This lack of understanding has four immediate and disastrous outcomes
by Robert J. Burrowes
I have previously written many articles describing one
or more aspects of the dysfunctional nature of the typical human mind, together
with an explanation of how this came about and what we can do about it. See,
for example, many of the articles republished in ‘Key Articles’and the source documents ‘Why Violence?’ and ‘Fearless
Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice’.
I have also explained that it is this dysfunctional
psychological foundation that generated the behaviors, as well as the
political, economic, legal and social institutions (such as capitalism), that
are driving the multifaceted and existential crisis in which humanity now finds
itself.
Moreover, on that basis, my own focus has
significantly evolved from the research and nonviolent activism that occupied
me for several decades to now include an ongoing effort to have this
psychological dysfunctionality addressed as a central feature of our efforts to
understand and transform dysfunctional political, economic, legal and social
institutions as well as to understand and end war (including the threat of
nuclear war), the environmental crisis (including the climate catastrophe) and
all other ongoing conflicts that bedevil humanity.
You may believe that psychology is unimportant to your
understanding of conflict or that it is the realm of specialists but, in fact,
it is crucial to any deeper and complete understanding of the origin and
unfolding of our crisis and it is far from complicated simply because any
psychological dysfunctionality can be explained in straightforward language
which is readily understood by most people. For a sample, try ‘The Disintegrated Mind: The
Greatest Threat to Human Survival on Earth’.
But because only the rarest psychologist and
psychiatrist understands human psychology – as I have explained in ‘Defeating the Violence of
Psychiatry’ – most of the
literature on psychology and psychiatry is virtually incomprehensible, not to
mention inaccurate. This lack of understanding has four immediate and
disastrous outcomes.
First, it leads to groups of psychological symptoms
being linked together and then given an arbitrary label (so that the fields of
psychology/psychiatry can sound as if they know what they are talking about
while excluding those who do not comprehend their jargon).
Second, it provides cover for the pharmaceutical
industry to profit massively from the manufacture and sale of drugs that
theoretically suppress key symptoms of, rather than cure, the psychological
dysfunction that has been ‘diagnosed’.
Third, it precludes accurate diagnosis and treatment
of any dysfunction: obviously, if a problem is not understood it cannot be
responded to powerfully so that the issue is resolved. (Of course, it is more
profitable for practitioners and the pharmaceutical industry if any dysfunction
is not resolved but simply requires ongoing – that is, endless –
‘therapy’/drugs.)
Fourth and most fundamentally of all, it limits the
domain of what is considered psychological dysfunctionality to those with
‘identifiable’ mental illnesses. But psychological dysfunctionality goes well
beyond those considered to have a mental illness and is simply an outcome of
the fact that mental health, like physical health, has many dimensions that
require appropriate attention for the human organism to function optimally.
So, beyond the many examples I have offered previously
in the articles I cited above (and others not cited but also available on the ‘Feelings First’ website), I would now like to describe further common
examples of psychological dysfunctionality that are impeding both activists and
those they are trying to mobilize in the effort to save Earth’s biosphere and
avert human extinction, particularly given the timeframe in which this must now
happen. See ‘Human Extinction by 2026? A
Last Ditch Strategy to Fight for Human Survival’.
As a result of the ‘socialization’ (more accurately
labeled ‘terrorization’) to which all children are subjected throughout their
childhood and adolescence (which involves inflicting unending ‘visible’,
‘invisible’ and ‘utterly invisible’ violence on them during these periods) –
see ‘Why Violence?’ – the typical young human being obediently (or, often
enough, unconsciously) acquires the set of attitudes, beliefs and values (as
well as the consequent behaviors) that are approved by the significant adults (and
predominant institutions) in their life. These attitudes, beliefs and values,
however, are often so deeply entrenched by the (unconscious) fear that holds
them in place that they are never subjected to serious scrutiny by the
individual: whether functional or otherwise, they are accepted without question
and, over time, acquire the status of ‘incontrovertible fact’ (as the
individual perceives them).
The most obvious (and highly negative) consequence of
being terrorized into accepting the attitudes, beliefs and values of the
significant adults (and predominant institutions) around them is that the
capacities to analyze a problem or conflict (often including its roots in the
nature of their society), to seek out relevant (and perhaps complex) evidence to
understand the issues arising from it, to plan a strategy so that underlying
drivers of the problem or conflict are addressed in depth and to then behave
strategically (often in concert with others) to achieve this outcome are simply
never developed beyond the most superficial levels (sufficient, say, for a
socially approved career, whether trade or professional).
As a result, the typical human being is simply going
through the routine of ‘growing up’ (which also critically involves being
further terrorized into becoming a submissive citizen and worker/soldier at
school for a decade or more: see ‘Do We Want School or
Education?’), choosing
post-secondary education and/or an approved job doing what someone else tells
you, and then doing that job (or an equivalent) for decades (usually having a
partner and children in the process and perhaps some hobby as well).
