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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 368 999 CG 025 288 AUTHOR Firestone, Robert W. TITLE Origins of Ethnic Strife. INSTITUTION Marietta Coll., OH. PUB DATE [93] NOTE 16p. PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Aggression; Anxiety; *Conflict; Death; Defense Mechanisms; *Ethnic Groups; *Etiology; *Gr..;up Behavior; Group Dynamics; Identification (Psychology); Intergroup Relations; Participant Characteristics; Social Psychology; *World Problems ABSTRACT Group identification is a major cause of religious, racial, and international conflict. Many forms of group identification are fantasy bonds, imagined connections with others offering security at the expense of individual self-realization. The fantasy bond forms in childhood in response to inadequate parenting. Human beings are not inherently aggressive, but interpersonal tension in families leads to hostile and defensive behaviors first acted out on family members and later extended to outsiders. These bonds become reinforced as the child becomes aware of death's inevitability. Social systems represent a pooling and projection of individual defense mechanisms into a cultural framework as mores, traditions, and secular religious beliefs. These traditions and beliefs become imaginary survival mechanisms for the individual, a way to deny death's finality. Since they represent immortality, these world views are strongly defended by their adherents, who feel threatened by groups with other beliefs, and will fight to defend their point of view. The outgroup is seen as peculiar, impure, or evil. Outbreaks of violence will continue to be a problem until destructive child-rearing practices and social processes fostering aggression change, and death is accepted as the natural end of life. (Contains 109 references.) (CC) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT Cr, EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) C-1 This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization Originating it C Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality Points of view or opinions stated in this dcru- "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS went do not necessarily represent official MATERIAL HAS BEE( GRANTED BY OERI position or policy yr fz. s-ror ORIGINS OF ETHNIC STRIFE TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES By Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D. INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." Angeles, California Los Ethnicity and ethnic wars are related to man's attempt to defend against emotional pain and death anxiety. Psychological defenses formed originally to cope with childhood trauma are reinforced as the child becomes aware of death's inevitability. These defenses become an imaginary survival mechanism for the individual. Social systems represent a pooling of these individual defense mechanisms projected into a cultural framework as mores, traditions, and secular religious beliefs. People have a strong stake in their world views, feel threatened by groups manifesting other beliefs, and will fight to the death to defend their point of view. The author contends that the terror surrounding the end of existence as one knows it drives individuals to merge their identity with the group and challenge, attack, or otherwise attempt to eliminate people of different persuasions. The outgroup is seen as peculiar, impure, or evil because alternative sstems are perceived as a threat to their own symbols of immortality. INTRODUCTION You've got to be taught to hate and fear. validated social mores and rituals in turn affect indi- You've got to be taught from year to ycar, vidual personality development. Members of a given You've got to be taught before it's too late. social group or society have a considerable stake in Before you are six or seven or eight, how they perceive reality, and their emotional secu- To hate all the people your relatives hate. rity is fractured when individuals or groups manifest You've got bc carefully taught. alternative perceptions. Indeed, cultural patterns, religious beliefs, and mores that are different from our From Carefully Taught own threaten core defenses that act as a buffer against (Rcdgers & Hammerstein) terrifying emotions (Becker, 1975; Solomon, Green- The words of this song from the musical, berg & Pyszczynski, 1991). People will fight to the South pertain to one aspect of a powerful defense Pacific. death to defend their customs and traditions against mechanism that reifies the family, shrouding it and others who perceive and interpret reality in different other forms of group identification in a fantasy bond terms. that assures immortality in the face of death anxiety. The distinctive elements that support cultural The fantasy bond, an illusory connection or imagined integrity and loyalty in a specific group or society are fusion with another or others, offers security at the at once a source of beauty and of human destructive- expense of self-realization, autonomy, and individu- ness. Paradoxically, the myriad of cultural patterns ation (Firestone, 1984, 1985). The fantasy solution based on racial, religious, and ethnic differences that arises to counter interpersonal trauma and sepa- make for creative individuation and fascinating vari- ration anxiety must be protected