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;void(0)) Somewhere in the midst of our preoccupation with rising fuel costs and the social security issue we experienced the worst school shooting since the Columbine massacre. This one received hardly a mention from the celebrities. Unlike former President Clinton’s message to the nation immediately following the Columbine affair, this president had nothing to say about it. Maybe the horrors of September 11th and the subsequent Iraq War has hardened our hearts to murder and mayhem, but the reality of the matter is that something terrible is going on in this country. The youngster who took up arms and ended so many lives – including his own - on that Native American Reservation a few weeks ago seemed to have a lot in common with the teens who initiated the same type of carnage in Columbine. There was that history of depression and sense of alienation. Oh, and he also had this preoccupation with Adolf Hitler and Nazism. Adolf Hitler? Nazism? A Native American idolizing the philosophy of the Nazi’s? How can this possibly be? Let us not forget that Adolf Hitler and his followers did not storm the Reichstag and take it over. In fact they did not invent anti-Semitism. The roots of the Nazi philosophy had been in Germany well before Hitler was born. The Nazi Party simply organized it and nurtured it into a political philosophy. With creative utilization of propaganda they cleverly manipulated the German people. It must be kept in mind that the people that the Nazi’s appealed to most were the lower middle class Protestants who distrusted people of other religions and other cultures. When the time was ripe Hitler’s party ran for office and won. Germany did not become a police state until after the staged Burning of the Reichstag building. You may recall that the Nazi’s set the building on fire and blamed it on the Communists and Jews. They then told the people that the dastardly act required the cessation of citizens’ rights so that the government could better weed out the troublemakers among them. The 1960’s brought about a host of cultural changes. Black people attained the freedom of full citizenship. Eighteen year olds were given the right to vote. There was a coming together of people from all walks of life. Young people spoke out strongly against the Viet Nam War and came to be known as Peaceniks and Hippies who were part of the Love Generation. However, the mood of the generation gave rise to a Backlash that ended with the election of Richard Nixon, who campaigned and won the presidency on the “Law and Order” ticket. Over the next decade which was totally dominated by the Republican Party a series of sweeping changes took place that were designed to prevent a recurrence of the ‘60s. The Bakke Decision, Proposition 13, and a number of other challenges to Civil Rights legislation turned the tide of minority progress. Rising prices and the Energy Crisis spurred the need for a two-worker household thus giving rise to what was then known as “latchkey children”. In the meantime fundamentalist cults of all types started springing up all over the country with the appearance of men like Rev. Jim Jones; Rev. Sun Myung Moon; and numerous others. Toward the end of the ‘70s the Conservative Wing of the Republican Party was beginning to coalesce with the backing of the Christian Coalition. As the ex-hippies discoed their way through the new decade a new culture was emerging. What came out of the “Law and Order” Administration was a strong sense of Authoritarianism. This philosophy was a backlash to the ‘60s mentality that spawned liberalism and the questioning of authority. The ‘70s media played into a new mentality of superficiality and narcissism. Archie Bunker became the comic representative for the lower middle class white racists. Black comedians and dancers told us to “lighten up” and “keep dancing”, after all, these are the “Good Times”. In “Taxi Driver” and “Dirty Harry”, the main characters were cleaning up the streets of criminals who all seemed to resemble hippies and Black activists of the ‘60s. The movies, “Apocalypse Now” and “The Deer Hunter” demonized the Viet Namese people and gave the message that next time we should “Nuke ‘em”. “Rambo” personified the new “Angry White Male” who became a heavily armed one-man wrecking machine. “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” became the carrot while the shame of being a “loser” was the stick. The media’s repeated stories about “Welfare Cheats” made us all leery of the very idea of poverty existing in America. Young people cut their hair, discarded their jeans and donned pinned-striped suits to compete for Wall Street jobs. I happen to believe that the media does have an impact on our young people. Through its use of subtle messages and symbolism it can impact our consciousness in more ways than we may be aware. I can go on forever about this but I will briefly state that the media is definitely the message. In an Authoritarian culture, the message is not only to conform, but there is also a subtle message to destroy! The strong sense of conformity implicit in the Authoritarian principle compels us to be drawn to strong leadership figures, such as coaches, gang leaders, business and political leaders, gurus, bosses, celebrities, etc. The implication of this message for many of our youth is that if you do not belong you are a “loser”. For a young person who is battling problems like depression or low self-esteem this may translate into: “I am nothing and not worthy of existence”. In our own personal relations with one another we cannot fail to see how destructiveness plays a role in all aspects of everyday life in America. On TV shows, couples are routinely urged to “kick him/her to the curb” when things go wrong in the relationship. Other shows highlight its guests fighting as audiences cheer. As outrageous and out-of-control as they get, they never touch the host. If your team loses the championship the fans will burn and loot. If they win the fans will burn and loot out of happiness. A lover will kill their “other half” then turn the gun on themselves. Hate crimes in the form of church burnings and effacing of property is at an all time high. Abortion clinics have to utilize measures to protect its doctors and patrons. We are given the impression that psychological or emotional temperament is something that we are born with. This may be so to a certain extent but we must not exclude the socio-cultural factors that go along with it. In a society where the gap between the rich and the poor is growing more than ever before; where fire arms are readily available to young and old alike; where we are all becoming more and more alienated from one another to the point where a beautiful young Native American identifies more with a racist philosophy that would have precluded his very existence than with his own people’s noble heritage; where violence and destruction has grown into a subculture; and where poverty determines whether you or your children will have access to necessary professional care, we cannot afford to ignore the fact that we are living in a destructive culture that can – if we let it – destroy us all. If someone you know has been showing signs of depression please seek therapy for him or her as soon as possible. Remember some of the symptoms: feelings of sadness every day; diminished interest in almost all activities; significant weight loss; insomnia or increased sleep; restlessness or slowed activity; fatigue or loss of energy; feelings of worthlessness; problems with concentration; and recurrent thoughts of death. Time is of the essence. I have been doing presentations on the subject of teenage depression and suicides for the last several years at schools and churches. If you are interested I would be more than happy to discuss doing a presentation for your group or function. Please contact me. Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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