. 

 Aggression can be classified as benign when it's in the service and associated with survival. It's a biologically adaptive defensive reaction.  Of course, another response could also be fleeing and escaping the danger.  On the other hand, malignant aggression is not associated with survival and in fact at times, the individual perpetuating the aggression seems to enjoy , find favor and satisfaction in those actions.

With development the following occurs in various degrees depending on a multitude of factors. 1.  A tendency  for  moving toward another as in dependence , love  and cooperation.  2. A tendency for aggression, domination, exploitation in moving against another. 3. A tendency to withdraw from others as in self protection   4. A tendency for thinking rationally ,  irrationally , feeling , perceiving and sensing .. 

As a child, I didn't like Brussels sprouts.  I complained but didn't understand that Brussels sprouts were good for me and perhaps if they were prepared differently,  I might've liked them.  Thinking, feelings of disgust and benign aggressiveness were displayed .  Much later, I began playing competitive football. In this game, in order to get the coaches attention,  I  aggressively dominated a teammate.  During those benign  aggressive encounters, I didn't like my teammate.  I didn't hate  him, but he certainly wasn't a friend at that point.but an external obstacle or threat  . As my football career progressed.  I learned about Denby's bitter rival-Pershing.  I didn't hate them, but I thoroughly disliked them.  One Friday evening during a football game.there was a knife fight and someone was seriously injured . That was the end of Friday evening football and the  games were moved to Friday afternoon.  Certainly, there was irrationality ,feelings of hate with sadistic  and  malignant aggression expressed between those combative individuals.

Currently, an article titled "Hate 'Em  If You Want.  They're Still on Top"  In the February 9, 2025 edition of the New York Times was about the Kansas City Chiefs dominance; they are hated just like Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were before because of, in part, the envy over Mahome's ability and the Eagles seeking revenge. What goes on between one's ears and stays there even if irrational, can be classified as benign aggression.  However, once those thoughts or feelings are expressed against another, it  becomes malignant aggression.Thinking that you hate and are envious of Brady  or Mahomes  suggests shortcomings and the irrational .Blaming them is  scapegoating . That thinking suggests that man's intellect is weak un reliable and influenced by various desires and passions. However, expressing hate, slander, and misinformation on social media is not benign aggression but malignant aggression. That passion of hate and expression  is irrational  and malignant because Brady and Mahome pose  no real  threat to one's well-being, safety and security.  However, with malignant aggression, that  passion  of hate comes from within and is a character flaw of that individual. 

There's a relationship between rational , irrational thinking, feeling and behavior.  Emotions influence thinking and behavior and thinking influences emotions and behavior.  In other words, a certain type of thinking leads to and is in concert with a certain type of emotions and behavior as described by Albert Ellis. For example,the emotion of hate can be based in some form of rationality like when there's an actual  external threat affecting  freedom,  ideas  or  life like in war. Yes, the government can and does create  illusions of some external threat and create hate.  Do we need to acquire Greenland for security purposes ?  I thought Russia's now an ally .Hating  or disliking Pershing , Brussels sprouts ,Brady or Mahomes is not a threat to  freedom, ideas , survival  or life.  It was simply irrational hateful  thinking .

On the other hand , a hostile person who is committed to hate ,expresses a malignant aggressive  tendency to hurt and harm another . In this case, the stimulus comes from within. This  inner hate is a component and associated with one’s character orientation  . These individuals blame and scapegoat others for their hate  and their actions are then  rationalized .

Frustration is one example  related to aggression. Take the propaganda related to the so-called   2020 stolen election  that resulted in violence.  In this example, Trump’s needs, desires were frustrated when he lost and as a result, an enemy  was created and scapegoated as the cause.  In other words, frustration of a need, a desire can result in  malignant aggression.  Also, with Trump’s frustration and hostility the feeling of envy(wanting what Biden has) and feeling of jealousy  was triggered by emotions of inadequacy, helplessness, anger, fear  and resentment .

Violence and aggression are also associated with revenge even though the injury( lost election,impeachment etc.) has already occurred . And revenge won't magically change the original assault .  It's an eye for an eye mentality  and  Gandhi once said “Makes the whole world blind.” Trump has selected numerous individuals in his cabinet and others to go after his political enemies.  This active revengeful malignant aggression will not restore his self-esteem.  It's simply his neurotic desire to protect his inflated ,unrealistic image of himself to regain control and reduce anxiety.  The intensity of the revenge resulting from him being impeached ,the breakup of his economic holdings in New York, and being a convicted felon are some of the obvious factors pertaining to this man's character inadequacies 

.More specifically, hate, and/destructiveness are inherent in all humans.  However, note that in Albert Maslow's theory of self-actualization, there was a significant absence of hateful malignant tendencies toward others. These individuals were more fully developed- intellectually ,emotionally, sensually and productively.  Individuals studied gave to others and helped create a better society . One can be aggressive or oppose forcefully when necessary .His sample achieved, mastered , overcame obstacles, excelled, and surpassed others.  They cooperated with others, were affectionate and were loyal individuals.  They were healthy . Spinoza ,Marx ,Freud, Spencer and others also wrote about man's developing self and being productive within society.

One's early experiences, genetics, socioeconomics, and other factors influence development of character, personality ,create and influence  tendencies for  developing mental health ,illness and hate.  With illness and hate , these individuals have limitations, blockages ,and traumatic experiences in their experience during development.  They are not self-actualized, but with their limited intellectual, emotional aspects, they fail to fully develop themselves .And as a result of these limitations, their  malignant aggressive destructiveness is directed  inward toward self and outward toward  others.  When the self is fully actualized, there's an  important absence or limitation of hate and malignant aggression toward others .

According to Freud, man has a certain amount of psychic energy .If there is blockage of a  spontaneous expression of sensory, emotional, physical and intellectual energy, this occurrence affects the ability to grow  and develop .In other words, man’s productivity and potential  for fully living becomes compromised. This blockage  is the result of individual and social casualties .Then,the blocking of  life furthering energy becomes  transformed into destructive energy  Thus, when a significant amount of the psychic energy is directed malignantly, that leaves little or less opportunity for growth, well-being and benefiting others .  

In summation , the actions of benign and malignant aggression characterizes man.  There are many examples of benign aggression in sports and everyday interactions.. Unfortunately,  current examples of Trump’s GOP ,social media, movies, TV, novels  etc. are filled with malignant aggressiveness that characterize man's negative passions such as hate, sadism, masochism, destructiveness,  jealousy, envy, narcissism and so forth. Further, the power of malignant suggestion in  propaganda is too prevalent and  reflects divisiveness. Human passions of love and tenderness don't seem as prevalent today.  The governmental actions of Trump ,Musk, the GOP are deplorable and yet a recent poll found that 30% trusted Trump’s positions .

Reference

Brain Injury. Institute for Natural Resources.

AD

 

January 26, 2025 article Fraud Has Delayed A Cure for Alzheimer's article in the New York Times deserves a  much needed response .  This devastating disease affects nearly 7 million Americans and about one in every nine people over the age of 65.  Additionally , up to 420,000 adults in the prime of life suffer from early onset of Alzheimer's.  The annual number of new cases of dementia is expected to double by 2050. IIrrespective of this information, Trump and his crazies have curtailed an Alzheimer's and dementia research facility .  A Stanford neurologist raised concerns about the research with its present and long-term implications.Also, cutting medical research funds  affects the development of drugs and vaccines for the treatment of cancer. genome, heart disease and other biomedical  diseases.

The New York Times article found evidence of questionable findings regarding the study of A D. Eliezer Masliah who once led the National Institute on Aging was found to have "changed" photos of human tissue  in the study of Alzheimer's. His photo images showed the presence of a protein in the blood or tissue sample called amyloid.  Apparently, this finding of amyloid became a significant hypothesis in the study  of Alzheimer's. This amyloid finding influenced drug manufacturers to develop medicine based on this hypothesis. 

Information titled Understanding Dementia from the Institute for Natural Resources follows stated  Dr. Alois Alzheimer ,in 1907 found plaques and tangles in a diseased brain of one of his patients . The A, D disease is the most common cause of dementia for adults age 65 and older . It’s an irreversible life devastating progressive disease which affects brain cells. The neurons deteriorate, resulting in the loss of cognitive functions primarily memory, judgment, reasoning, movement, coordination and pattern recognition.In  advanced stages of the disease, eventually, all memory and mental functions may be lost.  The condition predominantly affects the cerebral cortex and hippocampus causing these structures to atrophy.

There are two main types of AlD. The  Early Onset Familial Type comprises 5% of all Alzheimer cases.  Symptoms usually occur in the 30s, 40s and 50s and are highly genetic with causation. The second is called Late Onset Sporadic Type which  is 95% of Alzheimer's cases.  Symptoms usually do not occur until age 65 or older. The average age for diagnosis is in the 80s - perhaps 50% genetic and 50% lifestyle factors . Specifically, the.Apolipoprotein e e4 variant is the main genetic risk factor.

The top 10 warning signs of AD include 1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life.  2 Difficulty with planning or solving problems.  3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks.  4 Confusion with time or place.  5 Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships. 6. Problems with words , speaking or writing 7. Misplacing things and losing ability to retrace steps 8 .Poor judgment.  9 . Withdrawal  from work or social activities, and 10.  Changes in mood,and  personality.

Is not surprising that independent living centenarians have almost no symptoms of AD.  Perhaps the best way to reduce AD risk is to live like a centenarian because of the biomarkers of this disease. It's no wonder that drug treatment has proved to be nonsignificant in slowing the decline of daily functioning in most patients.  In fact, Linda had two trials of meds, but found that the side effects were so bad that we immediately stopped those  drugs

Unfortunately, various supplements have no established benefit for this disease i  These supplements include vitamins A, E,C,B6, B12, folic acid, 2. Calcium 3. Celebrex and other NSAIDs 4. Ginglo's biloba 5. Coenzyme q10 , L carnitine and alpha lipoic acid 5. Statin drugs 8 Coconut water 9. Antipsychotic drugs 

A.D. is a progressive disease and has been classified into five stages, ranging from Mild Confusional State; Mild to Moderate Impairment; Moderate Impairment, Severe Impairment and finally, Very Severe Impairment.

 

Since lifestyle is estimated to be related to 50% of this disease,a few of the following risk factors include  1.  Genetic and family history 2 . Age and sex 3, High blood pressure.  4. Cardiovascular disease 5 .Insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. 6. Traumatic brain injuries. 7.  Low educational achievement, low mental stimulation and smaller brain size 8. Poor diet ,toxins, lack of exercise and obesity  9 . Smoking and  excessive alcohol consumption.  10. Chronic inflammation, hearing loss, low social support.  11. Chronic stress, anxiety, depression and sleep disorder.  12. History of caregiving for family members with dementia.

As if AD is  not one of the most horrible progressive diseases, don't be surprised that the following information was found from a combination of studies: AD caregivers had significantly higher levels of obesity, osteoporosis, type II diabetes and muscle atrophy.  Another study found that AD caregivers had double the risk for developing heart disease,.And another reported that AD caregivers  had six times the risk of developing AD themselves compared to  a matched control group of non caregivers. For those interested, there's a caregiver stress test.

Linda's past history was associated with excellence, competitiveness, joy , happiness, pleasure and satisfaction with all her outdoor sporting events.  Unfortunately, her trail bike and horse lady experiences resulted in traumatic brain injury or TBI.  As a result, her current lifestyle is  associated with a cognitive slippage .. 

Linda’s current regime is as follows: 1.  For procedural memory. Linda drives the golf cart, ties her shoes, plays pickleball ,rides her exercise bike,and elliptical, attends an exercise class 3 times a week and has  an one-on-one Yoga session with Trula twice a week.  We continue to dance and walk . When it gets warmer, Linda intends to resume  swimming, kayaking  and fly fishing

Other strategies  and daily exercises pertaining to Linda’s cognitive issues include 1. Short and long term episodic and declarative  recall; time orientation;  receptive language  and  object naming ; reading, word finding , spelling, writing, and arithmetic exercises .It's about repetition. If you don't use it ,you lose it.

A July 9, 2023 edition of The New York Times described the " evils" of that bad word socialism in an article titled  "Safe Harbors Amid the Tempest of Dementia ,"  Socialized medicine in Amsterdam and Norway have created a treatment environment that integrates dementia patients within the communities around them.  For instance, in their settings , are townhouses, public theaters, supermarkets , a Plaza , a Café and restaurants open to everyone . They established the world's first "Dementia Village.". 

