Charles Konia, M.D.

The transformation of Western society from authoritarian to anti-authoritarian began around 1960.  A manifestation of the emotional plague (see glossary), it was partly the result of the so-called sexual revolution and the decline in the authoritarian form of sexual repression.  The promise of the new anti-authoritarian society was  hoped to bring about greater sexual freedom and happiness for the younger generation.  In reality, because no attempt was made to distinguish between rational authority which requires protection and compulsive or neurotic authority, what it brought about was disastrous.   Much of what was of value in the authoritarian order such as the structure of the family was destroyed  as well as the breakthrough of every kind of destructive social activity imaginable.  To make matters worse, there was no attempt made to look at the reasons that the sexual needs of young people were not fulfilled and why the movement ended in disaster.

Because of the enormous technological advances of Western civilization such as the computer and the Internet it was only a matter of time before the anti-authoritarian movement with its mindless, mechanical emphasis on unconditional freedom for all people would spread from the West and infect the rigidly authoritarian nations of the Muslim world.  The revolutions that are currently happening throughout the Islamic world are only the first wave of what is to come.  At present, the social, economic  and military consequences of these revolutions can only be guessed at because these are the most superficial manifestations of the anti-authoritarian movement.  What is certain, however, is that the power of the deposed rulers will be taken over by others  but there will be no genuine improvement in social conditions in Islamic nations until people’s underlying biological emotional needs, particularly those of newborns, infants and children are recognized and protected. Until then, these countries will continue to be a potential breeding ground for tyrants and terrorists.

March 12, 2011
Categories: Politics, Social Sciences . . Author: Charles Konia, M.D. . Comments: Leave a comment

Once again, the drama of the conflict between people’s longing to be free and their fear of freedom is being played out, this time in the form of popular uprisings against military dictatorships in Arab Nations throughout North Africa and the Middle East.  It is an old story as old as the history of civilization itself.  Once again, many in the Free World are euphorically  rooting for the oppressed people to be freed from their oppressors.   Once again, no one is able to ask the obvious questions: Why are people oppressed in the first place?  How is it possible that a handful of despotic leaders can enslave millions of people?  How can such an outcome be prevented in the future?  Why are people able to see and deal with only the surface of social problems and not their underlying causes?

The answer to these questions has to do with the existence of human armor.  For example, because of their armored condition, when the subjugated masses are liberated they are not able to function differently than they did before. People want freedom but they are terrified of being free.  New tyrants are always ready and waiting to take control of them, often with a worsening of social conditions.  This is the operation of the emotional plague – the destructive behavior of humans on each other.

Until people open their eyes and start honestly looking at themselves for the source of their problems, the hopeless cycle of social oppression followed by people’s rebellion against tyrants will continue with  increasing severity and loss of human life.  This task requires that people start taking the existence of the emotional plague and its devastating effects on human life seriously.

March 9, 2011
Categories: Politics, Social Sciences . . Author: Charles Konia, M.D. . Comments: Leave a comment