Fundamentally, humans are terrorized into taking on
the ‘socially-constructed delusional identity’ that their society imposes on
them and then calling it ‘me’. Their personal life journey is now so utterly
obliterated from their awareness that the idea of seeking out their own unique
destiny never even occurs to them. Of course, some people (in industrialized
societies at least) are compensated for their sacrifice: wages, entertainment,
travel and other trinkets. But, for most, these trinkets are given in sparing
quantities and for many others around the world (in deliberately
‘underdeveloped’ countries), not at all.
Terrorized into believing that this is all that life
has to offer, only the rarest individual aspires to more. Endless consumption
of goods and services (no matter the quality, beauty or functionality) – see ‘Love Denied: The Psychology
of Materialism, Violence and War’
– at the expense of the Earth, becomes the reason for living. Because life
itself no longer has meaning.
So here we are, a human population that is so devoid
of self and planetary awareness that we are on the brink of precipitating our
own extinction. Do you really believe that this is where we would be if we were
all psychologically functional? Manipulated and controlled by an unaccountable
global elite that is utterly insane – see ‘The Global Elite is Insane
Revisited’ – using its many
agents, including governments, to easily deceive us into consuming ever more in
pursuit of capitalism’s ‘God’ – endless economic growth (that is, corporate
profit, power and privilege) – the bulk of the human population submissively
unaware (except of the latest scandal or sports result) and most activists (who
purport to be trying to do something about the perilous state of the world)
incapable of thinking, planning and acting strategically to struggle for
outcomes that are so desperately needed. See, for example, ‘Why Activists Fail’.
So what can we do?
Well, given that the enormous
psychological dysfunctionality of most humans is the primary driver of our
accelerating rush to extinction – again, see ‘Human Extinction by 2026? A
Last Ditch Strategy to Fight for Human Survival’ – I encourage you to seriously consider incorporating
strategies to address this dysfunctionality into any effort you make to improve
our world.
For virtually all adults, it
will include reviewing your relationship with children and, ideally, making ‘My Promise to Children’. Critically, this will include learning the skill of
nisteling. See ‘Nisteling: The Art of Deep
Listening’.
For those who feel psychologically capable, consider
campaigning strategically to achieve the outcomes we need. See Nonviolent Campaign Strategy or Nonviolent Defense/Liberation
Strategy. The global elite is
deeply entrenched – fighting its wars, exploiting people, destroying the
biosphere, invading/occupying resource-rich countries – and not about to give
way without a concerted effort by many of us campaigning strategically on
several key fronts.
If you recognize the pervasiveness of the fear-driven
violence in our world, consider joining the global network of people resisting
it by signing the online pledge of ‘The People’s Charter to Create a
Nonviolent World’.
But if you do nothing else
while understanding the simple point that Earth’s biosphere cannot sustain a
human population of this magnitude of whom more than half endlessly
over-consume, then consider accelerated participation in the strategy outlined
in‘The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth’.
Or, if this feels too
complicated, consider committing to:
The Earth Pledge
Out of love for the Earth and all of its creatures,
and my respect for their needs, from this day onwards I pledge that:
1. I will listen deeply to children(see explanation above)
2. I will not travel by plane
3. I will not travel by car
4. I will not eat meat and fish
5. I will only eat organically/biodynamically grown
food
6. I will minimize the amount of fresh water I use,
includingby minimizing my ownership and use of electronic devices
7. I will not buy rainforest timber
8. I will not buy or use single-use plastic, such as
bags, bottles, containers, cups and straws
9. I will not use banks, superannuation (pension)
funds or insurance companies that provide any service to corporations involved
in fossil fuels, nuclear power and/or weapons
10. I will not accept employment from, or invest in,
any organization that supports or participates in the exploitation of fellow
human beings or profits from killing and/or destruction of the biosphere
11. I will not get news from the corporate media
(mainstream newspapers, television, radio, Google, Facebook, Twitter…)
12. I will make the effort to learn a skill, such as
food gardening or sewing, that makes me more self-reliant
13. I will gently encourage my family and friends to
consider signing this pledge.
Conclusion
There is a great deal wrong with our world, which
continues to get worse every day. And, as should be obvious from my argument
above, if we as a species do not start to remove the (largely unconscious) fear
that limits our minds and governs our behavior, we will continue contributing
to this predicament rather than resolving it.
I am well aware that this point is not where the
typical individual wants to start and that is assuming the point is even
understood. After all, because most fear is unconscious, it is easy for people
to fail to identify their own dysfunctional behavior (or to rationalize it by
believing in the ‘importance’ of what they do).So while you may like to believe
that we do not have to ‘start’ with this point, collectively speaking, we cannot
ignore it either, if human survival is our aim.
The key issue is that for our strategy to mobilize
people in this great struggle for survival to be effective, we must also be
mobilizing parents, teachers, religious leaders and other adults to reconsider
and profoundly revise their relationship with children. This is because every
child who is not dysfunctionalized becomes a powerful agent for change. If we
do not do this, we will continue to undermine the overall struggle, even if we
precipitate some interim victories along the way.
My own preoccupation is ending violence, averting
human extinction and building anew and sustainably our relationships with the
Earth and each other. What about you?
Biodata: Robert J. Burrowes
has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has
done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings
are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?’ His
email address is flametree@riseup.net and his website is here.
Post a Comment