tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43492034741508397612024-03-08T01:11:19.683-06:00The Effects of CombatDr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-60648763154421803692016-12-07T15:20:00.003-06:002016-12-23T09:58:14.761-06:00The Child, Policy, and Society: A question<br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A Sociologist, Muzafer Sherif, trying to
understand how people formed groups, formulated a technical definition of a “social
unit” which he described as consisting of a number of individuals interacting
with each other with respect to:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">1. Common motives and goals;<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">2. An accepted division of labor, i.e. roles;<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">3. Established status (social rank,
dominance) relationships;<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">4. Accepted norms and values with reference
to matters relevant to the group;<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">5. Development of accepted sanctions (praise
and punishment) if and when norms were respected or violated.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">(For implications regarding <a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-sacred-duty-of-military-leadership.html" target="_blank">leadership, see this.</a>)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Although the definition may appear quite formal, it actually
describes a great deal of human interaction over a vast range of
situations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, all these criteria
can be identified in a “bottle gang,” a group that pools the money they have to
buy a bottle of alcohol that will be then shared amongst them. (1) These same
criteria also characterize massive, formal groups such as religions,
militaries, and nations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Upon reflections, most of us would recognize that we are
members of many groups such as families, PTAs, churches, neighborhood
associations, political parties, nations, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We also recognize that there may be conflicts between the motives and
goals of various groups and, sometimes, between our personal goals and those of
a group we’re in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s no exaggeration
to say that much of the conflict and distress of our lives comes from trying to
reconcile these conflicting motives and goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>An obvious example is conflicts between a person’s religious beliefs
about proper actions and particular laws of a nation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As citizens of the United States we generally share, and
expect others to share, a goal of supporting the US government and it’s
obligation to protect and preserve our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is so even though we
recognize vast differences in opinion about what that means and how to attain
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In spite of these vastly differing
opinions on every one of Sherif’s elements, we are still a social unit, a
group, a nation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But unlike a bottle gang and many other groups, in our
nation thousand of brand <i>new members</i> enter into our group every day: our
children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They come into being as
citizens, with some, but not all, of “the rights and privileges there unto
pertaining.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These new citizens, though
equal before the law, come into being in vastly different circumstances;
circumstances which will inevitably affect them from birth onward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These circumstances, though not of their
making, will powerfully influence the trajectory of their development over the
course of their lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While every child faces a unique constellation of
circumstances, our present knowledge about many particular issues allows us to
make statistically valid generalizations about their effects on growth and
development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As just one important
example, we can quite accurately predict the percentage of children who, born
to parents whose income is in the poorest quintile, will make it to the
richest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are dozens of similar
issues that we know, as a result of careful longitudinal study, strongly
influence a child’s chances of success in life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the unique set of circumstances each child faces, some
are advantageous while others can be beyond daunting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Income, parenting style, school quality,
multiple characteristics of the local neighborhood, mentors, lead in the water
supply or not, even sound levels and many more variables have been shown to affect
child development and, hence, the adult who will join our society: this new
citizen of our nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also true
that each and every adult in our society burdens and/or benefits the rest of us
to some degree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They pay taxes or they
don’t, they require public services or not, they do or don’t serve in the
military, and so on and so forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a
result of all this, we each have a stake, however small, in who each child
becomes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we look closely at the various circumstances the child
faces it becomes apparent that not all of them are effects of happenstance or
mere luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not all are due to random
variations in genres or fixed realities such as geography; some are “manmade,” the effects of actions and
inactions of the Nation through time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We obviously
need laws, policies, procedures, agencies, and officials to specify the norms
and values of our nation as well as the “accepted sanctions (praise and punishment)
if and when norms are respected or violated.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, just as obviously, all such laws, polices, etc. are imperfect as is
everything made by humans. The most well-intentioned law can’t cover every
circumstance and there are always some rare, specific circumstances where most
of us would say the law should not apply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“<span style="color: #1c1c1c; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep
under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes the law will criminalize an unlucky
traveller who missed a connection and has nowhere else to escape the rain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But is it not also true that all human institutions create
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">systematic</i> differences in benefits, advantaging
some and disadvantaging others?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
point is critical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every line in the tax
code creates a benefit or liability that will apply to some and not to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every Government program will provide
benefits to some that are denied others, even those of apparently deserving
status.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Geography, income, social class,
race, age, and more differentially affect who does and does not receive some
benefits or who is or is not subject to some penalty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The inevitable implication of this is that
among the circumstances that a child faces at birth, some are the result of the
collective actions and inactions of us as citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The inevitable corollary of this is that
circumstances of birth result in wide variations in opportunity and adversity
faced by each child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">If this is so, then it suggests a vital
question:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>S</u></span><u>hould a
child be expected to overcome the circumstances of his/her birth solely through
