(72) Hate and Exclusion comes from Within

How is one supposed to grasp when things that are happening around them are so awkward, devious, or just so out of touch due to the extremity of inhumaneness and evil. For one it may seem surreal like it couldn’t be that people are capable of such terrible behaviors, and that they take it out on people that do not deserve it. Looking at history there has been atrocities over time whole races and ethnicities that have been condemned and persecuted. Now n Israel a hate group that has become extreme escalated their crimes of evil by acting out on innocent people anyone or anything that could resemble what they hate. One way to prevent the spread of hatred and acts of evil is to have a solid core identity that is grounded in a value system that reinforces the identity of a person at the neural level, and this allows for a person to stay grounded cognitively so that negative emotions do not go awry. Steve Covey author of, The Seven Habits of Effective People, refers to being driven from within as the Character ethic. In his book he refers to a study he did in the 90’s of the last 200 years of development in this country and found that people were all character driven back then. They followed values like humility, temperance, fidelity, courage, honesty, the golden rule, and many more as a compass to guide their life's and the choices they make even in the toughest of times. The declaration of independence was founded off of these principles as well equality like all men are created equal. It is ironic that following an internally driven (inside-out) approach to life promotes the equilibrium of polarized neurochemicals dopamine and serotonin for a natural response being happy and content. Covey found in his studies that since the 1930’s the country has slowly became less character driven to a more externally driven style of motivation called the personality ethic. His book is all about being effective and he goes as far as this personality ethic leads to ineffective thinking and that he has yet to see an externally driven individual function effectively. In his book he likens the personality ethic by giving the example of having a road map of Los Angeles and using it to try to find a destination in Chicago and say’s even with a positive mental attitude (PMA) you can smile on your way, but you will never reach your destination. He says the real foundation for a person to be resilient and effective is to adapt the character ethic from an inside-out approach to living and that this can makes all the difference.

I have been studying the last 13 of 17 years extensively and one of the reasons why is self-improvement from having an internal locus of control motivation style. It is controlled thinking and the positive drive from the neural chemical balance that contributes to this effectiveness. For example, due to dopamine being the learning molecule, and as Robert Sapolski states dopamine is the neurochemical that makes you do the right thing when it is the harder thing to do. Seems like one precursor to prevent hate is the character ethic, and living an inside-out approach to life. One can even say from Steve Covey’s studies that our democracy depends on it. In my studies I have delved into the topic of human consciousness and found that folks may lean at times of an identity crises (which Erik Erikson says each individual will face) towards an internal or external preference based on the stress they have experienced in their life. The stress experienced goes back to past generations (i.e., intergenerational Trauma), to fetal life (i.e., being in the womb of a highly stressed mother), and of course depends on the environment after being born. For example, whether a child experience’s secure, insecure, ambivalent, or disorganized attachment styles. Important regions in the brain responsible for higher executive thinking (Orbital frontal cortex OFC, reinforcement) become atrophied from stress hormones circulating in the blood stream and cause epigenetic change. This being the way that genes express themselves which shows the negative effects that stress can have on biological implications for our descendant’s long after we leave. In other words, the way we act and behave towards others can leave a negative imprint upon them and affect generations to come. The reason I am sharing this is that seeing terrible and horrible incidents in our nation and across the world is tragic. It is knowledge that leads to staying grounded and rational so that the negative effects of seeing and hearing of these tragic events will bestow less of a stress imprint upon us. This goes for our younger generations, and how adults' function effectively or ineffectively or not makes all the difference. Developmental cascades refer to the cumulative consequences for development of the many interactions and transactions occurring in developing systems that result in spreading effects across levels, among domains at the same level, and across different systems or generations (Cambridge.org). Understanding the biological implications of development good and bad is available to us all, and this is important since we are not given an instruction manual. Therefore, looking at what promotes internal vs. external locus of control (reinforcement) seems to be of the utmost importance as it relates to stress and the biological implications of human beings functioning effectively or not. It is at the time of identity crisis that Erikson says a person will chose one of two paths and these are to keep doing what you have been doing living up to the expectations of others or chose to look within and tune in to your rapidly evolving cognition, intuition and emotion, dedicated to a life devoted to self-improvement and learning. Current brain imaging shows that the development of the OFC and the pathways (circuits) for very important bi-directional communication and control (emotion, memory, reward) in the subcortical regions are not completed until a person reaches age 25. One factor of importance is that if compassion cannot be developed through dialogue of thought based on the context of rationality in correlation to the experience of the situation in a person's life, then emotion may take residence over reason compromising the developmental process, which certain areas then become more active than others of these regions and the functional (integrative ability) degree that the circuits between these localized regions connect become disinhibited or even disconnected. Which is the experience of morally disengaged individuals per the studies of Antonio Damasio who specializes in this circuitry. Being able to look within and be strong (i.e., empathy, compassion) is inside-out approach at this crucial time period of development, but a cascade of events leading to negative development scenarios in an individual's early life may be dealt with through an antagonistic lens by looking outward at how things are effecting the person. This comes from within but not by being in tune with one's emotions (i.e., apathy), so instead leans towards the living up to others' expectations. This false sense of self will latch on to an ego and detaches from authentic self repressing from previous life experience vowing to take it out on others for the rest of their life and never fully developing. This is the equivalent of an alcoholic stopping development at the stage they started drinking and if they can ever get away from the grasp of their addiction then they will be at the stage of development back to the point of when they started drinking. This is tragic for them since the victimization and child maltreatment scenario’s that were part of the consequences that lead to the dissociating from self that have not been dealt with will become layered maladaptively from future behaviors to come to compensate, instead of learning as one develops as they learn and grow through future experiences in their life. I attribute these consequences from intergenerational traumas passed down epigenetically and a neglectful environment that led to external vs. interoceptive experiences early on. This early stage of Erikson that of trust vs. mistrust in infancy is crucial if a child is to meet the developmental stages to have initiative vs. guilt by age 6. This is required for a person to have autonomy of will and self-efficacy in adolescence and young adulthood or not. This early stage is where I believe innate emotions like empathy vs apathy become innate become prominent in a persons life or not. So, really a person's future is predetermined early on. Sure, things can change in the immediate environment through good role modeling and lots of emotional support in preventing difficult times therefore allowing self-esteem and confidence to prevail rather the shame and guilt that being neglected brings.