from all intrusion. ations in the world scene, yet at the same time arouse This protection predisposes aggressiveness, hostility, insidious hostilities that could eventually threaten life and malice toward those who challenge its function. on the planet. Indeed, ethnicity and ethnic strife are The combined projection of individual defense the major problem facing mankind at the turn of the mechanisms into a social framework make up a sig- century (Hacker, 1992; Moynihan, 1993; Schlesin- nificant aspect of culture, and these consensually ger, 1991). Although issues of economics and territo- The Glendon Association (310) 552-0431 1 BEST COPY AVAILABLE riality are other stimuli for man's hostility toward through successive stages of separation anxiety lead- man, the author supports the position that ethnic ing up to confronting the reality of death. Thereafter, hatred and violence constitute the more significant rran's most profound terror centers on contemplation threat. The rapid advance of technology and destruc- of the obliteration of the ego, the total loss of the self tive potential far outracing man's rationality (Choron. 1963, 1964; Meyer, 1975; Stem, 1968, Zil- is (Mumford, 1966). Unless we understand the nature boorg, 1943). People employ both idiosyncratic indi- of the psychological defense mechanisms that play a vidual defense mechanisms and social defenses to major pan in man's intolerance and savagery, the protect themselves against death anxiety (Becker, human race will be threatened by extinction. 1973; Lifton, 1977; Rank, 1941/1958). Much of man's aggression can be attributed to An integrative Approach the fact that he conspires with others to create cultural imperatives, institutions, and beliefs that are de- The tragedy of the human condition is that signed to deny his true condition (Lecker, 1962, man's awareness and true self-consciousness 1975). These socially constructed defenses never concerning existential issues contribute to an ul- "work" completely as a solution to the problem of timate irony: Man is both brilliant and aberrant, man's mortality; if they did work, there would be no sensitive and savage, exquisitely caring and pain- need for controversy and no reason to go to war over fully indifferent, remarkably creative and incred- differences in religion, race, or customs. On some ibly destructive to self and others. level, people remain unsure despite strong and rigid From "The Dilemma of Psychotherapy" belief systems (Berger & Luckman, 1967). The fear (Firestone, 1988. P. 253) of death still intrudes on their consciousness, particu- larly when they are confronted by others with alter- This paper examines the dynamics of what I native resolutions that challenge their own. consider to be the most important underlying cause Unfortunately, people are willing to sacrifice of controversy and violence in the world today: an themselves in war to preserve their nation's or relig- individual's need to maintain powerful defenses of ion's particular symbols of immortality in a desperate repression and denial when faced with the terrifying attempt to achieve a sense of mastery over death. awareness of his or her aloneness and mortality. The This same desperation can also be observed in the approach set forth here integrates psychoanalytic and prisoner on death row who chooses to commit sui- existential systems of thought (Firestone, 1985, cide, thereby taking control over the time of his/her 1988. 1990c). This integration is crucial in under- death rather than enduring the unbearable anxiety of standing the forces originating within the nuclear waiting for the hour of execution (Firestone & family and manifested later in society that drive Seiden, 1987). In each case. actual death is preferable people to aggressive acts against others. to the anticipatory anxiety and uncertainty surround- There are two major sources of emotional pain ing the imagination of a death beyond our control. and anxiety that function to diminish people's essen- tial humanness and arouse aggression: (1) pain Review of the Literature caused by interpersonal relationships, characterized by deprivation, rejection, and oven or coven hostility In our review, I will address a number of perspec- on the part of parents, family members, and signifi- tives related to the causes of racial conflict, terrorism, and war. These may be roughly divided into the cant others; and (2) pain arising from basic existential issues of aloneness, aging, illness, and death. following areas of inquiry: (1) theories and empirical To develop a complete dynamic picture of de- research concerning the origins of human aggression; fense formation and man's subsequent aggression, (2) theories that specifically link group identification one must recognize that the fantasy bond, a core to aggressive warlike behavior, (3) research of social defense against both kinds of pain, is formed in psychologists in relation to prejudice and racism; and response to inadequate or destructive parenting in (4) Ernest Becker's existential/psychological synthe- early childhood and is later reinforced as the young- sis on the origins of social evil. Space does not permit ster experiences a growing awareness of death (An- more than a cursory review of these approaches. thony, 1971; Firestone, 1985; Kastenbaum, 1974; Nagy. 1948/1959; Rochlin, 1967). Children pass The Glendon Association (310) 552-0431 2 3 Theories of Human Aggression theorists who believe in the death instinct as the most powerful driving force in the id are naturally pessi- Many scholars have viewed human aggression mistic about mankind's future, whereas the belief that as the key issue in ethnic strife and war. Research aggression is based on frustration and other environ- studies conducted by primatologists and social scien- mental factors offers a more hopeful outlook and tists have been based for the most part on the assump- implies constructive action. tion that human beings are naturally aggressive because of their close kinship with the primates who are Approaches to Group identification aggressively competitive for mates and territory (Ar- drey. 1966; Goodall. 