Responsible democracy

[Note from Kathie Malley-Morrison: Today we welcome the second of several contributions by our guest contributor, Dr. Majed Ashy. And be sure to listen to his recent interview on Internet radio; just click on the sidebar links.]

Egyptian protests, January 25, 2011
Egyptian protests. Photo by Muhammad Ghafari (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic; from Wikimedia Commons)

Some international stereotypes about the Middle East might be convenient, but can mislead those who hold them, lead to inappropriate responses, and serve as obstacles to further development in the Middle East.

It is important to acknowledge that relative freedoms already exist in several Arab countries such as the Gulf States; many of these countries adhere to Islamic laws in various degrees and many have experienced remarkable economic and social development in the past 40 years, along with good and responsible relations with many other nations.

I suggest that there is an international need to develop what I call Responsible Democracy. Responsible democracy would require that people take their freedoms seriously and understand the consequences of their choices and political participation. It entails gathering information from multiple sources on the issues at hand, and attending to principles of morality, peace, and international law before making political choices. Successful governments adapt to and respect the needs and the development of their peoples.

Responsible democracy rejects intellectual laziness, stereotyping, and adolescent tendency towards screaming, adventures, taking sides, fighting, and winning. It is based on a healthy understanding of politics, citizenship, patriotism, international law, one’s own place in the world and history, and recognition of how the world and its people are interlinked.

I think the Middle East is evolving towards responsible democracies driven by internal forces of morality, culture, and history. Some of its governments have been reforming wisely, gradually, and peacefully towards that achievement.

I believe that a fair form of government that respects, takes seriously, and responds to its peoples’ needs and aspirations, as well as their natural rights, and their historical and cultural developments, is a prerequisite for mental health. In turn, mental health can contribute to responsible democracy and governance, and to international peace.

Majed Ashy, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Merrimack College and a research fellow in psychiatry at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School

A recipe for tolerance on Thanksgiving

What the first celebration of colonists and native people  symbolized more than anything else was the coming together in peace of people with different languages, different ethnicities, different cultures, and different religions.

U.S. Army soldiers eat Thanksgiving meal in Afghanistan, 2009
U.S. Army Soldiers eat their Thanksgiving meal on Combat Outpost Cherkatah, Khowst province, Afghanistan, Nov. 26, 2009. Photo in public domain; from Wikimedia Commons.

The Europeans were immigrants coming into a new land. It was the native peoples who helped assure their survival through the first winter, taught them much about farming, and celebrated with them their first successful crop.

Although George Washington issued the nation’s first proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving in 1789, it was not until the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, spurred by activist Sara Josepha Hale, that the November celebration was established as an annual national holiday. Lincoln’s proclamation urged all Americans to pray for “all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.” These are words to live by.

Today when the drumbeat of hatred and intolerance grows louder, fueling wars worldwide, please use this Thanksgiving  to set aside your own prejudices. With your family and friends, reflect on how a key moment in U.S. history epitomized the principles of acceptance, open-mindedness and peace.

To help you set the table for tolerance, check out the Recipe for Diversity and Teaching Tolerance. And for more information about the history of Thanksgiving as a U.S. national holiday, you might enjoy this video.

Then liven up your menus with some recipes rooted in our historical traditions:
Stewed Pompion (Pumpkin)
Sullabub (a parfait-like precursor to eggnog)

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology
Pat Daniel, Managing Editor of Engaging Peace

Theories of war and peace

Why do people go to war? Are they just naturally aggressive? Are they “blank slates” who are conditioned by rewards and punishments to fight?

War cemetery photo from Bavaria, Germany
Durnbach War Cemetery, Bavaria, Germany. (From WikiMedia Commons; Permission granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.)

A few psychologists have developed theoretical “constructs” that may shed light on these questions. These ideas could prove useful in understanding the apparent readiness of humans to tolerate and participate in wars and other inhumanities at the urging of their political and military leaders.

In this blog, we will discuss some of these theoretical frameworks.

We use the term “constructs” to remind readers that “constructs” are what theories address. That is, philosophers and scientists impose their own theoretical constructions on reality to try to make sense out of it. They invent terms like “aggressive instinct,” “fight or flight,” and “need for power” to try to explain the behaviors they see.

The ultimate test of any theory is its (probably temporary) success in helping people make sense out of the complexities of their experience.

Our goal will not be to convince you of the rightness or wrongness of any theory. Rather, we invite you to consider with us the extent to which the theories help us understand why throughout history so many people (but by no means all of them) have seemed so ready to slaughter and be slaughtered.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology