Four countries that have nearly eliminated gun deaths

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Coral Springs Talk from Coral Springs, United States.

Anyone who believes that all human beings are hopelessly and incurably aggressive and that nothing can be done to halt the growing number of mass shootings in this country should read Chris Weller’s article in Business Insider.

And please don’t try to tell me we the people can’t move our country in the same  directions as Australia, the UK, Norway, and Japan if we become more active, more educated about political candidates, more willing to speak out on behalf of nonviolence, more willing to speak truth to power.  No community, however rich or white, can be safe from gun violencse while the NRA owns such a large percentage of our Congress.   Do you care about your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews? if so, maybe it is time for you to become a gun control activist.

RESIST, YES—BUT RESIST WHOM?

“Dark days ahead for the United States as a result of the Presidential Election, 2016.” This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Bee Certain.

In the terrifying Alice-in-Wonderland days of a new President with little understanding of the Constitution and no respect for principles of social justice, the slogan RESIST has gone viral, as well it should. The big questions are: RESIST WHOM? RESIST HOW?

Although the focus has been on Donald Trump, who so far has seemed to attract adoration and loathing in large quantities, but has many pundits have increasingly pointed out, Trump is a symptom and an outcome of problems that have been besieging the American political system for generations.

The millions of Americans who are horrified by Donald Trump as President need to address the factors that led to his (mis)election and that could enable him to put his noxious plans into effect.

Some very good advice on this issue comes from an article entitled “How to stop an autocracy” by Ezra Klein on Vox .

Klein’s thesis is that “The danger isn’t that Trump will build an autocracy; It’s that Congressional Republicans will let him.” And the threat is not autocracy but “partyocracy.”

Klein offers some excellent insight into the wisdom and intentions of the creators of the Founding Fathers, and an extensive analysis of david Frum’s Atlantic article  “How to build an autocracy”

In his discussion of the role of the U.S. Constitutional separation of powers in curbing excesses by the Executive Branch, Klein tips his hat to authorities in the Judicial system who are challenging the legality of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts; however, he puts particular emphasis on the corrective balance that could be exercised the legislative branch–i.e., Congress.

One of Klein’s main concerns, which he believes the Founding Fathers failed to anticipate, is the pernicious effect on checks and balances that can accrue in a rigidly two-party system in which the goal of each party is essentially to pursue its own agenda and try to subvert the other party.

Looking for ways to resist the Trump agenda? I recommend that you read Klein’s full article and send your comments about it to this post on engaging peace.

 

 

 

The “Just Enough” Policy: Behavioral Control of Collective Protest through Minimum Reward, Part 2 of a 3-part series

 

Author: James Montgomery Flagg. 1917. In the public domain

The “Just Enough” Principle

by Dr. Anthony Marsella

The answer to questions raised in my previous post may reside in an organized effort to control behavioral responses by making use of a well-known psychological principle that offers “Just enough.” This principle pairs a positive behavior with a “sufficient” reward to maintain control of desired outcomes.

While there are increasing signs of American citizen discontent with both

government (e.g., 6% citizen satisfaction with Congress based on surveys, election defeats of incumbents) and corporate (e.g., community activism, Occupy Wall Street, union protests) sectors, collective discontent has been denied, contained, or suppressed.

The well-known words attributed to Queen Marie Antoinette — actually penned by Jean-Jacques Rousseau — capture the exigencies of the situation. “The peasants have no bread, let them eat cake (brioche).” No, no, no, never give too much! The key is “Just Enough!”

  • Just enough comfort, to keep them pacified;
  • Just enough tolerance, to keep them silent;
  • Just enough patience, to keep them waiting;
  • Just enough doubt, to keep them wondering;
  • Just enough satisfaction, to keep them content;
  • Just enough humiliation, to keep them humbled;
  • Just enough force, to keep them controlled;
  • Just enough deceit, to keep them believing;
  • Just enough confusion, to keep them bewildered;
  • Jus enough money, to keep them grateful;
  • Just enough vilification, to keep them angry;
  • Just enough sorrow, to keep them dulled;
  • Just enough entertainment, to keep them pre-occupied;
  • Just enough suspicion, to keep them paranoid;
  • Just enough patriotism, to keep them feeling exceptional;
  • Just enough comfort food, to keep them lethargic;
  • Just enough uncertainty, to keep them fearful;
  • Just enough secrecy, to keep them guessing;
  • Just enough “stupid” movies and TV shows, to keep them dumb;
  • Just enough partisanship, to keep them divided;
  • Just enough fear of job loss, to keep them passive;
  • Just enough force, to keep them hesitant;
  • Just enough technology changes, to keep them hypnotized;
  • Just enough media collaboration, to keep them ignorant;
  • Just enough freedom, to keep them thinking they have choice;
  • Just enough surveillance, monitoring, and archiving of privacy, to keep them ignorant of  technological realities;
  • Just enough beer, grass, dope, and dancing to keep them laughing;
  • Just enough violence, to keep them violent;
  • Just enough celebrities, to keep them dreaming;
  • Just enough stereotyping, to keep them biased;
  • Just enough advertising, to keep them buying;
  • Just enough hope, to keep them hopeful.

 

Anthony Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the TRANSCEND Network, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. He is known nationally and internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 15 edited books, and more than 250 articles, chapters, book reviews, and popular pieces. He can be reached at marsella@hawaii.edu.

 

This is the second in a three-part series originally published on https://www.transcend.org/tms/2014/06/the-just-enough-policy-behavioral-control-of-collective-protest-through-minimum-reward/

Valentine’s Day messages for peace

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day to embrace love over hate, non-violence over death and destruction, peace over war.

Many groups that embrace an ethic of peace and social justice focus some of their creative energy and dedication to Valentine’s Day messages, and these are particularly appropriate during the Season of Nonviolence.

The V-Day movement, an international effort to end violence against women, began in 1998 with one event and this year involves more than 1500 events in at least 140 countries. Working with other organizations dedicated to non-violent social change, they are the sponsors of One Billion Rising.

One Billion Rising is urging “ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to violence against women” today and every day.

United to End Genocide plans to deliver a valentine to the National Rifle Association (NRA) saying, “Have a heart: Don’t Kill the Arms Trade Treaty.” My name will be on that valentine. How about yours?  You can learn more about United to End Genocide by watching this video.

United to End Genocide is joined in this Valentine’s Day Plan by the Win Without War Coalition, which includes groups such as the American Friends Service Committee, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Council for a Livable World, Greenpeace,  the NAACP, NOW, and Psychologists for Social Responsibility.

The Women’s Human Rights Program of Amnesty International USA plans to deliver a Valentine’s Day message to Congress, reminding them that all women deserve to live a life free from violence. So do all men.

Enjoy the day, spread love, and find a way to join the singing and dancing of the One Billion Rising movement.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology