Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Natural Born (The Tower Journal, Spring 2013)

Natural born healer,
Natural born heretic.
Natural born warrior,
Natural born woman.
I am.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Narcissism and Materialism: Global Decline

Narcissism, megalomania, and concomitant emotional immaturity are the insidious epidemics which are consuming global society from the inside out, like a cancer or virus. Media campaigns aimed at coercing people to feel worthless unless they have a Coach bag,  Polo sweater, or Armani suit only foster shallow and self centered materialism in people, particularly Americans, where social mobility is a revered obsession. After all, since most Americans are descended from poor immigrants, indentured servants, or African slaves, we define our status by our newly acquired stuff.

Yet the narcissism I speak of does not confine itself to the shopping mall. On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media, people feel free  to cowardly post insults and ad hominem attacks, which they would almost never have the nerve to say to the face of their cyber victim. This sniper mentality breeds a powerful sense of immunity that shields all social offenders in the virtual reality world. In addition, social media users begin to develop a sense of entitlement and expectation from having virtual strangers following their every tweet or posted picture.

Last but not least, this narcissistic  world view permeates all social views,including seeing an unborn child as a mere fetus without rights when the mother doesn't want to be pregnant, and as a precious child only when pregnancy is desired. This attitude of "I decide who lives or dies, " or what  is human or not, is the ultimate manifestation of narcissism.  Unborn human life is treated with the same sense of "possession is nine tenths of the law" that we use for objects. In order to thrive as a human species, we need to overcome these puerile tendencies  and recover some of our human dignity.