1986; Lorenz, 1963/1966; Mac- Many theorists assert that group identification is coby & laLklin. 1974). "According to Lorenz. who a major causative factor in religious, racial and inter- was awarded the Nobel prize for his work in animal national conflict Freud's (1921/1955) work on the behavior, the appetite of humans for violence has the subject, which stressed the "mindlessness of the status of an instinct" (Lore & Schultz, 1993, p. 17). group mind" supports my own thesis that group Freud (1920/1955) contended that the aggres- membership offers a false sense of superiority, spe- sive drives (id), based on a death instinct, are so cialness, and omnipotence to individuals who feel powerful that they must inevitably prevail over rea- helpless and powerless in an uncertain world son (ego) or conscience (superego). The primatolo- (Firestone, 1985). gists cited above tend to support Freud's theory that In "Group Psychology and the Analysis of the human aggression is instinctual. Nevertheless, this Ego," Freud noted that: point of view has been under severe attack in recent years (Berkowitz, 1989; Eron, 1987; Fromm, 1986; A group is extraordinarily credulous and open to influence, it has no critical faculty, and the Holloway, 1967; Montagu, 1976). A number of theorists contend that prevailing theories on aggression improbable does not exist for it.... A group knows (the instinct theory, the aggression-frustration model, neither doubt nor uncertainty. (p. 78) and social learning theories) are contradictory and Extending these concepts to religious groups, confusing and should be reexamined in order to clar- Freud argued that believers naturally experience mal- ify the specific environmental conditions that amuse ice and animosity toward nonbelievers: aggressive impulses and violent azts in individuals (D. Campbell. 1975; Lore & Schultz, 1993). In a Those people who do not belong to the commu- comprehensive review of the varied theories oh hu- nity of believers...stand outside this tie. Therefore man aggression. Lore and Schultz argued that "there a religion. even if it calls itself the religion of love, is now sufficient information to demonstrate that must be hard and unloving to those who do not popular views on the nature of aggression in both belong to it. (p. 98) humans and animals need major revision" (p. 17). Fromrn (1941, 1950) traced the social and psy- The author agrees with those who challenge the chological elements of the Nazi movement to their Freudian contention that man's aggression is a deri- sources in the Age of Reformation. He went on to vative of the death instinct. I subscribe to Miller and explain that existential fears of aloneness and the Dollard's (Dollard. Miller, Doob. Mowrer, & Sears, "terrifying responsibility of freedom" compel people 1939; Miller & Dollard, 1941) view that aggression to take actions as a group that would be unthinkable is primarily frustration-derived and that human be- to them as individuals: ings are not inherently destructive, aggressive, or self-destructive) They become hostile, violent, There is nothing inhuman, evil, or irrational or suicidal because of the pain or frustration they expe- which does not give some comfort provided it is rience in relation to deprivation of basic needs and shared by a group.... Once a doctrine, however desires and later in response to death anxiety. Those irrational, has gained power in a society, millions My understanding of human aggression also takes into account social learning theory (Bandura & Walters, 1963; Berkowitr, 1989). Okey (1992) reviewed the theoretical approaches to aggressive behavior in his paper, "Human Aggression: The Btiology of Individual Differences." The Glendon Association (310) 552-0431 3 4 of people will believe in it rather than feel ostra- action that history tells us is laden with strong, even passionate, feelings, it is in the area of intergroup cized and isolated. (1950. p. 33) relations" (p. 347). It is the author's hypothesis that identification Recent studies concerning people's need to with a particular ethnic or religious group is at once maintain self-esteem are relevant to our discussion of a powerful defense against death anxiety and a sys- prejudice. Becker (1962) and Solomon, Greenberg, tem of thought and belief that can set the stage for and Pyszczynski (1991) have proposed that self-es- hatred and bloodshed. Group identification provides teem functions as an anxiety buffer against death individuals with an illusion of immortality through anxiety: imagined fusion with the membership. Conformity to A substantial portion of our social behavior is the belief system of the group. that is. to its collective directed toward sustaining faith in a shared cul- symbols of immortality, protects one against the hor- ror of facing the objective loss of self. In merging tural worldview (which provides the basis for self-esteem) and maintaining a sense of value his/her identity with that of a group, each person feels within that cultural context. (Solomon, Green- that although he/she may not survive as an individual entity, he/she will live on as part of something larger berg, & Pyszczynski. 