The difference is a person that is compassionate with empathy vs. and angry person that is apathetic, and this makes all the difference between positive and negative development through life at the neural level. The functional environment leads to the structure of the brain, and this will be the outcome of effective vs. ineffective functioning that leads to personality development and having disorders or not. The disorders are a way to compensate to get out of pain to have needs met and as we can see that some people can flow and they are calm collected and reasonable, while others are angry can be very difficult, antagonistic, and mean. The trouble is going through life and the conflicts that arise in the daily interactions with others. Resiliency under stress is just like development on a continuum. A person that had very thorough development and cope’s well in the stressful environment in the workplace for example, may turn from being internally to external driven because feelings of things that are being placed upon them. Studies show that effectiveness goes down like change in an organization that are difficult to adapt to, and this varies for each individual just like in the cascade of development. There are so many factors and variables involved over a lifetime, and these are individual differences that offer experience and learning. A top-down hierarchy, so to say, vs. a bottom-up hierarchy plays many variations of fluctuations in how individuality of character is accepted vs. this is my way or the highway authoritative thinking.

The character ethic is individuality of character and respect towards the acceptance of others rather than place judgement upon them based off of your own attitudes and beliefs. This is the difference between being very subjective or very objective. Most often people become very subjective especially when externally driven because they are out of touch from within, therefore even more comes what is assumed, expected and predicted, which is biased without question……. I wrote all of this which none of it is a point of view it is all relegated knowledge learned from research and studies that take from and leave open for others to take on and research and study. These studies are ethical because they are not opinionated and biased. Emotion not invested, and when studies are undertaken every study offers recommendations on weak areas of the studies that can be improved and give suggestions on how to do so. The knowledge generating nature of empirically based studies, debates, and growing together with a common cause: better good for all for the future of our generations, the world and our species is what is important. The knowledge generating aspect of the character ethic is what missing in many organizations the importance of appreciating human development in life to help others reach effective being cannot be understated. The referendum of the importance of mental health thorough development can be seen when people are dysfunctional, delusional, and dangerous. For some it’s all about kicking ass and jacking stuff up, while for others in a different mindset it's about learning , experience and being better together. Aggression is only an outcome when associated with fear this is predetermined due to the emotional part of the brain the amygdala which is fear based. This is another negative trait associated with negative early life development. When functioning maladaptively affects others negative to others is when pathology becomes unfair it is debilitating to watch when the debilitations of others cause entropy and stagnation to other people in their life. You can bet these people need and get their validation they just do so with their group against others This is hate. In the gest of human development Erikson state’s a later stage one of generativity instead of despair. You wonder how this is working for some people when displaced aggression towards others in the form of oppression, cruelty, and deeply embedded hate becomes transposed violence. Psychopathy is evil, which is not a personality disorder, instead psychopathy is experienced when a person has become so biologically impaired due to years of dysfunction that they lose control and can cause grave harm to others and take pleasure in it. Looking at the evil and the contrast of evil is important, which away from despair Erikson shares the healthy prospect of development in life that is generativity. Away from despair is generativity living a life of gratitude, a product of the character ethic transduced in a flow state due to a mind that has developed thoroughly therefore the person is functioning effectively. This has everything to do with reason and order rather than impulse and chaos in a person's life. Harvard psychologist Daniel Goleman expresses the need for and importance of emotional intelligence which can be scaled; empathy, sympathy, apaty, antipathy, and evil. Watching his presentation to google on you tube explains the left OFC vs. the right OFC functioning that correlated to the brief description’s I implicate in this article about development and internal vs. external locus of control (reinforcement). Goleman’s research on the integrative ability for these two regions (OFC, Limbic center) to connect are correlated to aspects of positive versus negative development outcome’s that result in brain functioning based on if a person's life is highly effective or ineffective. These foundational aspects of the human functionality of the mind have everything to do with self-awareness, introspection, and individuality of character that is grounded by a sound value system and reinforced positively by all the choices you make in daily living.

