social pathologies – Engaging Peace

The four tenets of Leaderful Practice as against the traditional model of leadership. In the public domain. Author: Madhwani Vicky.

By Kathie MM

Selected New Year’s Resolution of the Day: Engage new leaders at every level of the political system.

The country’s government is a mess, has been so for ages , and is getting worse. That’s why you frequently hear the term “populism” in regard to the last election.

Populist movements act to “disrupt the existing social order by solidifying and mobilizing the animosity of the “commoner” …against “privileged elites” and the “establishment”.^[1]

Last year’s populist leader on the right won out over the establishment; the populist leader on the left was shut out by the establishment. And now, income inequality continues to grow, all the evil isms increasingly contaminate daily life, environment rape accelerates, and violence spreads its venom into all our lives .

But we’re still here. Millions of people want greater equality, benevolent justice, environmental protections, nonviolent solutions to conflict—and an end to racialopathy, ethnicopathy, sexopathy, environmentalopathy, and all those other social pathologies plaguing our land.

What will it take to move us in a better direction?

Better leaders. Ethical leaders who will fight for peace and justice—inside as well as outside prevailing political structures.

Consider the image at the beginning of this post. Does the “leaderful” profile fit your idea of the kind of leader we need? If not, what characteristics would you seek?

Can you think of anyone in the country today who has the kind of qualities you would want in a leader?

I asked my friend Tony Marsella this question. Here are some of his nominees: Noam Chomsky, Andrew Bacevich, Chris Hedges, Helen Caldicott, Daniel Ellsberg, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Maya Soetoro, Johan Galtung, Robert J. Burrowes.

Who are your nominees for potential leaders who will seek liberty and justice for all, promote democratic ideals, and act to sustain rather than destroy life on earth?

They’re out there. Search for them and tell us about them.

And please support engaging peace. You can click here to donate

by Kathie MM

You have probably read about the resurgence of long-suppressed infectious diseases such as malaria and typhoid fever. Drug-resistant forms of malaria are reaching epidemic levels in Asia and drug-resistant forms of typhoid are doing the same in Africa.

Bad news. But there is even worse news in the U.S. and other Western nations. An old and deadly type of pathology appears to be approaching epidemic proportions, but efforts at prevention and cure are miniscule.

Causes, symptoms, and contexts of racialopathy:

Causes of racialopathy: Various forms of fear, often linked to misinformation, miseducation, greed, and power-mongering; transmutations of fear into hatred not unusual.

Racialopathy pathogens: Fear of loss of power, of presumptive superiority, of ability to define and enforce “rights,” of assurance that only you and people like you have the “true” religion, the best customs, the valid beliefs, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Racialopathy social contexts: Racialopathy pathogens flourish in particular social contexts and emotional climates that vary depending on political, economic, and psychological conditions; for example, are relationships characterized by cooperation and tolerance or by and divisiveness? Is the dominant mood of the times friendly and optimistic or is it hateful, punitive, and distrustful?

Symptoms of racialopathy: Hatred of people based only on the color of their skin; threatening, cursing, or attacking others based solely on their “otherness.”

Prevention of racialopathy: Inoculations–measured exposure of vulnerable individuals to those feared “others”–can be helpful as can changes in the social climate (often accomplished in democracies through elections and other political processes).

Experiences with racialopathy:

— Have you ever been stricken with racialopathy? How did you treat it?

— Are you a caregiver for a victim of this dread disease? How do you deal with it?

— If you have this problem in your family, have you found it to be contagious?

For ideas on prevention and cure, tune in for upcoming posts.