Hate, the Sociology and Disease

With the generation of Vietnam demonstrators, fatherless children and both parents working, we created a caldron of social instability. Educators left ethics and morality to the parents, but the parents were not there. Instead of teaching citizenship, teachers taught what they learned from the demonstrations, a philosophy of existentialism and rejection of traditional institutions, respect for the law, discipline and cultural morays, maybe not intentionally but a fertile ground for hate.

Children felt victimized first by distant parenting, encouragement from teachers, and the cost of higher education. Education  was only required to the age of sixteen. US education fell way behind that of other countries, especially our economic rivals.

Many with supportive families, strong networks of friends or an inherent sense of cooperation and compassion create immune globulins against hate; hopefully a majority. Those few that were self driven, embraced American entrepreneurship achieving enormous wealth and those blessed by wealthy parents do well creating an exaggerated divide. Globalization Chinese style, further striped our middle class of liquidity and jobs. Outsourcing of manufacturing further eroded our security.

Poverty, depression, obesity, diabetes, malnutrition became the norm for the minimum wage population. Family dysfunction, fatherless children, and sexual dysphoria added to a further dystopia.

Democracy cannot survive without citizenship, a common culture, cooperation, justice and the rule of law. Apparent murder by A police officer lit a powerful fuse for revolt. This epidemic of Hate may be more destructive than corona virus. The pandemic plus the destruction and looting plus social distancing and distant learning may further deprive young people the opportunity of learning and networking the attributes of success, but worse yet may lead to our rejection of democracy and a weaponized gateway to for of Chinese dystopia.

If we can find a vaccine against hate, it will probably be education and more education for many more years. Embrace teaching of civility, discipline, civics, citizenship, history, music, dancing, sports, math and science. Promote social interaction, clubs, fraternities, job placement, internships, technology, business and finance, multiple pathways for multiple talents and freedom to switch. Make it affordable, challenging and exciting. A little discipline wouldn’t hurt.