the results of his/her own efforts (and those of his/her family)?</u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do we expect, therefore, differentially
burdened and/or privileged children to deal with circumstances of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">our</i> making solely through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their</i> efforts? <o:p></o:p></div>
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We could. Indeed for virtually
the entirety of human existence we have believed that the family is largely or
solely responsible for meeting the child’s needs and assisting them through
their childhood. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For most of our
existence this made sense because the circumstances everyone faced were
primarily “natural,” that is, those imposed by the physical environment, and
largely the same for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in
modern industrialized countries that is no longer true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now the vast majority of US citizens are born
into a primarily human made environment: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cities, towns, and rural areas where
wilderness is something occasionally visited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now the circumstances a child faces at birth are largely those created
by the workings of our economic, political, and social systems.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We could, but should we?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some who consider this question come to a different conclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some believe that since our policies, our
collective actions, increase the adversity some children face that fairness
demands we act to try to eliminate, minimize, or ameliorate the differential
opportunities that result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, I
believe this is, or should be, the animating concern of the liberal
worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The politics of liberals
are/should be based on examining how existing and proposed polices/laws affect
the opportunities and adversities faced by children and attempting to rectify
any identified systemic differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
Indeed, much of liberal politics can easily be understood
through that lens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Liberal programs
regarding childcare, nutrition, education, and social welfare are easily
understood examples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes liberals
may loose their way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ezra Pound once
wrote “<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Music
begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance... poetry begins to
atrophy when it gets too far from music.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If liberal polices stray too far from equality of opportunity for all
citizens, they, too, may go astray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
the other hand, the <u>vital importance of liberal concerns to the future of
liberal democracy should not be underestimated.</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Every human society must develop working solutions to two
fundamental tasks:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1. How to protect the
individual (or identified sub groups) from the power of the majority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
to dispense the benefits (and the costs) of shared efforts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Both are extremely challenging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Success at the second will make the first
much more tractable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Success at both is
required for long term survival.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Notes<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
(1) The goal is to buy the bottle; one person may keep tabs
on the money, another actually purchase it; the purchaser is usually the one
seen as most trustworthy; people are expected to drink in portion to the amount
the contributed; if you drink more than your share, you won’t be allowed in
subsequent buys.<o:p></o:p></div>
Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-8032740047656863492016-07-19T09:56:00.000-05:002016-07-19T09:56:52.809-05:00Negotiating the use of firearms<div class="MsoNormal">
Possessing, carrying, and using firearms inherently create
threats to public safety. The extent of that threat depends on the weapon, the
person who owns/carries it, and the place it’s located.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I propose to first show the truth of these
two assertions in as straightforward manner as I can in the hope that people on
all sides of the present debate about the place and use of firearms in our
society will find little to object to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
will then argue that consideration of these issues should inform the debate about
what limitations we do and don’t want on the presence of firearms in public
spaces.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The Risk<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carrying any weapon in public, even a knife, creates a
possible threat to public safety in that the use of the weapon puts members of
the nearby public in danger of injury or death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is true no matter why or how a weapon is used: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whether for personal or official reasons,
whether intentionally (e.g., to stop a crime), impulsively (e.g., in a road rage
incident) or accidentally (e.g., a gun found and fired by a toddler).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This risk may be quite small but it is always
non-zero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the innumerable examples
of people harmed or killed by the use of weapons in public spaces, I can’t see
any basis for argument with this statement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the other hand, the degree of risk, whether or not the public should
be subject to such risks, how to weight the rights of the public versus those
of the individual, and many other similar issues, are legitimate issues of
discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The Weapon<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Several characteristics of firearms make them of particular
concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, and foremost, is their
ability to kill at a distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The range
of a particular firearm creates a circle of threat/danger around the
carrier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone within range faces an
increased risk of injury or death due to the intentional or accidental
discharge of the weapon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This obvious
fact is the primary basis for community concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also important to recognize that the
number of people exposed to the possible effects of using a weapon increase
with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">square</i> of the range of the
weapon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If one weapon has 3 times the
range of another, the number of people exposed is 9 times greater (assuming an
even population distribution over the range.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thus, the population extent and density of a particular area fundamentally
determines the risks that result from firearm usage in that area.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second, the firing rate of differing kinds of firearms
translates directly into different risks to public safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The risk poses by a muzzle loading musket or
bolt-action rifle differs immensely from that posed by an automatic (or even
semi-automatic) weapon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A skilled muzzleloader
can fire two rounds a minute; even an unskilled user of a semiautomatic can
fire two aimed rounds a second.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Third, the level of skill and strength need to use a firearm
differs significantly from other weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Infants and toddlers regularly kill people with firearms, primarily
