We are living in tumultuous times for sure. So many things have me in my head, as a single woman I have several concerns about what’s happening in this county.
The current political climate has me feeling even more alone and solitary than I actually am. The current religious climate has me feeling less a part of a community but more connected to Christ, like a sentinel soldier, I hold onto to his love and grace. I’ve said it before, I feel like my faith has been highjacked and I don’t feel aligned with any political party. I feel unrepresented and isolated in a community where the masses are united in a new age faith and divisive political views.
I have always had what I’ve referred to as a wild and vivid imagination. It has served me well as a writer. It can also feed anxiety and worry, areas in my life that I have been working on starving and snubbing out. It’s a tough thing in this day.
I’m also a Libra. I tend to weigh each side and each angle, I consider all possibilities. I’m fair and just. Throw in some deep and accurate intuition and well, go ahead and call me a conspiracy theorist, but my perspectives and potentialities are hard to argue. Although some keyboard warriors are among you, meh, I don’t mind, bring it.
As it stands, I can’t help but ponder at least the possibility that the dismantling of the federal government occurring before our eyes, is a maneuver to obtain absolute power versus saving tax payers some wasted revenue. Argue if you must, defend your position and your cause, I won’t argue it. I’m merely saying in light of things, it’s important to consider many points of view. Considering a different perspective is a really great way to learn and grow.
The thing that worries me the most, the thing that keeps me awake at night, the thing I find myself meditating and praying over the most is the perceived state of mind of so many people around me, near and far.
A term I came across a few years ago, (because being the sweet little pixie nerd that I am, a thesaurus is my favorite book, tool and resource in the world) has me fretting more than anything.
Schadenfreude. A word of German origin, combining Schaden, which means damage, and Freude, which means joy. Damage-Joy. More precisely it is the emotional experience of pleasure in response to another’s misfortune or misery. A noteworthy tidbit, it’s always capitalized. I did some digging into this concept, it’s a tale as old as time, if you will. I wondered about the psychology of the word and its meaning. In and of itself it is not a trait of a mental disorder. It has three different subforms, aggression, rivalry and justice. They share a commonality though, here’s the trouble, the core of Schadenfreude and its subforms, is the dehumanization of the target.
While I’m not sure that alone it is a psychopathological trait, it still can be worrisome, especially when a group of people come together with it as their common thread.
I tend to dumb things down for myself, a blessing and a curse. I like to understand things in their most basic form. The way I see it is if sadism is the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation on others, without pity, Schadenfreude is the voyeur of sadism. It’s the onlookers and witnesses getting sprung off the pain and humiliation created by sadists.
Let’s start looking at things a little deeper, let’s own this. Let’s stop saying we’re a nation divided. I will never say anything but the Gulf of Mexico, but lately I’ve been referring to my home land as the States of America. The united feels like a thing of the past. Let’s get real and own this shit. We have become a people practicing all three forms of Schadenfreude. It has permeated every culture, every race, every faith, it is especially prevalent among the leaders; political, religious, and otherwise.
We worry about where our tax dollars are being wasted or spent unfairly and yet we have bought into this Damage-Joy, with all that we have to spend, and it has left us bankrupt of compassion, integrity, kindness and benevolence. And the one thing that truly sets us apart, our humanity.
We can be better. We are called to be better. I’ll go first. AK.
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