A Few More Thoughts

....mainly, the ones that didn't fit in yesterday's edition of "Random S*** I Thought Of That Might Actually Make Sense With More Caffeine (read: Editing)".

Yesterday, among my other ramblings, I mentioned that we are our thoughts. I genuinely believe that. When we are in fear, our thoughts tend, naturally, toward self-protection, but in a very old, reptilian-brain kind of way. In that state, we are reactive--shooting first, and then asking the questions.

It has been scientifically proven* that in such a fearful state, our capacity for clear, critical thinking is compromised--we are much more malleable and open to being controlled by others. We also are more quick to judge, to think of people who are "Not-Us", especially those outside our immediate circle, as The Other--as separate from us--and, therefore, a potential threat, a dehumanizing move that makes it easier to justify everything from cutting someone off in traffic to genocide. It is exactly that fear-based thinking--especially when reinforced by outside sources such as our families, our religious communities, our government, or the media--that creates racism, religious fanaticism, and is at the root of the justification for just about every war.


I have come to believe that we live in a culture that profits from our fear--from keeping us in a persistent state of low anxiety. We can never have enough, do enough, BE enough, unless we buy this product, have this surgical procedure, believe in this god, have this job or this partner or this much money (and all we need do is look at the example of Robin Williams--or any other celebrity suicide--to see how very little "having it all" means). We are trained from a very early age to believe that contentment is based on external--usually material--factors. So much of what we see in the media reinforces this negative narrative of our world until we internalize it, and it becomes part of our personal narrative. The fear of "Not-Enough" has created a society full of needy, fearful, lonely people who have been convinced that we are somehow lacking--is it any wonder so many people are depressed? In isolating ourselves we have also created a culture where we have been told that the individual is the highest unit of the social order--that self-sufficiency is a virtue, and that lack of empathy is a desirable trait, necessary for material success (i.e., in the workforce). Admitting our need for support from others is not praised, but derided. Empathy is dismissed as a weakness.


The truth is, empathy is an evolutionary necessity if we are to survive as a species. In times when food and other resources were scarce, we survived because we helped each other; because we created units--families, cities, states, communities--to support each other. Alone, we are vulnerable.

In a society where keeping us malleable by keeping us fearful and depressed is the status quo, choosing to be happy, to use our critical thinking capabilities instead of merely reacting, is a revolutionary act. Mental health is a political issue. We must choose to work toward knowing ourselves so that we can be better to ourselves and each other, so that we all can grow as a species.

Yes, we are fanged, shit-flinging apes: but we are also hard-wired to move beyond that, to evolve, to grow. Empathy is a muscle--one that grows with use. Strength doesn't come from hardening against the world, but in softening to it; not fighting, but accepting, what is, from seeing--and acting--clearly, without fear. From remembering that we are all in this together--as our own founding fathers said, "United We Stand; Divided We Fall."

Let's be kinder to each other. Because our survival depends on it.
RM

*=again, I am happy to provide sources upon request.