On the other hand, we are number one, we are the richest , and we have a capitalistic model healthcare system .And , we proudly have one dementia daycare  location in South Bend, Indiana.  We are number one when it comes to wealth , for a few,but we sadly are behind when it comes to our flawed healthcare system.  To make things worse the GOP  power structure wants to cut the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid , and withdraw from the WHO. and other research centers  with Kennedy Jr. and other undesirables  in charge.  The GOP's mission is based on greed,  control , discrimination and exploitation.. They are obviously not concerned about the mental and physical health of the majority  in the country.  They  do support the  capitalistic tool  of  a loneliness app to solve our loneliness crisis . Yea for GOP’s capitalism.

PS

The February 2, 2025 article in the New York Times titled "Silver Tsunami" provides insight into capitalist thinking  strategies regarding the wave of aging.  Their questions and concerns are as follows: 1.  What  about the departing workforce ?  Should investors focus on pharmacy, long-term care facilities ?  2 Will there be a collapse of the housing market.? Are the  old-timers going to stay in their homes or are they going to downsize ? What about senior living communities?

Longevity and Mythology

 

This essay has to do with a few of man’s.ideas pertaining to health ..Man for centuries  has denied, rationalized, created myths, fantasies and illusions regarding knowledge about his being. Articles from The New York Times are main references .

The article  "The Pursuit Of Longevity Lives Forever, but We Don't “ was published January 19, 2025.  Roughly 4,000 years ago there was a Mesopotamian king named Gilgamesh.  As the story goes, he set out to find a life of everlasting youth  in a certain plant . Then,, a Chinese magician named Xu Fu convinced the Emperor that there was an elixir granting  eternal life  across the Yellow Sea. The Emperor supposedly gave this man 3,000 virgins and an Army for his quest.  End of story  as the magician was never seen again. Everyone knows about Alexander the Great and his dominating quest . Apparently ,he also had the desire to live forever. He died in his 30’s. The  irrational pursuit of immortality is  an  example of man’s craziness and stupidity .

What about Ponce de Leon?  Did he find the fountain of youth?  Apparently he did. Just look at the number of older individuals living in Florida today. That population number just swells during the winter months.  Even my younger sister Bev moved to Florida.

Maybe  Isaac Newton was on to something when he believed that his alchemical research would create a drink that  granted immortality.. Then, during the Age of Enlightenment, the word longevity emerged in the English dictionary.. Its current relevance is apparent and a  few notable characters follow: 1.  Luigi Cornaro wrote the first longevity diet book and subjected himself to sparse daily portions, including a lot of eggs, milk, broth and vegetables and lived into his 80s.  He also practiced caloric restriction and abstinence.  2.  A Chicago urologist began replacing people's testicles, including his own with those of younger men.  He died at age 65.  3. Dr. Eugene Steinach’s vasectomy  procedure was the cure for aging.  

In the 19th and 20th centuries ,anti-aging gurus, newspaper writers and charlatans  promoted lifestyle changes, such as avoiding excessive sleep, forgoing water, marrying and even living in Nantucket . Other suggestions were not reading sexy  novels that poisoned  the  mind.  Even insurance companies preferred to insure one Jew rather than two Christians.  Soda fountain clerks told customers drinking sour milk would cause them to live to be 200 years old; cosmetic companies sold electrotherapy devices already established and useless ; and testimonials from Americans to reporters  said that they drank a daily bottle of old and good wine, took medication, ate candy ,hunted whales and  smoked at least one cigar a day. Dr. Cyrus  Edson,  told people that men of genius  lived remarkably long lines.  He died in his mid-40s.  Alexander Bogomolets developed a serum made from horse blood and cadaver marrow that he believed would allow one to live to 150 years of age.  Alexis Carrel claimed  to have kept alive the tissue of a chicken heart for years.  

Longevity increased in large part to the establishment of public water filtration , chloration, discovery of antibiotics like penicillin and the arrival of vaccines for deadly diseases like: polio.  Now , researchers from Harvard and Oxford recently  thought the market value in  expectancy research  with breakthroughs  would be worth $367 trillion.

It's clear that immortality is fictional and can be found in novels, movies, and so forth. On the other hand, aging is not as evidenced by the fact that it's developmental as well as normal and pathologic.  With that being said, there are numerous theories of aging.The main ones include: 1 Wear and Tear.  2.  Neuroendocrine 3.  Genetic Control 4.  Free Radical .Other theories proposed throughout the years  include water accumulation; cell division, limited number of cell divisions,, Hayflick Limit,, Death, Hormone, Thymic-Stimulating , Mitochondrial, Errors, and Repair, Redundant DNA, Cross-Linkage, Autoimmune ,Calorie Restriction ,Gene Mutation , Rate of Living,  Order to Disorder,  and Telomerase per  Klatz and Goldman “Stopping The Clock.”

There's a plethora of information regarding aging in our wealthy country.  Yet ,the oldest living do not nor have never resided in the United States.  Yes, Loma Linda, a "Blue Zone"  community  has people reaching 100.  The following four articles titled "A Tricky Diagnosis and the Lure of Women's Health Scams.  January 12, 2025; “How Extreme Religious Liberty Undermines Public Health” September 18, 2022; “Best Measure of Health?  Body Roundness Index Find Support over BMI “September 8, 2024; and “The Joyless Quest For Peak Happiness “ August 11, 2024  are just a few articles affecting  aging . And, I'm omitting all the toxic exploitive Trump policies associated with anxiety, fear and increased cortisol levels..

Briefly, the first article had to do with the difficulty with accurately diagnosing female conditions .  An example of this was based on the polycystic ovary syndrome.  This disease has resulted in both over and under diagnoses.  That being said, there are a number of scams for treatment, especially on social media that were financially motivated by uncredentialed health types.

The second article had to do with recent rulings by the courts that favored the beliefs of a small group of conservatives. These rulings favor corporations and limit various treatments, especially drugs related to infectious diseases like Covid-19 and HIV .  It's the court promoting corporate profit over public health.  Generally, the insurance companies, because of the Affordable Care Act, had increased the amount of coverage and the courts seem to be on the path of changing that because of religious craziness based on some primitive idea.  It's not surprising that the motive of profit rises.  Back in the day when I was practicing psychology.  I had a contract to provide psych  services with a limited number of Rx visits allowed. When I exceeded those limitations, they told me they found another provider that they could pay less..

The next article suggests that perhaps the BMI index -body mass index should be replaced by the BRI - body roundness index.  As far as the BMI index goes, every time Linda and I have visited a Dr. ,they asked  for our height , we were weighed  so BMI index scores were recorded.  I can't recall any doctor or nurse ever commenting on our BMI index.  Perhaps the BMI index fails to capture the health  or illness of many.? Okay,  the BMI is only one measure of health.  Yes, there are many measures regarding health. Is the BRI a better index than BMI ? 