1991, p. 118) which will continue to exist after he/she is gone.2 In my work, I have described a number of defensive maneuvers that people use to bolster their self- Recent Research on Prejudice and Racism esteem and feelings of self-importance. The defenses Studies conducted by Tajfel (Tajfel. Flament, of disowning one's own negative or despised characteristics and projecting these traits onto others help Billig, & Bundy. 1971) showed that "the variable of social categorization per se is sufficient as well as one maintain self-esteem, albeit falsely, and ixovide the basis for prejudice and racism. People of one necessary to induce forms of ingroup favouritism and discrimination against the outgoup" (Turner. 1978. ethnic group tend to dispose of their self-hatred by p. 101). Turner expanded Tajfel's work by including projecting it onto their enemies. perceiving them as social competition as an important factor influencing subhuman, dirty, impure, and inherently evil (Holt & group discrimination. Silverstein. 1989: Keen, 1986; Silverstein, 1989). More recently. researchers have stressed that Subsequently they behave as though they can achieve cognitive distortior.s alone do not sufficiently explain perfection and immortality only through the removal of this imperfection, impurity, and evil from the the hatred and violence accompanying prejudice, racism, and ethnocentric hostilities. They assert that world. affective factors and mechanisms of social influence, Becker's Approach to including those of conformity and childhood social i- &anon (Lambert & Kim,. erg. 1967). need to be in- Ethnic Wars and Death Anxiety cluded in studies of racism (Byrne; 1971; Cialdini & In his analysis of the phenomena of religious Richardson. 1980; Duckitt. 1992; Goldstein & Davis, wars and ethnic "cleansing," Becker (1975) also dis- 1972; Meindl & Lerner. 1984: Moe. Nacoste. & cussed the use of displacement and projection de- Insko. 1981: Tesser, 1988). Hamilton (1981) has scribed above: called attention to the fact that cognitive approaches to prejudice have serious limitations: one is their Men try to qualify for eternalization by being neglect of affect. He suggested that people attach clean and by cleansing the world around them of more emotion to their distorted views of "different" the evil, the dirty; in this way they show that they groups than to their most significant interpersonal are on the side of purity, even if they themselves relationships: "If there is any domain of human inter- are impure [italics added]. The striving for per- See Bettelheim's account (1943/1979) of this phenomenon, where pnsoners in a German concentration camp imagined 2 they could survive as a group on one occasion where they were required to stand all night in subfreezing temperatures. More than 80 penshed, but survivors reported that dunng the event they "felt" free from fear and therefore were actually happier than al most other times dunng their camp experiences" (p. 65). The Glendon Assoctatlon 4 (310) 552-0431 to eliminate impure and despised enemies from the fection reflects man's effort to get some human grip on his eligibility for immortality. (p. 115- face of the earth. 116) Interpersonal Dynamics In synthesizing the works of Rank. Freud, and Underlying Group Identification Kierkegaard, Becker (1973. 1975) explored the rela- To develop a better comprehension of ethnic tionship between the fear of death and the social evil which finds its primary expression in warfare. The strife, it is necessary to examine the parallels between author is aligned with Becker in hypothesizing that the psychodynamics in extended groups and societies existential dread is the foremost predisposing influ- discussed above and those operating in couples and families. The explanation of group dynamics must ence at the core of man's inhumanity to man. Becker and other theorists (Lifton. 1973: Toynbee, 1968b) begin with an understanding of individual patterns of viewed cultural patterns and social mores as con- psychological defense that arise in response to stress- ful conditions. Interpersonal tension in the family structions by human beings to alleviate death fears and understood that they generally resulted in aggres- system leads to hostile, guarded and defensive behaviors that are acted out on family members and later sive acts against others. Since antiquity, people have extended to outsiders. When groups or societies believed that they were immortal to the extent that emerge, individual patterns of defense of the mem- they had power over others and that victory, particu- larly in a religious war, was an indication of God's bers are pooled and combine to form cultural attitudes favor. Becker (1975) states: and stereotypes. No wonder the divine kings repeatedly staged A Developmental Perspective their compulsive campaigr.s and inscribed the mountainous toll of their butchery for all time.... The most powerful and effective denial of death Their pride was holy; they had offered the gods is to be found in the fantasy bond, an illusion of an immense sacrifice and a direct challenge, and connection with another person formed originally the gods had confirmed that their destiny was with the mother as a compensation for rejection and indeed divinely favored, since the victories went emotional traurna in the infant's early environment. to them. (p. 106) The extent to which people come to rely on this imaginary fusion is proportional to the degree of II is important to stress that the defense mechanisms of displacement and projection also play a frustration, pain, and emotional deprivation experi- significant role in maintaining feelings of divine enced early in life. The more inadequate the parenting sanction and specialness within religious groups and process, the stronger the anxious, addictive attach- nations. As noted previously, they are the dynamic ment and the greater the reliance on fantasy. The hurt forces underlying racism and genocide. In describ- or rejected child clings desperately to the home envi- ing how these defenses work in conjunction with ronment and cannot individuate. Later, thi:, self-par- group identification. / statei in another work (Fire- enting process or fusion is transferred to significant stone, in press): others in adult associations. The fantasy bond, an internal self-nourishing and self-punishing process, Allegiance and identification with the group. is a core defense that to varying degrees comes to be and simultaneous devaluation of others ('outsid- preferred over external gratification from others be- ers,"aliens.' those who do not belong), feeds cause it provides partial satisfaction of needs, reduces narcissistic, omnipotent feelings and inflates a tension arising from deprivation, and later functions sense of self. importance. to alleviate death anxiety (Firestone, 1990b). Once the bond is formed, there is a marked In rummary, the author proposes that the terror of death, the feeling of utter helplessness in contem- tendency to withhold affect in interpersonal relation- plating the cessation of existence as one knows it, 3hips and a strong resistance to intrusion. This resis- provides the impetus driving members of a group or tance is inevitable because if the core defense were citizens of a nation to build up grandiose images of to break down, the person would be faced once again power at the expense of other groups or nations, to with the pain of the original trauma. When the fantasy bond is threatened, it gives rise to a powerful fear act on their projections and distortions, and to attempt The Glendon Association (310) 452-0431 5 6 reaction as the defended individual anticipates being porting the sacred image of the nuclear family and in protecting parents' rights over their children, society subject to anguish beyond his/her tolerance level. indirectly condones the harm done to children "for In defending themselves against an overload of pain, children depersonalize, fragment, lose feeling their own good." Only in the most blatant instances of child abuse and neglect does the collective ideali- for themselves, and become hostile and untrusting of zation of the family break down. While people were others. By introjecting the negative or hostile parental attitudes and at the same time retaining the painful. outraged at the parents who allowed their children to live and eventually die in the insane and oppressive -primal" feelings of the helpless child, an individual cults of Jonestown and Waco, they were reluctant to develops the fantasy of being at once the good, strong parent and the dirty, weak child. This split or inter- extend their vision to comprehend the fact that those nalized self-parenting bond predisposes a fear and incidents were an extreme manifestation of the com- withdrawal from intimacy and fosters a contentious plete power, proprietary interest, disrespect, and pos- cynical view that deprives one of compassion for sessiveness that "normal" parents righteously impose one's fellows. It is this illusion of a totally self-suffi- on their children's lives. cient internal system that becomes the bulwark of one's psychological defense against painful emo- Displacement of Negative tions. The introjected parental image takes on the Parental Traits onto Otivr People significance of a survival mechanism in the child's In preserving an idealizeo image of their parents, mind. children must dispose of their parents actual negative In the context of defending the fantasy bond. qualities. They block from awareness those parental negative thought processes. manifested as "inner characteristics that are espec ially threatening and dis- voices." foster distrust and hostility toward others. place them onto other people at the expense of the Indeed, critical thoughts and abusive attitudes toward out-group. By judging their parents as right or supe- oneself are always projected to some extent onto rior, and others as wrong or inferior, children, and other people. Stereotypes, prejudicial attitudes, and later adults, preserve their illusions about the family. racial biases3 are extensions of these fundamentally Stereotypes, prejudice, and racist views represent hostile and distorted views of others that provide a extensions of these distortions into a cultural frame- pseudo-rational basis for aggressive acts against peo- work (Berke, 1988; Henry, 1963; Lasch, 1984). Be- pie who are perceived as different. cause they are based on a core psychological defense, they stubbornly persist in the face of logic and con- Idealization of the Family trary evidence. Moreover, in idealizing the family, an As a by-product of introjecting the parental fig- individual adopts his/her parents' distortions and bi- ure, the hurt or damaged child has a need to idealize ases and imitates their negative responses to people the real parent at his/her own (the child's) expense who are seen as different. In this manner, prejudicial ( Arieti. 1953/1974; Firestone. 1985). The child must attitudes towards specific groups of people and indi- conceptualize him/herself as bad or unlovable in viduals are transmitted intergenerationally. order to defend against the realization of parental inadequacy. This idealization is difficult to refute as VanitySpecialness one moves out in life and attempts to expand one's boundaries because, to a large extent, it is supported Feelings of vanity and specialness are part of the by society's belief in the sanctity of the family. defense system that protects an individual against Indeed, the reason emotional and physical child death anxiety. These defenses manifest themselves in abuse of all varieties has been minimized or denied the idealization of the group and leader just as they in our society is that it is an outgrowth of the core do in the idealization of the family. Vanity refers here defense of family idealization. Unfortunately, in sup- to omnipotent and omniscient attitude3, an aggran- A special subcasc of group bias can oe observed in "identity politics," prevalent on American campuses and in the 3 workplace. Gitlin (1993), noting this separatist movement, declared: "The long overduc opening of political initiative to mmoritics, women, gays, and others of the traditionally voiceless has developed its own methods of silencing" (p. 172). The Glendon Association 6 (310) 552-0431 7 dized fantasy image of self that compensates for above to their couple relationships. They intermit- tently act out dominant/submissive (parent/child) deep-seated feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. It expresses itself in the universal belief that death modes in their interactions. Both partners participate in this damaging collusion (Willi, 1975/1982) and happens to someone else, never to oneself. Zilboorg fmd it difficult to disengage because the polarized (1943) has described the defense of "specialness," so patterns provide an illusion of safety and wholeness familiar to soldiers going into battle: and eventually foster a sense of immortality on an We must maintain within us the conviction unconscious level. that...we. each one of us who speaks of himself Once an addictive attachment is formed within in the first person singular. are exceptions whom the couple, it must be defended at all costs against death will not strike at all. (p. 468) being disrupted. Anything that threatens to disturb an The popular novel, The Right Stuff (Wolfe, individual's method of defending him/herself arouses 1983). accurately describes this defense as supersti- considerable fear. The rise in anxiety results in both aggressive and regressive reactions tion accepted as fact: test pilots who crashed obvi- (Firestone, 1987). In much the same way, people who form a ously didn't have "the right stuff," that special com- fantasy bond in a group context to cope with death bination of masculine strength, courage, and compe- anxiety also react to threats with hostility and angry tence that guarantees survival. retaliation. In both cases, the hostility is based on the It is important to note that the extension of vanity as a defensive mechanism to a cultural pattern that perceived threat of breaking the illusory connection. exists on a regional or national level has led to viru- lent racism and genocide throughout history. As Utilization of the Child as a Symbol of immortality notai by Solomon (1986), all isms potentially lead to schisms. In forming a fantasy bond, both members of a couple lack independence and lose a sense of self, and Addictive Attachments their love relationship is negatively impacted. The use of another for purposes of internal safety and As adults, most individuals tend to form relationships with significant others in a way that duplicates security essentially destroys the fabric of the relationship. The same dynamics apply when the fantasy the imagined connection with the parents.4 In doing so, however, they progressively limit their lives and bond is extended to children born to couples in collusion. Indeed, most parents have children for the surrender their own unique point of view and sense of self. wrong reasonas a bid for immortality and a defense The transference of emotional reactions from against death anxiety. early interactions with parents to one's mate and to Parents imagine, on some level, that the child is groups and institutions in a society is largely respon- an extension of themselves, and this "belonging" or merger imbues them with a sense of eternal life sible for the submissive behavior observed in members of a group. The concept of the fantasy bond