 |
| This image is AI generated. |
 |
| Actual photographs of destruction of White House and lawn |
In sharing these images above, it also needs to be illuminated that Trump is but a symptom of something so much larger than this one malignant narcissist and his fascist administration. He is the poster boy for toxic masculinity and the violence embedded in patriarchy ― which is something that is certainly also the core of UFC and the endorsement and worship of male dominance and violence.
And, yet, so many are fans and pay to watch the brutality of human beings fighting one another. In one form or another, this has been going on for a very, very long time. And it isn't just men, but also women who experience excitement and pleasure in watching the violence that one human being can inflict on another while cheering and waiting breathlessly to see which bloodied body will triumph over the other.
But how did we get here? How is it that our tolerance for causing harm is so high and that the many different faces of violence are so normalized in American culture? In part, I recognize today that there has tragically been a long trajectory enabled by both major political parties and a corporate owned mainstream media which have together brought our nation into the countless horrors that we face today. And there are many layers that go back in time.
If we dive deeper and deeper, we can see how dominator culture rather than one rooted in partnership has long been with us. The wise and courageous Riane Eisler has written brilliantly about this (https://rianeeisler.com/articles-papers/). And then there are the voices like bell hooks who just grabbed me when I first heard her words: "imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy." Well, of course! To one degree or another, this is what has impacted us all and back through time.
I believe that it is important for us to understand that it isn't just Trump who is responsible for the nightmares we are now living. This numbing and severance from the wisdom of our hearts and souls began long ago and has often been blindly passed on generation after generation by both our ancestors and also by the culture in which we live.
It is hard to be healthy in an unhealthy culture! And it is, therefore, not surprising that there are countless places where toxic masculinity and the many faces and forms of violence show up. Consequently...
- Is it no wonder that a genocide in Gaza has been allowed to continue compliments of American taxpayers who are footing the bill for the bombs annihilating the whole of the Palestinian people?
- From this perspective, we can also understand how it is that so many of us are deeply polarized and that dehumanization has become so normalized that millions of Americans support ICE and the brutal immigration practices and policies enacted by both major political parties.
- Our disconnect from ourselves also disconnects us from our Earth Mother, causing countless Americans to be oblivious to the climate crisis with its root causes in the burning of fossil fuels and the deadly inaction on transitioning to renewables ― thus enabling this suicidal trajectory that we are on to continue which threatens all of life on Earth.
- Meanwhile, endless wars go on and on.
- Americans are armed to the teeth while mass shootings continue and children in American schools have to experience active shooter drills.
- The United States imprisons more human beings than anywhere else in the world and is the only developed nation to enforce the death penalty.
- The US is the only developed country to fail to provide healthcare and as a result millions of Americans go bankrupt or die every year.
- We also tragically witness our youth and the American population at large suffering from and experiencing the many symptoms of trauma ― depression and anxiety, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, autoimmune and other illnesses, being the victims or perpetrators of violence, and an enormous array of addictions — to substances, social media, work, exercise, food, sex, shopping, religion, meditation, spiritual bypassing, compulsive cleaning, hoarding, gambling, caretaking, people, pornography, cults, gurus, greed, guns, war, unhealthy relationships, political polarizations, conspiracy theories, image management and perfectionism, anger and chaos, power and control, judgments and dehumanization, mental and emotional states that are dangerous, projections and ideologies of separation rather than connection. And the list goes on. All addictions serve as a distraction from, and as an attempt to cope with, pain and trauma.
- Rugged individualism and isolation run rampant in American culture.
- Misogyny, racism, homophobia, islamophobia, antisemitism are common place in our nation.
- Poverty is experienced by millions in the United States at the same time that the immoral and insane redistribution of wealth upwards continues unabated and to accelerate
- Apathy and inaction is common place.
And the list tragically goes on and on...
So it is no wonder that toxic masculinity is showing up on the White House lawn and countless other places ― including in the President of the United States?
If only the vast majority of us could recognize this as a bright light acting as a mirror which is shining on what needs our attention, what needs healing, what needs to be radically transformed in ourselves, our nation, and beyond. Unearthing, recognizing and understanding, and taking responsibility for healing and transforming the shadow side of our country is so very long overdue and vital to the welfare of us all.
As Riane Eisler has wisely said, "Love, caring, and empathy are central to solving the world's problems." May this be what we all increasingly embody. May we be empowered to do the ongoing crucial work of alleviating the suffering in ourselves and our world. And may we do the hard work of recognizing and lowering our tolerance for the many faces of violence. Love is our resistance.
No comments:
Post a Comment