The last article was about measuring and being preoccupied with happiness. Recently, researchers created a critical positivity ratio which is a precise numerical value derived through complex mathematical functions to describe the ideal relationship between positive and negative emotions.  As a matter fact, this mathematical  ratio has been used in a number of apps pertaining to happiness.  Also, the article went on to suggest that one can become preoccupied with their apps and that in fact can and does create negative outcomes with certain individuals depending upon their  anxiousness or depression .

I have not read  any current research that suggests using one of these emotional apps relates to longevity.  Assessments for longevity are very detailed, covering a wide range of topics, experiences of each individual.  In any event, apps are a tremendous source of income with questionable outcomes. Years ago, Paul Ekman stated "emotions are a process, a particular kind of autonomic appraisal influenced by our evolutionary and personal past, in which we sense that something important to our welfare is occurring, and a set of psychological changes in emotional behaviors began to deal with that situation."  He identified seven emotions that included anger, contempt, enjoyment, fear, sadness and surprise.  I would add that emotions change rapidly and that they are difficult to identify and label based on private practice and personal  experiences with others.Notice that five of Ekman's emotions are negative and Jefferson’s pursuit of” happiness “was nowhere to be found. I admit that Jefferson ,the brilliant wealthy land owner and owner of other humans had a pretty good life.

Albert Ellis’ theory was based on the fact that emotions affect thinking and thinking affects emotions which often results in irrational thinking and  behavior . With that being said, emotions are significant but do not tell the whole story as far as longevity goes.  Yes, Jefferson told us to pursue happiness , but he didn't say it would lead to longevity.

For the purpose of this essay, let's assume for a moment that  apps differentiate pleasure and non pleasure . Aristotle referred to a hedonistic concept  suggesting  that the attainment of pleasure is good because it's the absence of pain; it's the ultimate goal of life.  Plato suggested that pleasure can be true or false, and that good men have true pleasures but bad men have false pleasures.  In other words, pleasure is subjective .

Pleasure, success, and satisfaction can be considered good depending upon the perception of the holder.  Those Hamas terrorists ,who are still alive, likely considered their attack on the Israelis as pleasurable, satisfying  and good.  Also, eating a hot fudge sundae might be pleasurable and satisfying at that moment . even if one is  obese and has diabetes . Obviously the long  term perception of pleasure, satisfaction and happiness can often be detrimental and self-defeating.  Further, a sadomasochistic type seeks and strives  for  pleasure and satisfaction with their sadistic, cruel and dominating behavior.  However, who wants to be in a relationship with that type of individual ?  In essence, the pursuit of pleasure, satisfaction and happiness can be and is often self-defeating  and harmful to  well-being.

Pain and unhappiness also occur in the unconscious.  To illustrate, often  a person, who is unaware ,who doesn't have success as he desires because of impaired health or from inner defects is unable to understand  or make the connection that these unconscious forces  contribute to his unhappiness .He believes he's happy.  Recently, I chatted with  a friend  In his  60s .Steve told me that he was delighted, happy because he recently sold a number of items. He can not afford to live independently. He also mentioned his high blood pressure. He was almost disqualified when  in his 40’s ran Western States .He claimed that high blood pressure for him was normal and was never  a big deal.  He also told me of his recent heart byway operation and again told me that high  blood pressure was just high blood pressure.  He didn't acknowledge any relationship between his high blood pressure, and his heart condition . Simply put, individuals have an illusion of happiness which is self-contradictory.  Happiness and unhappiness are not only states of the mind as they are expressions of the entire organism and  personality.

Spinoza, Spencer ,Marx   Freud ,Rand and others wrote about the necessity of being productive  ; It's of value because it contributes to the  emotional development of the individual and these actions benefit other individuals . In”It Has Nothing to Do with Age,” I prescribed 7 prescriptions that relate to mental and physical health, resulting in lengthening one's life span.. Happiness is subjective and conjugated with  living a productive and healthy life .  

Happiness and unhappiness are more than just thoughts within the personality ..The belief in happiness can be related to a  lack of productivity, emptiness of life, incapacity to love or be loved found in the unconscious.  Often, individuals rationalize the illusion of being happy.  Happiness is conjunctive.  with an  increase in vitality of feeling, thinking  and productiveness . Unhappiness is conjunctive with the decrease of these previously mentioned capacities and functions of personality.. The workings in our body and its reactions are clear expressions  of the unconscious workings in one's reality .  In other words, the body is less capable of being deceived.  Facial expressions ,listlessness, being tired  and headaches are a few examples. In essence, subjective feelings of happiness are illusory and unrelated to genuine  happiness. They are  simply pseudo and illustrate man’s ignorance. In closing, Aristotle stated, "all I know is that I know nothing."

Character Orientation

 The initial weeks of this  presidency has resulted in a sadistic amount,every day or so , of a  staged performance of  executive actions and irrational crazy talk with superficial, incoherent and vague explanations irrespective of  intended or unintended consequences.  In any event, these initial exploitive controlling and harmful actions are consistent with  Trump's history and can be an expected norm.  This disquisition describes two  of his character orientations  .   

Character is formed by experience, especially the  varied and multiple occurrences that happen in  early life ,as in the first 5 years.These experiences are often  retained in the  unconscious. As a result , a person's motivational  behavior is complex with many aspects resulting in the person being unaware of why they do what they do. For instance, the motivational dynamics of Donald’s pursuit of the White House might be related to  the following  1.  Desire for power as the US presidents are considered to be the most powerful person on the face of the earth.  To escape  incarceration for all his felonies.  To create a cabinet of loyalists   To put forth employing the 2025 playbook  that has executive orders discriminating against others 2.  Possession or the ability to control his environment and generate quid pro quo monetary advantages 3.  Status , to be universally recognized by so many followers over the world. 4.  Ability to reward his supporters.  5.  For public service. 6 His historical legacy. 7. Punish his enemies .8.To unconsciously compensate for feelings of helplessness, inadequacy and humiliation.

Essentially,a person's character orientations are changeable, connotative and dynamic. Further and importantly, the way a person acts ,feels, believes,and thinks is largely determined by one's character.  Also, since character traits are underlying behavior , they can be inferred by one’s behavioral actions as he relates to his world .