is (Becker, 1962; Rank, 1936/1972). However, this de- similar in many respects to Kaiser's (Fierman, 1965) fense "works" only to the extent that the child is notion of a "delusion of fusion." Kaiser contended essentially the same as the parents in appearance, that people's compelling need to surrender their will personality traits, behaviors, and defenses. The more to another person or a group through this delusion of the child is different from the parents, the more he/she fusion represents the universal neurosis. The leader poses a threat to their illusion of immxtality. There- of the group becomes one's "god" or "savior," and fore, nonconformity and individuation are judged as the group-cause. one's bid for immortality. "bad" while sameness with, or submission to, one's In my clinical experience. I have noted that peo- parents is seen as good. ple tend to extend the parent/child split described In their coupling and with respect to their children, many people mistake feelings of anxious attachment and emotional 4 hunger for feelings of genuine affection and love. They are largely unaware that they arc utilizing their partner or their children for purposes of safety, security, and immortality based on an illusion of connectedness (Firestone, 1990a). The Glendon Association 7 010} 552-0431 In using the child in this way, parents feel both tion, religious persuasion, or race is influenced by the extent to which they rely on the fantasy bond as a the need and the obligation to impose their standards, source of security. People who have been damaged to beliefs, and value systems on their children, no matter a significant extent in their early family interactions how distorted or maladaptive they are. They transmit are more defensive, opinionated, and rigid with re- their personal attitudes and defenses to their children spect to their beliefs than their less defended counter- both implicitly and explicitly, that is. by example and by direct instruction. Having been -processed" in this parts and tend to react with fear and hostility to racial and cultural differences (Ehrlich, 1973). manner, most children grow up feeling alienated from Most individuals, though defended, are not usu- themselves and feel that they have no inherent right ally psychologically disturbed to the extent that the to their own point of view as separate human beings. existence of a group with different views causes them They relinquish their autonomy early in life, and guilt prohibits them from breaking away from the depend- to strike out with aggressive or violent acts. However, the majority can be induced into a intense state of ency bond with their parents. They find it difficult or virtually impossible to live their own lives with in- hatred or rage by a leader who has pathological needs and who utilizes their fear and insecurity to achieve tegrity, independent of destructive group and societal influences (Milgram. 1974). Thus, the process of power (Fromm, 1941; Shires., 1960). If the personality makeup of people in a society socialization sets the pattern for the adult's conformity to the group. or nation is rigid and intolerant, their social mores and In conclusion, fear reactions as well as guilt conventions tend to reinforce a general movement about differentiating oneself from one's family of toward a prejudicial view of others. Entire societies origin are related to the utilization of the child as a are capable of becoming progressively more hostile, symbol of immortality. When the parental atmos- paranoid or psychologically disturbed in much the phere is immature, frightened, hostile, or overly de- same manner that defended individuals become men- fended, the !way takes on the quality of a dictator- tally ill.5 The more a society is built on insecurity and inflexible belief systems, the more sick it becomes, ship or cult, wherein powerful forces operate to control other family members, fit them into a m91d, and the more dangerous to world peace. brainwash them with a particular philosophy of life, This phenomenon was most clearly exemplified and manipulate them through guilt and a sense of in the evolution of an authoritarian Germanic person- obligation. This pattern represents an insidious form ality-type that tyrannized Europe and was responsi- ble for the Holocaust. The superior, destructive atti- of emotional child abuse that has not been sufficiently recognized in the psychological literature (Beavers, tudes toward minorities and the sadism manifested to 1977; Garbarino, Guttmann. & Seeley, 1986; A. the extreme in the concentration camps represented Miller. 1981/1984; Shengold, 1989; Srole. Langner. an acting out by the Germans of internalized aggression toward their child-selves. As children, they had Michael, & Opler, 1962). Children brought up in this manner become mindless, authoritarian personality been abused and mistreated under the guise of order ypes ( Adorno. Frenkel-Brunswik. Levinson, & San- and discipline and had, therefore, come to consider ford, 1950) that are easily exploited by power-struck 'elves as inferior, unworthy, and unclean. In an the: leaders and manipulated into a destructive mass attempt to absolve themselves of their self-hatred, (Fromm. 