By: Rosemary Dewar
Distress can be an indicator of a situation having failed to operate in a beneficial manner, similar to the shocking sensation you experience when jamming your finger, or maybe that searing heat when one has been burned by steam. On a societal level, this can look like an increase in crime or the break-up of the nuclear family. Either a single factor or a combination of detrimental factors can cause suffering to both the individual and the immediate community.
A solution must be calculated and pursued. Is the goal to turn off the dashboard light, or is it to discover what caused it to come on in the first place? You wouldn’t stop driving a car simply because the oil-change notification appears. That’s equivalent to someone saying that when dealing with a mild case of constipation, that they would consider an elective colostomy as a cure.
There is no promise that pain in and of itself is going to bring forth anything good in someone’s life, although history is full of the stories of people who overcame tremendous adversity of all types, and they and society and were better for it. By contrast, what we have now is the mis-belief that anxiety, depression, delusion, disassociation, and dysphoria are foregone conclusions that the sufferer is a creative genius.
This is far from helpful. When something is undoubtedly wrong, the last thing you need is someone telling you, “There is nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect just the way you are.” This false affirmation delays relief. It becomes easier to understand why beloved artists abruptly commit suicide. To many, this act is presented as selfish, and it can be; however, sustained pain is torturous. Anyone with chronic physical pain can confirm that. Now, imagine if it is mental. It’s a prison with a view, but you’re “fine.”
The Judeo-Christian perspective asserts that when contentment and relief are overdue, the heart grows sick.There is truly nothing more depressing and dreary than an effort unrewarded or a stress unrelenting. But, a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Nothing feeds into life like incentive. There is no sensation quite like when winning a competition or overcoming an adversity no matter how small. It feeds the soul.
Our culture is hell-bent on abandoning the vehicle that society needs to move forward in a proactive way. A society that tells you that you’re never wrong, ignorant, or miserable is incapable of cultivating a society that endures. In addition, teaching the young that they will “live forever,” and that their actions have no impact on either their physical or mental health is irresponsible. Then there is Karl Marx , who stated that, “The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain.” That philosophy is exceedingly heinous.
Yes, America’s heart is sick. It is not due to class inequality or race inequality, but from abandoning principles that work for everyone when applied. The smallest percentage of society is yelling the loudest, and the result is that we believe they are growing in numbers daily when it’s simply not true. The dissection of American culture is the result of falsehoods pushed by collectives who have little to complain about.They’d rather see more pain than relief, so long as it benefits them. Truth will confound the most divisive narrative, and it is needed more now than ever. Truth diffuses a collective ideology. Decency has a greater return than compulsion. No matter how deeply you want something, it should never come at the cost of someone else, or it will eventually come at the cost of you.
By: Rosemary Dewar