 In man’s quest for survival, he either acquires and/ or assimilates. He  can acquire things  either  by producing or securing things from others, as in taking. He also interacts with others when asserting  as in procuring sexual satisfaction, for play, acquiring material possessions  or assimilating as in acquiring  knowledge,and learning . In other words,character is  distinctive ,descriptive  as it explains the behavior dynamics of that person 

Character dynamics can be seen as a tendency for being productive  or nonproductive . The individual can love, hate, compete, cooperate,  build social systems on equality or authority. Marketing  is a description for a non-productive character orientation. The emphasis of a marketing character orientation is for the exchange value.This means that Trump is a commodity and his value is related to how well  he can use or sell his personality for exchange in the marketplace . His material success is based on the personal acceptance by those that need his services or a  belonging.  It's how well he sells himself, how much he is in demand.  Few examples  of how Trump sold himself follow: 1.  Trump had  a history of being a guest on the Howard Stern radio show.  According to Stern, Trump was a terrific guest as he was outgoing, impulsive and an extrovert during numerous interviews.  2.  Trump had a  history of contacting newspapers in New York, especially the New York Times.  He impersonated and planted stories about his varied exploits, especially economic ones.  3.  He  easily sweet talked and manipulated banks by falsifying the value of his properties for loans .  4.  He ran  a fraudulent Foundation and a fraudulent University . He has made millions selling merchandise like Bibles, coins, watches, sneakers, etc.  5.  Trump and co-authors wrote a number of best-selling books including hardcover ,paperback and audio.  Tony Schwartz in  Trump: The Art of the Deal exposed Trump as being narcissistic, inadequate, a fool and not very intelligent in the sphere of writing.  However, the book glorified his business acumen, irrespective of the fact that he had gone  bankrupt six times.  6 Trump had a popular TV Show, The Apprentice. Producers, after the 20 year nondisclosure agreement reached its expiration,  apologized for promoting Trump "I helped create a monster."  We created a false narrative by making him seem more successful than he was.  He also added that he loved the attention and that we created  a positive picture of him that wasn't true.  7. He's always tweeting on social media irrespective of the time of day.  

Trump’s a master at selling himself, as his motivation is not about happiness but about making himself attractive.  His self-esteem depends on his success.  It's not surprising that  his defeat in 2020 was a severe threat to his security and a sense of his much thought after popularity. He has to be admired ,liked  and/or loved .It’s who he is.  His anxiety and insecurity is  masked by his bravado.  The 2020 loss was so devastating that he had no difficulty in breaking the law, lying constantly, plotting,  contacting government officials in various states  to falsify election results and employing a series or team of lawyers assisting him even though his White House  attorneys told him otherwise.

His identity is based on "I am as you desire me"  which means that his identity is based on what others think of him. He has to be liked. He exaggerated the size of his 2016 inauguration claiming it was larger than Obama's ; he sucks up to dictators for their approval  and demands loyalty by all or they are fired.   That's why he promotes his prestige  status , intelligence, success  etc to others .  it’s really a genuine substitute for his real or genuine feelings. Unfortunately others are experienced as commodities . He has no real in depth  relationships. He's a commodity, not a real genuine person,  He's marketed himself to women as well.  The superficiality of his current marriage is obvious.  According to the capitalist marketing myth, he's  a real success. Accumulating money, property, wives and children  do not  define success as a humanistic ,moral and ethical  human being .

Another non productive character orientation in Trump's makeup is the exploitative.  This character orientation is based on the feeling that the source of all good is outside  and that whatever one wants to get must be sought.  He’s unable to  produce anything himself.  This character style is based on the individual not expecting to receive things from others as gifts but to take them away from others by force. This non productive orientation extends to all spheres of activity within this character orientation.  Everyone who is an object of exploitation is judged according to their usefulness.  Trump finds himself suspicious, cynical and jealous. He's most satisfied with things that he can take away from others.

Furthermore,  with submission ,dependence and  control , he must be feared ,admired and/or loved.  Secondly, his domination is characterized both sadistically and masochistically in various degrees .Greed is characterized by his frantic activity in stereotyped ways and . It's counterproductive to reason and objectivity. Lastly, power equals domination as individuals are there to serve him ..

A few illustrations of this exploitative  character orientation 1. In the 1970s. Trump and his father, Fred discriminated against Blacks from moving into their apartment building  2.  Trump exploited the banks by falsifying information for receiving loans as well as for not  paying accurately his federal and state taxes.  3.  Trump went bankrupt six times and exploited others by not paying  for their services.  4.  Trump ran a fraudulent foundation and University..5.Orchestrated attempts to overthrow the 2020 election.

Within the past month., DT signed over 200 executive actions.  We have witnessed this unprecedented display of sadistic  cruel and exploitative behavior. Joe Biden,civil service employees, FBI, Inspector General's, criminal justice ,and so many others have experienced the negative deplorable consequences of his attempt at withholding  congressional approved funds,  in part , for upcoming  tax cuts for the wealthy  Further,  Government agencies , email termination notices ,not allowing employees to enter their offices. Individuals going hungry, medical treatments being halted and so forth are taking place .

 He  added EM along with the Republican sheep in  Congress to assist in pursuing his attack on the rule of law, the government, the Constitution ,,immigrants   in lock and step with the 2025 playbook. This attack has put so many fellow Americans in danger with major  threats to their  safety and security.  The full consequences of his actions are yet to be determined.  On the other hand, we have witnessed challenges in court and massive demonstrations. Do not forget about the tariffs and taking over Greenland, Canada ,Panama Canal, and Gaza .

DT, on TV ,reminds me of that familiar  voice of John Wayne . The Duke’s personification on  the big screen was rugged, straight talking, no nonsense ,everyone  “loved “ him  and someone you'd want to have a drink with but you didn't want to cross him. John Wayne was larger than life . However, off the screen, he had physical complications and was an alcoholic.None of that mattered since he was  admired as a true American hero.

Watching or listening to the “ news “is like experiencing an American "Holocaust."  Likeh Hitler with his lies, half-truths  restoring his country with revenge started  his assault.  He scapegoated  his enemy’s , gathered support from his complicit followers and began his cruel destruction and assault.  Many stood by and denied the reality of what was taking place. Hopefully , this nightmare ,this really bad dream will end  with decency and a different reality . 

Reference

Fromm,Erich.  Man For Himself.

