October 23, 2020
Freedom from and freedom to.
We have now a polarized nation with a very controversial president who is crass, misogynistic, argumentative, belittling, macho competitive, and a liar, spinner of conspiracy nonsense, a cheater in relationships of others loyal to him, a reputed rapist, and proud sexual conqueror of woman, and selfish so the deaths and morbidity of our Covid epidemic does not concern him. His business enterprises have continued while he pursues policies that lobbyist suggest to him from clients with corporation interests and maybe foreign government interests. He is proud to say he pays as little as he can in taxes but now he is being audited and his financial records now reveal troubling foreign loans of over two hundred million dollars. He does not respect the Hatch Act. The party to which he belongs is fairly silent concerning these character sociopathic behaviors, but instead are a do nothing senate majority that gave a great tax break to the wealthy but have not come up with their promised national infrastructure overhaul, their promised replacement for the Obama Health Care law replacement which they want to dismantle, and needed stimulus relief for our state and local government revenue shortfalls. Our unemployed ranks have mushroomed due to the virus, and instead of continued assistance for them our senate have appointed judges that are very conservative and maybe loyal to their party. Our courts are under attack. Our environmental protections are being dismantled. Our national treasures in protected lands are being freed for exploitation by corporations. Toxic waste in the atmosphere and to our health and lands are being ignored. Foreign policy cooperative relationships with trusted allies are being eroded, and adversaries that are actively undermining our democracy through attacks on our voting through influences on our social media and news organizations are tolerated and even admired by our president. Our various cabinet officers have come and gone due to our presidents attempts to dismantle their mission and functioning. Respected scientists and researchers in our government have been undermined, silenced, and threatened.
Our social and news media has undergone serious changes over this half century. With electronic gadgets and computer like viewers we are under surveillance, our interests, wearabouts, and financial and social transactions are noted with feedback through emails, texts, and tweets, etc. back to us echoing our interests and nudging and influencing us in directions that large corporations, political parties, special interest groups want us to endorse or ignore. False information is circulated with pseudoevents created and reported so that the lies are seen as truths and the truth is distorted, ignored, or disparaged. True conspiracy group thinking becomes common place and trusted news sources with accurate fact checking is ignored. Research has indicated that these forces are hacking our minds!
Since corporations now are allowed to speak out and support political parties and lobby congress their interests are positively responded to while interest groups with political presence advocating for laws and government support for labor union worker protections, working class and middle class issues related to public safety, violence control with reasonable gun and weapons regulations, health care support, and jobs retraining and creation programs to assist our under educated under trained populations are ignored. For example, about one hundred corporations are responsible for the majority of our air pollution in the world but they are little regulated to stop this pollution. Instead they pursue profits for their executives and shareholders without regard for the public good.
Our public discourse has now included demonstration and protests in our communities over police violence and social and economic injustices against people of color, injustices against women, laws that discriminate against minorities who are disproportionately incarcerated, and asylum seekers and immigrant groups who are hounded with prejudice. Now counter demonstrations with sometimes violent confrontation occur with radical groups of white supremacists and conspiracy theory believers. Demonstrations in the communities where there is severe economic problems with social disruption due to family strife and disruption is associated with vandalism since the victimized are enraged and lack social cohesions to temper their frustrations. These situations involve anarchy. Associated with this is our wealth distributions has dramatically changed since the 1960's. The very wealthy one or two per cent of the population live lavish lifestyles while the middle class is shrinking, and more and more people are sinking into poverty. We have a growing poverty and hunger and food shortage problem in the U.S.A.
Now I can get to the meat of my blog. The above is preamble. When I was a boy I was seen by my mother as the prince. I was handsome, the youngest and lovable to my mother and relatives. My journey after nine years old to moving into a more affluent area was more an adjustment while I felt an outsider and wanting acceptance I managed to enjoy my tumultuous adolescence besides these issues. In college, I met Ann and fell in love. My macho qualities that I nurtured was not greatly admired by her and I was fortunate in being able to hear and see the value of her more caring and empathic viewpoints about life and a better society. At that time, I learned more about the holocaust and I paid more attention to the injustices of the world. She taught me that women were discriminated and disparaged in the work world while she pursued a career in the military. I saw the NOW organization (National Organization of Women) as a needed group approach. I became more aware of the forces that attempted to subjugate and place the woman as the homemaker, child care giver, and helpmate to the man the reputed head of the household. Having a daughter helped in this journey to understand and change my views so we could have a better world for my children. When in training as a psychiatrist I gravitated to community psychiatry rather than the introspective individual treatment of the psychoanalysts that were my mentors then. When graduating at a party I was teased by my mentors and teachers as Spartacus attempting to free the slaves. Now with Rebecca I continue to see and learn to communicate better across some wide divides. I recall when Ann was sick with pancreatic cancer our neighbor teenage children were raucous and loud next door past 10 P.M. I went over the next day to talk with the parents who initially viewed my concern as confrontational until I appealed to them to consider that Ann was sick I wanted her to get a restful nights sleep. There was improvement. Years later the same neighbor during the Covid lockdown period with only online schooling purchased a portable basketball hoop and backboard putting it besides our wall. The ball missed the backboard and came crashing over our wall to bounce erratically into various objects and damaging one. Rebecca appealed to the teenage son talking over the wall with him and he promised to be more careful but the ball continued to come over. She persisted in her conversation asking him to move the portable basketball hoop and backboard away from our wall so the problem was solved. The teenager said that this would interfere with the parking of the cars with his family. Then his father came out talking with Rebecca he finally heard her say that the ball was destroying our property and he had the equipment moved. The next day she went over the house and gave them some banana bread she made. I'm learning from her.
Our political system appears to be influenced by masculine feminine paradigm. If you wear a mask your conforming and giving up your choice and freedom to do what you want. Rather than if you wear a adequate mask you are helping others remain healthy and preventing yourself from becoming infected. If you vote for Trump you are protecting your retirement funds since he is a business man and so am I. You can not allow those others who are different and maybe living near you and associate with you since if they get more rights you will lose yours. Change makes you weaker and we become influenced by alien religions, ideas, and practices. While the values of social justice, equal opportunity, fairness in the workplace, sharing responsibilities, assisting the handicapped and less fortunate may be viewed by the feminist as positive qualities and pursuits to the masculine more radical person viewed as weaknesses to avoid. Studies of voter preferences reveal that the more masculine support Trump while the opposite gender views are more endorsed by women and men less burdened with that baggage. I am tempted to share the articles that support my point of views so far expressed but now I'm about finished with this blog so I won't. Instead I'm looking forward to viewing Borat's latest parody of these issues including Giuliani's almost exposure this evening.
Leonard
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