J P LINSTROTH EPOCHAL RECKONINGS PODCAST

WHY INDIGENOUS LIVES SHOULD MATTER

In this week’s Podcast #28, the topic is “Why Indigenous Lives Should Matter”, and really the topic is not just a subject but addresses real human lives we are losing every day and diminishing our diversity as humanity year to year. In the United States, we live in a “post-genocide” society, whether or not we are cognizant of this fact or not. What do I mean by that? In order for the United States to have fulfilled its so-called “Manifest Destiny”—the divine right to conquer the lands west of the Mississippi River—we needed to wipe out the remaining Native Americans living on western lands. Today, unfortunately, many indigenous peoples are still broken because of this past genocidal history. Native Americans were put on reservations, their lands were stolen, and their cultural heritage was dismissed and eradicated through the boarding school system. Yet, the United States has not been alone in its maltreatment of its indigenous populations. For example, Australia, Brazil, and Canada, have similar histories of genocide against their aboriginal peoples. In the cases of Australia and Canada, like the United States, are only recently coming to terms with their genocidal histories. While Brazil is still massacring its indigenous peoples in favor of agro-businesses, cattle ranching, hydro-electric dam construction, timber extraction, mining and oil operations, and other development schemes in Amazonia. There is a psychological pattern among Native peoples which follows on from massacres of indigenes, which is suffering from alcoholism, child neglect, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Moreover, there is increasing evidence demonstrating an epigenetic association of transgenerational trauma, that is traumatized parents genetically passing on trauma effects to their children. The trauma of the external is internalized, scarring populations for years. First, we must recognize how indigenous peoples have been dehumanized and how such dehumanization has led to genocide. Moreover, we must recognize many indigenous peoples live in areas of the world needing protection for the sake of our environment and our planet. The Brazilian Amazon is just one good example. Second, we need to recognize the needs for a healing process to begin for past atrocities against Native peoples. While indigenous peoples themselves must be recognized as having the right to decide for themselves appropriate ways to remember genocides against them. So, truth and reconciliation commissions should be established to be able to heal and listen to truth telling. Likewise, apologies should be official and made by governments and reparations should be established for survivor-descendant victims.

HISTORY & SCIENCE AS CANDLES IN THE DARK

In this weeks’ podcast title, J. P. Linstroth Epochal Reckonings Podcast (27), “History & Science as Candles in the Dark”, is an intellectual nod to Carl Sagan and his perspicacious book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1997) because I believe we must not only look to our history for answers but to science as well. So, when we see political triggers, say, “Trump” flags, or MAGA hats, or to others, as Biden/Harris signs—our brains react to these signals because of our social predispositions and because symbols mean things to human primate-brains. What part of the brain is tied to “fear and anxiety”, the amygdala, and what part of the brain is tied to “aggression”, again the amygdala. Is it any wonder when politicians promote fear mongering among the population, in turn, for some, fear turns toward aggression? What about the insular cortex activating when we are confronted with something we find morally disgusting, the same region of the brain responsible for processing gustatory disgust such as aversion to rotten meat. In Robert Sapolsky’s book, Behave: the Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (2017), he explains how cerebral regions and neural chemistry help to manipulate human behavior. Now examine the hormone “oxytocin”, which enhances human social behavior. On the one hand, oxytocin may heighten feelings of compatibility, positivity, and trust, on the other hand, it may increase feelings of belligerence, hostility, and exaggerate unconscious biases. Some researchers, Merolla et. al. (2013) in their article, “Oxytocin and the Biological Basis for Interpersonal and Political Trust”, in fact proved that subjects intranasally stimulated with the peptide oxytocin were generally more trusting of the government. So, not only must we consider how media influences how we think but we also need to consider what effects it has on our brains. Thus, being cognizant of such effects may help us, if we are able, to limit how we are being controlled, directed, and swayed. As Carl Sagan asserted in his book, The Demon-Haunted World: “But if the citizens are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power work for us. In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method and the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency, humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands between us and the enveloping darkness.” (p. 408).

ON LOVE & GENIUS

Part of this discussion in today’s podcast, J P Linstroth Epochal Reckonings, will analyze “higher love”, or the love of the muse, and its significance for understanding “our creative output”, some of our best human qualities. This is known to artists, sculptors, musicians, theoretical physicists, mathematicians, philosophers, and everyone following a higher calling who also contribute something marvelous for humanity. While many theorists have discussed cognitive functionality associated with artistic processes as Bayesian, or computational, or situated, or structural, and so on, it has also been well-established how many neural-chemicals are utilized for creation, many of which are shared by “being in love”. Thus, whether we think of love as expressing our muse, or being in love with others, or the greater love of God, we are describing or narrating our emotions as humans. Such emotional states, and their origins, may have biological and neurological underpinnings, and may have evolved with us as mammals, helping us care for one another. We as humans, the most intelligent species on this planet, must continue to strive to care for one another better, to love each other more, to empathize with those who suffer, to love ourselves, to love our planet, to love others in healthy ways.

IN THE NAME OF LOVE

The title of this week’s J. P. Linstroth Epochal Reckonings Podcast borrows from the rock band, U2’s song, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the resounding lyrics: “One man come in the name of love…what more in the name of love? In the name of love…” Indeed, these words resonate with me in more than one way and echo in my mind. So too, I hear King himself stating the prophetic words: “…Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” Perhaps we need some Promethean light for an expansive examination of these very human thoughts on “LOVE”. As such, there are two primary directions for this essay. In one direction, I wish to emphasize the necessity for politicians and others to be “love” directed in their thinking in order to adopt policies of “empathy” and “empathic politics” which in turn inform how to overcome some of our worst social problems. Secondly, I wish to explore ideas of “love” from Buddhist and Christian points of view, thereby allowing us to contemplate where we go from here.

WHY RACE IS EVERYTHING IN AMERICA

The J. P. Linstroth Epochal Reckonings Podcast reviews the controversial issues surrounding the history of racism in the United States. The issues of ‘race’ and ‘racism’ have been with us since the founding of our august republic. Unfortunately, they are perniciously still with us today. They were the reason we fought the Civil War (1861-1865) and have mired our history throughout. There is no period in our history, the history of the United States, when ‘race’ has not been significant in some profound way. For many reasons too, the American Civil War is still with us today. It is still with us in every racial conflict we have had since. It is still being fought, perhaps unknowingly by many African-Americans, who have experienced ‘structural violence’ in some way, whether in terms of wanting better education, better housing, or a better job, or even rights for a normal life. Racism is an American story, even though it is everywhere in the world. American racism has its own malignant history. But we have to rid ourselves of this sickness called “racism” once and for all in America. We need a sea change, the type of civil rights legislation we saw in the 1960s under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Maybe like the President LBJ Administration not only do we need a new “War on Poverty”, but we need a “War on Racism as well?” Coming to terms with our social divisions, especially over racism, means understanding our long history of racial discrimination and our long history of racial violence.