Discrimination

 

There are a number of  determinants attributed  for the motivation of man's behavior.  Knowledge, reason, rationality,irrationality, instincts, will, free will, hedonism,  unconsciousness , drive, needs, fear, hate, happiness, are examples of concepts used to describe man's conduct.  Attitude is defined as a subtle way of thinking or feeling about someone or something typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior.  This disquisition pertains to anti semitic attitudes and beliefs ..

Back in 2014, Bo's Warriors  Bo Schembechler and the Transformation of Michigan Football was published by Triumph Books.  For material regarding mental toughness, I interviewed 8 players and coach Moeller  from that illustrious team that beat Ohio State in 1969.  There's a fierce rivalry between the two schools that some have called the greatest in the history of college football.  There’s the existence of  hate, aggression ; coaches have been fired  and crazy behavior has been expressed by fans loyal to their school for as long as I can remember.

In 1968, Ohio State embarrassed the University of Michigan in that game by  scoring 50 points. With Ohio State's last touchdown, coach Woody Hayes went for a two point conversion.  When asked why ,he replied because I couldn't go for three . U of M’s Bump Elliott was fired because of that embarrassing defeat and Bo Schembechler was hired. 

On that cold November 22 ,1969  day ,Ohio State had a 22 game winning streak, defending National Champions and were ranked number one in the country.  The Buckeyes were 17 1/2 point favorites and the Detroit Free Press depicted  Ohio State steamrolling and trampling over the helpless Wolverines.  

During that season, the painful memory of Ohio State's scoring 50 points was drilled into the minds of the players.  The focus that season was for a triumph to overcome Ohio State  aggressively to fight for revenge and to punish the Buckeyes.  Fritz Seyfferth told me about his encounter with Jack Tatum( Tatum was referred to as an  assassin when he played for the Oakland Raiders.when he took out and paralyzed Daryl Singley of the Patriots .Fritz,during the  kickoffs ,looked for Jack Tatum in order to demolish him, dominate him, restrain him and prohibit him from making a play.  Fritz was delighted with his performance against Tatum.Fritz’s Ego needs of Aggression, Exhibition ,Affiliation, and Dominance were clear.

Thom Darden and Mike Keller, were sophomores and starters.  Thom remembered the coach saying, "They disrespected you.  We're going to show them.  Let's go get them.  He pounded his fist through the blackboard exploding it.  Then the seniors got up and started throwing chairs around.  Tom said, "holy crap.  I was scared to death.  This was the rawhide of emotion.  It was frightening.  It was unbelievable, and something that he and many of his teammates had never experienced before." The  Ego needs aggression, affiliation, exhibition and dominance were apparent.

 Mike Keller said that coach Schembechler loved to insult his players.  One practice,  Coach was all over the field.  He put his best players on defense and during those years, the defense would always beat up on the offense.  Bo said if the other team can't score , they can't win.  Mike learned that he could not let his teammates down by blowing or not knowing an assignment and that not going all out during practice or in the game, arriving late to a team meeting wasn’t allowed. Itl was about the team, the team.  In fact, there was a sign above a door that said, essentially by sticking together as a team results in championships.  Keller also said that if he got injured in a game he wanted to be carried off on a  stretcher to show his toughness.  It was his job on defense.to show aggression . Keller’s ego needs to dominate ,with aggression, affiliation, and  exhibition were to make and carry on the tradition of  Michigan football.  It was  also to excite, amaze, fascinate, entertain, shock and entice the fans.  Michigan has one more college football game than any other college ..  

The ego need of Achievement,is to accomplish something difficult ,to master human beings ,to overcome obstacles ,to attain a high standard to excel , surpass others and to increase self regard by successful exercise of talent . The ego need of Affiliation is to draw near, cooperate, reciprocate , to adhere and remain loyal to a friend. The ego need of Aggression is; to overcome opposition forcefully, to attack, to oppose forcefully ,to punish another .The ego need of Dominance is to control one's environment ,influence the behavior of others ,to restrain  and prohibit . The ego need of Exhibition is to make an impression,to be seen, heard, and to excite  . These were  a few of the major ego needs expressed by the coaches and the players interviewed .

Another  concept that affects human behavior was called "press."  The press is essentially property, or an attitude that takes place in the environment affecting the person which facilitates or impedes his efforts to reach a driven goal . It pertains  to power .  Examples of press include but are not limited to are the well-being of the subject ;various family supports ,dangers, misfortunes, loss, and so forth.  

 According to Murray, a need is a construct which stands for force... In the brain region, a force which organizes perception,apperception, intellection, conation, and action.........The existence of a need can be inferred on the basis of selective attention in response to a particular class of stimulus objects.  The expression of a particular emotion or affect.

The Anti-Defamation League or ADL has been in existence  for over 100 years in the United States.  Their mission is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.  They fight anti-Semitism combat extremism, disrupt online hate and harassment, protect civil rights and challenge bias.  In the 1960s, with the assistance of professors from the University of California, Berkeley ,  An Anti-Sematic measure was developed.  This index was  composed of a series of statements designed to assess and analyze  anti semitic attitudes .

A few of the questions  from the index are as follows : 1.  Jews stick together more than other Americans.  2. Jews always like to be at the head of things.  3.  Jews are more loyal to Israel than  to America.  4.  Jews have too much power in the business world.   5 Jews have too much control and influence on Wall Street  6.  Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind.  7.  Jews have too much power in the United States today. 8. Jewish businessmen are so shrewd  that other people do not have a fair chance at competition.  9.   Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want.

These anti-sematic Index questions are associated with the following ego needs .  The ego needs of achievement, affiliation, aggression, exhibition , dominance  and emotion of fear are clear and unambiguous about the  perception and description  of anti semitic attitudes towards Jewish people.

 If the football players that express these ego needs are on your team, the result is satisfaction.  You want your " team" to win and to be aggressive, dominant, and achieve with  affiliation and exhibition in front of their loyal friends,  family and fans. It's the  victory that counts.  On the other hand, it’s scarry,with  fear and anxiety when the opposing team has these ego needs and is favored to win and that is disappointment. In other words,  the same ego needs can result in either a favorable   or unfavorable emotion and/or attitude depending on orientation. In essence, the same ego needs can be favorable or unfavorable and emotion of fear, which affects perception and  attitude..

Briefly, Jewish slaves fled from Ramses the Egyptian Pharaoh roughly 6000 years ago and the prejudice, discrimination, hate and fear is still present .Jews were called the killer of Christ, the son of God and he was Jewish.  Jews were accused of drinking the blood of the young gentiles they killed for Jewish religious ceremonies .Jews have been accused of taking over the world and so forth. These are all examples of ego needs of aggression ,affiliation ,exhibition dominance  and emotion of fear .