https://youtu.be/-hoo_dIOP8k?si=FPP3_4DQYcqr5gv1

this podcast explains the orbital frontal cortex and the circuits to the limbic area. these can be right ofc which is when the amygdala subcortical region is more active than the higher executive cortical region. This happens from too much stress over a lifetime, therefore a maladaptive stress response occurs at different rates of being disinhibited to the degree of being completely disconnected. This Goleman states is highlighted on a brain scan as the right ofc circuitry. I can say that the personality ethic can lead to or come from this brain wiring. The Indvidual per Goleman experiences higher depression and anxiety. Becomes hyper focused on fear and threat, which ultimately leads to having a working memory that is not functional. then the person cannot learn nor see a future therefore only live for the moment. This is why Goleman explains behavior connected to people that show when right connectivity from limbic to OFC is high in contrast on an fmri that they struggle. Kids from a low socio-economic status have shown high stress hormanes at 5 and 6 years of age. Stress hormones atrophy the OFC. This is rough the case for mental health and stress is real. This OFC right funtioning is a person that is very subjective because they cannot seek the truth objectively. You wonder why they would use categorical thinking- that does not differentiate between 2 facts within the category, does not see the big picture and instead only see's bounadaries.

Another issue with a person that is externally driven is that external validation is not self-reinforcing. this is problematic due to being prone to adverse behaviors due to low dopamine baselines. This usually takes place in risky behaviors due to emotional reactivity due to the maladaptive stress response which we are talking acting on their discontent which is all kinds because the person is so unhappy. Go back above anger management issues and antagonistic as can all be. everything becomes a competition all based around social hierarchy and idealism. my group against yours for external validation which is a constant need. Them the outgroup ingroup and between the group addiction to violence begins. status quo

Alexis de Tocqueville had many concerns about the failing of democracy but clearly stated his biggest being a mass society of mutually antagonistic men, easy pre to despotism he says.

In contrast the higher conscious area of the cerebral cortex the orbital frontal cortex is the region that takes in organized and sends it to be stored in the hippocampus in the limbic area. This is why the character ethic is so important the OFC also has circuitry to the reward center housed in the limbic subcortical region. The OFC does all this as well, so that a self-reinforced internally driven person has higher dopamine baselines due to positive reinforcement of a value driven life. Dopamine is the motivation, learning, pleasure and reward molecule. When functioning in character ethic as Covey shares in his book is related to and is the precursor to left ofc functioning Goleman share as being so effective. I am not afraid to share this I went back to school so that I could help others reach their higher potential This goes for everyone I was grateful for my balanced, positive, and motivated self. Life is not a competition for the left OFC functioning self instead it is the opposite. Also important is the dopamine serotonin balance the framers had it right being character driven is the pursuit that it takes to find happiness. It is a biochemical function of two opposing neural chemicals one inhibitory and one excitatory that are not synonymous but for continment and Happiness need to find and infinite connection which is their consistency when the bodies homeostasis and equilibrium are in sync. The personality ethic does not cut it you may be a bullshitter, but the body can tell the difference. Gotta be true to yourself, and this is where the character ethic is valuable and human consciousness. thrives.

I have a lot more for you all but your gonna have to earn it by being nice for a change.