1941; Shirer, 1960). they then projected these characteristics onto anyone they saw as different and less powerful, such as the Jews and gypsies. They were compelled to mistreat The Development of Rigid Belief Systems these minority groups in a manner similar to the way in Individuals and Groups they had been mistreated as children.6 This acting out The degree of hostility and intolerance people served to compensate for deep-seated feelings of manifest toward those of different group identifica- inadequacy and powerlessness. The Germans denied Kerr Se. Bowen (1988) noted that societies can become regressive as the force for togetherness and lower differentiation 5 of self of its members become more prominent during times of stress and chronic anxiety. Laing (1967) wrote about the similarity between dysfunctional families and "sick" societies. The Glendon Association 8 (310) 552-0431 9 Religious Doctrine their feelings of inferiority by conceptualizing themselves a! a "super race"a tragic form of social For the most part, religious doctrine consists of madness.7 consensually validated concepts of existential truth. Traditional religious beliefs of both Western and Eas- tern cultures can be thought to contribute to a collec- Institutionalized Defenses tive neurosis whereby defenses against death anxiety Against Death Anxiety reinforce people's tendencies to deny the body (West- ern) or transcend or devalue the self (Eastern). hi a There are a multitude of conventional defenses mistaken cauzie, people strive for selflessness, that militate against facing the fazt of mortality; these whereas perversely enough, only by being them- are utilized by man in an effort to deny and transcend existential finality (Firestone, 1988). Two major selves and azcepting their true nature can they con- forms of defense that have evolved into unique cul- tribute to mankind through positive, life-affirming tural systems can be delineated: (1) religious dogma, action. Misinterpretations of teachings originally meant including belief in an afterlife, reincarnation, or union with an Ultimate Spiritual Reality or universal con- to enhance the spiritual and humane aspects of life sciousness (Toynbee, 1968a); and (2) group identifi- have led to this self-denying, self-sacrificing orienta- cation and nationalism, idolization of the leadership, tion. Theologians since St. Augustine have postulated and mindless allegiance to the group cause.8 that the punishment for Adam's act of disobedience In a discussion of cultural patterns utilized by in the Garden of Eden was death and have held out individuals to deny death, the author (Firestone. the promise that by denying sexual desire and bodily I990a) wrote: pleasures, one's soul could triumph over the body and survive death (Pagels, 1988). Similarly, many have All societies and complex social structures are misunderstood the teachings of Taoism and Bud- generally restrictive of individuality and personal dhism and assumed that all desire, striving, "ego" expression in the face of existential anxiety, and must be given up in order to anain enlightenment all cultural patterns or practices represent to some (Suzuki, Fromm, & DeMartino 1960; Watts, 1961). extent a form of adaptation to people's fear of The qu.:stion arises as to why millions of people death. (p. 322) blindly follow religious dogma based on serious dis- Over the millennia, people have created increas- tortions of original teachings. Transcendence over the ingly complex institutions, conventions, belief sys- body which must die, the postulation of a soul or tems, and sanctions in their attempt to adapt to death spirit, and the union with a powerful being are the anxiety. Each succeeding generation has added its principal motivations. Religious dogmatism gener- own incremental building blocks to the system of ally supports a self-destructive process of self-Ihni- denial and accommodation. Societies for the most tation and self-abrogation; yet restricting or suppress- pan are moving toward more elaborate and effective ing people's natural desires (i.e., sexual and aggres- defenses that act to cut off emotion or dull the highs sive thoughts and feelings) unwittingly contributes to and lows of life, thereby numbing individuals to basic an increase in the incidence of violence and immoral existential issues. This suppression of feelings and acting-out behavior (Vergote, 1978/1988). emotions has led to an increase in aggression, vio- There are variations in the warlike tendencies of lence, and criminality accompanied by a heightened religious groups: some have an aggressive despera- indifference to the suffering of human beings. tion attached to their beliefs, while others are peace- The German government has recently taken cognizance of "Kinderunfreundlichkeit," that is, widespread brutal and 6 destructive attitudes toward children manifested in Germany and Austria, and has instituted a program of legislation to protect young people from insidious forms of physical and emotional child abuse (Meyer, 1991). This pattern persists today in reunited Germany, where angry hordes have been conducting demonstrations against 7 foreigners in the same aggressive style (Bloomstein, 1991; Grass. 1993; Joffe, 1993; Kahn, 1993). This list is clearly nol Inclusive, but focuses on those psychological defenses that are pertinent to our thesis. Other 8 cultural patterns representing defenses against death anxiety have been described in another work (Firestone, 1985). The Glendon Association (310) 552-0431 1 0