More recently, almost 90 years ago, Hitler and the Nazis claimed the Jews were bad, evil for their society and must be eliminated.  Yet, Ashkenazic Jews are considered to be the most intelligent and have contributed inordinately to our civilization.  Freud.  Einstein, Teller and  Oppenheimer are only 4 examples of Ashkenazic Jews.  1.  In 1933 approximately 0.77% of the German population was Jewish.  Nazi leaders claimed the Jews owned up to 20%.  2.  Porsche was formed in 1931 and its third co-founder  was Adolph Rosenberger.  Rosenberger fled Germany in 1935 and sold his share to Ferdinand Porsche's son, far below market value 3.  Hitler and others  were shown riding in cars, named after the granddaughter of a Hungarian rabbi.  4.  BMW and other industries used slave labor from the concentration camps as well as taking over Jewish firms.

5.  The Jews were responsible for Germany's World War I defeat, Versailles Treaty  and  the depression .These examples demonstrate Nazi  hypocrisy that the Jews must be eliminated to make Germany and the Aryan race  better. Jewish ego needs of aggression, affiliation, dominance and exhibition  and  the Nazi fear ,hypocrisy and their scapegoating propaganda employed are well-documented .According to Gov. Gavin Newsom, only 26% of California schools currently have formal Holocaust and genocide education programs in place.  74% do not.  Of these programs, 72% indicated that their programs are required, while others were optional.

Since October 7, when Israeli citizens were killed, kidnapped, raped and abused, Israeli military has wrecked havoc on the Gaza .  With sadistic protest,  “apparently “ in response to  an Israeli military and political response, some  Palestinian "students" and bad actors have disrupted  peacefully and non peacefully  on college campuses, have interfered  with lectures and have  physically attacked Jewish college students, Jewish professors and  a University of Michigan Regent.  It's logical to protest  or question the Biden's administration's policies toward Israel .However, it's insane and anti semitic to sadistically direct hate toward peaceful American Jews.  These deplorable  scapegoated actions by a number of insecure, insignificant  ,powerless subjects and their misled followers , against an unarmed but a more  achieving  productive favorable socio economic and moral group  is associated with  exploitative character  tendencies . According to the ADL/Hillel Report  83 % of Jewish college students  have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the 10/7 Hamas attacks. How are Jewish college students  directly or indirectly  responsible for Israeli government policies? How many Jews are harassing Palestinian  college students or Arab mosques in our country ?

Hamas perpetuates the hate and victimization of the Palestinians for their own existence  and not about the pursuit of independence.  They initiate an attack on Israel and the mighty Israeli army severely retaliates against the terrorist group embedded in the "civilian" population, resulting in the destruction and deaths of children and others   Thus, they have achieved their goal of perpetuating emotions of  fear, hate  and revenge against the more powerful.

PS

Murray, H.  A.  Explorations in Personality.

A Changing Republic?

 

There has been daily news coverage pertaining to our form of government.  Has our country gone from a "democracy" or “republic “to a monarchy to an authoritarian rule with its  oligarchs?  It's true that historically man has been ruled by an assortment of kings,queens, premiers, military rulers, emperors, dictators ( with a tendency for dependency and submission)  and only  recently by various forms of democracy or republic .( with a tendency for Individuation, autonomy and freedom).  This disposition addresses the characteristics of adolescents and young adults as it pertains to  tendencies for  dependency or freedom.  

In 1958, I graduated  from Denby high school.  My friends Mitch Newman, Larry Hudas  ,Ed Budde , Ed Hood.   Jim Haslip ,Jim McDonald, George Haslip , George Bletsos  , Rudy Nurmi  ,Ron Transiick , Wayne Dyer , still alive and  good friend Wayne Fiske , Dave Debusshere,  Dennis Cole ,Katie Yeager, Jan Nelson,Earlene Rentz, Judy Knopp, Lorna Goodwin, Bonnie Batieger, Linda Carter, Virginia Huntoon ,Judy Middleton   graduated from high school, married and had children..  One good friend ,in particular ,was Dave Novak.  Dave graduated from Denby and began working at General Motors.  He married Darlene and they bought their first house in Warren, Michigan.  They had two daughters and moved to the waterfront  home on St. Clair Shores.  After Dave retired, they moved to Florida.  Some of my friends graduated from college and others did not ,but all married and had children.

 Today ,there are many economic and social threats to our well-being. For instance, Income inequality for the richest Americans in the top 1% has skyrocketed since 1980 by over 800%.  Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg,  of the Us’s three richest men are referred to as oligarchs . These billionaires are worth nearly 1 trillion combined and were joined at Trump’s inauguration by the chief executive officers of Open AI and Tik Tok .

In 2023 , the US experienced 28 separate weather and climate disasters costing  billions .  The cost of the Los Angeles wildfires could be at least $250 billion and could reach $30 billion for insurers. Insurance companies have no trouble when it comes to raising rates for  Insurers but don't like paying for damages so they either drop coverage and/ or leave the state . 

Social media's ability to manipulate , control seems second to none.  This emphasis on anonymous mass communication with its  propaganda, extremism and hate excels with outcomes  of division, conformity, loss of reason and rationality, leaving its mark on the insignificance and loss of individuality on so many.

Psychologically, a most necessary development for humans occurs especially in adolescence. Concepts used to describe this conflict include the " will," "individuation," "identity" and quest for” freedom” are in a battle with  dependency.  In adolescence ,there’s an active relationship between individuals with and to themselves.  Some adolescents  assert themselves, even in a negative way, against their parents ,in order to define themselves.  It's a  battle of wills. It's an attempt as  separation from parents' control ,rules ,ideas, restrictions and moral  teachings

The move away from dependency is fearful as not all individuals can successfully separate.and reduce their fear by becoming more independent. Others can use fear as a constructive force rather than a guilty crippling force in their separation from both mother and father.  If the individual can't  effectively and emotionally separate but remains too dependent that affects his superego development. He remains with a primitive moral conscience with the ability to identify with primarily  unsavory authoritarian types.  It  also diminishes ,and affects their  quest for independence, freedom ,within conscience.. Being  primitively restricted,  freedom is diminished as the adolescent is unable to  say no to  parents . no to  representatives of external forces, and no to external authority. This results  with  compliance and obedience regardless of moral and/or ethical qualities of dictatorial types  . Further, with a limited development of reason, objectivity they become more irrational .Some parents  are more able to support their teen’s independence better than others that hold on tight.

