Woes and Hopes in the World

The Reading Through It book club at the Seward Third Place Bookstore began in the aftermath of the last presidential election when many, shocked by the results, wanted to explore who we are as Americans, where we were going, and how we might fix our greatest problems.

We have discussed several sobering books, all outside my usual genres of literature, romance, mystery and fantasy. These have included Dark Money by Jane Mayer, White Rage by Carol Anderson, No Is Not Enough by Naomi Klein, Man Without a Face by Masha Gessen, and Evicted by Matthew Desmond.

This last week, we discussed Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. I came away that evening dejected and down, and my inner analyst poked and prodded me to draft some insights.

First: human depravity and greed and cruelty have been around for a long time – centuries if not millennia, and that makes my optimistic ideals flag.  I fear for the future.

Second: I am glad that there are journalists like Grann and Anderson and Klein that do a good job in documenting these travesties so we can open our eyes and begin/continue the work of improving the world.

Third: there are good people, who with courage and singular intent, work for change and justice.

Fourth: it’s easy to get emotionally triggered and angered when talking about man’s inhumanity to man, as happened with some of us at the book club. It was important for me to take step back, to center myself, to smooth my own rough edges, and to share my calming thoughts with the group.

Fifth: I want to understand the problems, not get trapped in anger, frustration, hopelessness and rage and, most importantly, I want to move towards solutions.

So, what are the solutions for the woes of the world, for people that revel in human cruelty – in inflicting pain onto others, be it psychological, or physical; for people that crave power and money? Are these major flaws in the human condition?

What drives these insatiable destructive desires?

What is the cure? Is it love? Love is such an ambiguous term. How is it expressed? How is it measured? The scientist/physician part of me wants to know: how can it be “prescribed” throughout the world; how is the world’s ill health “dosed” with love in order to create healing, to cure the diseases of cruelty and avarice?

And perhaps, more importantly, how is cruelty and avarice to be prevented from coming about in the future? How do we raise children to avoid these pathological pitfalls in life? Much has been studied and researched in the areas of human development, attachment and trauma. What happens in utero, and in early childhood are the times in human development when healthy practices are so crucial. How do we as a society promote robust loving relationships during these critical times?

Vis-a-vis look at what’s happening today with the separation of young children from their parents at the Mexican border. Those children have been traumatized. Society will reap the consequences of that trauma as these children grow up and express their trauma in violent, cruel, and avaricious ways.

As I struggle with the huge scope of the tragedies and travesties, I always come back to the basics: it all begins with me. I take the time to connect with nature, with friends and family, to meditate, to find joy in my everyday adventures, to work in the world in a soulful manner. These are some of the ways I am centered in that physiologic state where my neurotransmitters are humming at optimal levels, where I am doing my best thinking and creating, and I am connecting most meaningfully. Over the years I have taken the time to work on my own attachment issues, my own anger, greed and cruelty. And I continue to do this never-ending work.

Following the book club, I was drawn to revisit Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning for answers to my roiling upset, my yearning to find solutions to the world’s woes. Here was a man who found meaning amidst the raging cruelty and stark depravations of the German concentration camps.

I find solace – and hope – in his words:

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.