03-03-2014, 09:39 AM
Tracy Riddle Wrote:The fact that the dialogue is, in fact, quite funny manages to hide the fact that the relationships are aggressive, competitive, and even bellicose in nature; which is how Americans of every stripe tend to relate to one another, though typically without the humor (let's face it: we're a grim lot). This is daily fare in the U.S., which is probably why the rates of loneliness, depression, mental illness, homicide, screen addiction, and drug use are off the charts. (In terms of dollar-volume sales, 67% of antidepressants sold worldwide are purchased by Americanswho constitute roughly 4.5% of the world's population. And this is leaving illegal drugs aside, in which the nation is literally drowning. Then if you add in alcohol….) I'm amazed, over and over again, how folks who disagree with something on this blog, or something I said, are literally unable to simply state: "I disagree, and here is the evidence for my views." Oh no; that practically never happens. It would be un-American; it could lead to genuine dialogue. Instead, they almost invariably show up in War Mode, enraged, sarcastic, parading themselves like peacocksthe whole nine yardsand then get even more enraged when I refuse to post their fulminations (clearly, I'm not willing to engage in "dialogue"!). The entire nation seems to be a collection of children, and certainly, of flawed human beings. And it's not likely to change anytime soon, here on this blog or in "normal" conversations out in the larger society. It's as though it were part of our DNA.
(my bolding)
To me, this scenario suggests social engineering
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
Carl Jung - Aion (1951). CW 9, Part II: P.14