With  tendencies for independence, identity and  freedom results in  a force  to become more human by developing a humanistic morality and ethics. Also ,the development of Intellectual and emotional capacity leads to less egocentrism, more empathy, a belonging with  affiliation , mutuality, being able to love , being able to produce productively,and  work contributing to society. In essence, with emotional separation  ,individuals now have the ability to make a choice.  The choice is either uniting within a world with qualities of humanism or authoritarianism.

The results of this past 2024 presidential election were associated with  rejections of the Constitution ,democracy and the rule of law.  Over 89 million registered voters failed to vote, thereby passive aggressively  supporting the election of the convicted felon, authoritarian and would be king.. Further, a statistical breakdown of  voting and non- voting adolescents and young adults provided support for their dependence , submission, loss of freedom and for government control by the rich and powerful Titans of industry and technology..  

An article in the December 29, 2024 edition of The New York Times titled 10 Charts That Explain 2024 reported that Trump's change in the voting share from 2020- 2024 had  a +7 % increase with the 18 to 29-year-old Americans  and a + 6 point increase with  no college degree .Of the 89 million registered voters  that did not vote.,there were approximately 58 % of the18 to 29-year-olds. However,of those 18 to 29-year-olds  that did vote ,52 to 54% of them voted for Harris with the majority being females..

 According to the AP Vote Cast Survey  the economy , jobs and abortion were  the most important issues. For those stating the economy and jobs, 40%  were likely to vote for Trump. In essence:why vote for a man whose neurotic goal is not the economy of the poor, but the pursuit of economic , political power, status and control with means and his primary goal to protect his interests.

A few socio-economic and mental health statistics from the American Psychological Association. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Cigna's 2020 Loneliness Survey, National Center for Health Statistics ,Center for Disease Control and Prevention follows: 1.  Marriage rates from 2017 to 2018 dropped to 6.99% per 1,000 population .It’s the lowest for periods between 1900 and 2018.  2.  Since 2007 ,young men living with their parents at home increased from 14.2% to 18.6%,This is  the highest level since the Census Bureau started counting in 1960.  3.  From 2021 to 2022 , the high school graduation rate was 87%  4. College enrollment between the ages of 18 to 24 has declined by 1.2 million since 2011. 5. Males 18 to 24 make up 42% of young college students in 4 year colleges. Of those men in college, 43% are likely to graduate 6. In 2022 , 57% of male high school graduates have enrolled in college.

Statistics regarding mental and physical health: 1.  Obesity in men ages 20 to 39, are 40.3%.  Obesity increased significantly among men between 2017 -2018.  2 Firearms are the leading cause of death for ages 1-17 and  in 2022 there were 2526  ;2240 motor vehicle deaths and 1444 cancer deaths.  3.  This  rate for firearms doubled between 2013- 2022  for teenagers 1-17  4.  In  2019 You Gov surveyed 1000 adults and found that 29% of millennial's stated they always feel lonely and 27% had no close friends.  5.  Men felt lonely more often than women- 23% for men  compared to 20% females 6..  10,000 adults were surveyed. and young adults had higher rates of loneliness  than older adults.  70% of young adults reported  that they sometimes  feel alone, shy and that no one really understands  them.  7.. More  adolescents and young adults in   2010 compared to the 2020  experienced  psychological distress, major depression, suicide thoughts or attempted suicide . Suicide rates ,ages 20-24  increased and homicide rates increased from 2014-2021 . Gun suicide incresed 40% between 2013-2021. 8. In a study of  200,000 adolescent  ages 12 to 17 reported symptoms consistent with depression  within the last 12 months . This was a 52% increase from 2005 in 2017 and 63% of young adults aged 18 to 25 . Also, there was a 71% increase in young adults  experiencing serious psychological distress  from 2008 -2017 . Suicide thoughts and suicide related outcomes increased 47% from  2008 -2017. These statistics paint a grim picture for the present and future.

We've had a history of emperors, kings, queens and  rulers exploiting man for their own neurotic desire for profit and control.  We had revolutions and an "Age of Enlightenment". About 250 years ago. our  " experiment" started  .  Then within this past  century, we fought  against the evils of political rule  and mass  destruction.. Hobbes believed that man's lust for power results in hostility because of self interest and the wish for power to secure his economic and social interests.  Freud thought that man's nature leads him in sadomasochistic ways and  is headed for destruction. John Dewey in Freedom and Culture stated “I use the term fascism or authoritarianism to denote a dictatorial system of the type of the German or Italian one.  ........ I shall call it Nazi-ism, which is given a victory to external authority, discipline ,uniformity and dependence upon.  ...... The battlefield is also accordingly here - within ourselves and our institutions."  

IDo we have a  submission characteristic because we are eager to surrender  based on childhood dependance ? Are we indifferent to freedom because of the vast power and impact of  economic and social conditions ? Are we indifferent to freedom because  of our insecurity , irrationality with an absence of control , insignificance ,and helplessness ?  Do we receive  satisfaction and pleasure in  submission because of our identifications, conditioning and  by being part of group consensus ?  Can we cope with the existential crisis of separation ,being alone, being an insignificant speck,insecure, anxious ,surrounded by absurdity and contradictions, faced with mortality  without  submitting to  a  commanding , demanding authoritarian  parental substitute for dependency ,security, safety ,being part ( belonging) to the crowd ,subservient ,loyal ,compliant  and obeying all the rules, commands and expectations ? 

PS

Sunday was mom's  116th  birthday..  Symbolically ,today's experience put me in touch with  existential anxiety  as I started out for a trail run ,which was once called the Cawthorne trail , and made my way down to the recycling center, the 16th mile marker, of nature's most beautiful green  fully forested Western States trail  on BLM land . I was alone, separate and a small item compared to the vastness of my unlimitless surroundings . After a while , I  encountered two unfamiliar females running towards me. Much later, I  crossed paths with Diane L.and her dog.as my thoughts were briefly interrupted .On this familiar trail, I rode Raider and Gypsy with Linda; ran with Bill J.  Chris T.  Linda R.  and especially with my border collie Sherry and with  Tony and his border collie Dale plus numerous others , Tony's having a  medical consultation regarding his MRI leg issues on  Monday.  He ran too fast when he was younger .  Thank you again mom  for  being my mom .