Yes! Thank you for your very thoughtful comment, Jane!
America’s in a tough Catch-22. I agree (and I wrote) that there's no mental health or spiritual intervention that will make the existential threats moot — which, as you point out, stem from systemic abuse on an enormous scale. And those threats *absolutely* need to be dealt with. At the same time, I do believe that people don’t have to be 100% whole and healed to learn to recognize abuse. And recognizing abuse is pretty key in stopping the cycle.
An anecdote from personal experience: I know my healing from years of abusive relationships was still far from complete even when I finally arrived at *just* enough growth to begin avoiding further abusive people. The majority of the healing — the "change from within" — got integrated slowly, afterwards. So I like to think that all hope is not lost in raising awareness; it’s definitely possible for clarity to come in the midst of a trauma, even if the rest of the healing happens later. (Awareness is the first step in most healing processes after all; once people are aware, they're already more inclined to start making healthier choices.)
As for middle class (conservative) white Americans, I suspect they’ll be more likely to recognize all the systemic abuse when their mental health improves. It’s disheartening. I’ve tried talking historical, economic, and sociological sense into many such people over the years. I’ve also tried teaching them how to analyze statistics for themselves, or helping them dissect “news” segments to be able to think more critically so that they can see through the smokescreens. But at the end of the day, the amount of splitting, anxiety, and defensiveness; the inability to grasp that long-term, systemic revamps are more helpful than quick-fix "solutions;" and the general admiration they hold for authoritarian bullies… don’t exactly indicate stellar mental health. People who make abusive, injurious choices, whatever their rationale, are unwell. You can be very educated and still have substantial emotional problems; education won’t always suffice to close the empathy gap. And trying to change the world around such people for the better — though this is necessary — still won’t dismantle the unacknowledged, personal traumas that have primed them for a politics guided by selfishness, dehumanization, and rage. (Kind of like how an abuser's partner can decide to change the relationship's terms, and the abuser will respond with fury — no matter how healthy those new terms are.)
Basically, the system needs multiple simultaneous overhauls. But unless we address the *internal factors* that predispose people to reality-denial, toxic levels of materialism and self-interest, and a soft spot for authoritarianism…. those same people will keep raging against any change. No matter how good or healing that change will be for them. This is why, without the "soft" revolution, I fear that any other kind would be unsustainable.
The chicken and the egg....
Alright, sorry for "talking" so much, but your comment really excited me! Thank you again for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts. :)