handguns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not so much with knives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The primary public health risk of this
element is that individuals other than the owner can therefore easily use a
firearm to deadly effect if they steal it or wrest it away from the owner. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Further, the ease of use of a firearm also makes them more likely
to be misused in emotional situations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is especially true of handguns, which are both easily used and
often readily available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Firearms make
it extremely easy to turn angry or fearful impulses into violent action.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fourth, the kinetic energy generated by a firearm greatly
exceeds that produced by other commonly available weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This increases the risk of death and/or
significant injury to targeted individuals as well as bystanders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example a 100 mile and hour fastball has
energy of 140 Joules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is about as
much energy as a single person, unassisted, can generate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A single bullet from an AR-15 has energy of
1,854 Joules, 13 times as much as a single fastball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kinetic energy translates <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fairly</i> directly into tissue penetration,
tissue damage, risk of death, and range. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fifth, the small size of handguns in particular makes them
easy to carry and conceal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is both
the basis of their appeal and their threat to public safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because we cannot easily see whether a person
is carrying a handgun or not, it is impossible to accurately assess the threat
the person poses in a possible confrontation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you see someone carrying a rifle, on the other hand, you can take
action and avoid his or her presence if you choose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But a person has no way of counteracting the
threat of a pistol in public that they cannot see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interactions between individuals in public
are conducted assuming relatively equal power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Possessing or displaying a weapon inherently changes the balance of
power, vastly complicating the relationship and the risks of interaction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hopefully, your reaction to all the above is something on the
order of “No duh!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, I’ve tried to
present these facts in a non-controversial manner as possible in the hopes that
they provide a basis for discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
the other hand, the contribution to threat posed by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">person</i> will likely be more controversial.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The Person<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A loaded firearm possesses enough chemical potential energy
to be lethal in itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But short of
some unlikely event (e.g., it somehow gets hot enough to “cook off” a round),
its real threat to public safety lays in its potential use by a person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us next examine what is it about people,
in general and in particular, that makes them more or less of a threat to
others when carrying a firearm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
suggest there are at least three areas of concern.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Emotionality<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People are highly emotional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Innumerable circumstances generate powerful emotions in people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emotions compel action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is nearly impossible to experience extreme
fear, say, or rage without acting on that feeling in some way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When people feel something, they tend to act
on that feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is true even if
they cannot articulate their feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is also true even if a person denies his or her own feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emotions, the product of the brain’s limbic system, have
direct access to action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The classic
example is how it takes 50 milliseconds for a person to react to a stick
perceived as a snake while it takes and additional 250 milliseconds for a more
complete judgment originating in the cortex to properly classify the “snake” as
a stick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the grip of intense fear or
rage, we often act first and think later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course, people differ substantially on this dimension but everyone is
vulnerable to emotional reactivity at some level of stimulation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, given the variety of interpersonal and
environmental situations we may encounter that may provoke strong feelings, any
person carrying a firearm in public is always at some risk of possibly using it
inappropriately as a result of stimulated emotions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Rationality<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People make rational decisions regarding the benefits versus
the rewards regarding various actions, including the use of a firearm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are certainly situations in which the
use of a firearm is a rational act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Defending one’s home and family against armed intruders is an
example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also true the gun use in
some extreme situations may be rational although it appears otherwise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In essentially lawless areas where punishment
is highly unlikely and survival depends on connections and reputation, a
firearm may be the most rational of the choices available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, even though a particular use of a
firearm may be rational, that does not mean that person has also rationally
considered the many social and interpersonal consequences of that usage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such considerations may be missing from their
assessment of the situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recognition
of that fact is why we try to establish policies, procedures, and laws
regarding important events in order to makes sure all considerations are
properly weighed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Irrationality<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although people are capable of rationality, they are at
least equally capable of irrationality. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, there is virtually no idea so unlikely
that someone can’t be found to believe it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In particular, they are subject to irrational
beliefs about many things that make them more/less likely to use a firearm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examples include: Someone (or everyone) bares
intense malice towards us, intends to hurt or kill us and there is no way to stop
him/her/them short of killing; an individual (or group) has done us such a
grievous injury that revenge is called for and even killing is justified; we
are faced with an enemy or enemies of such implacable evil he/she/they must be
eliminated; an insult to our God must be avenged; our wife/husband has so
dishonored us they merit killing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
and many other common, but also at least sometimes questionable beliefs lead people
to commit violent acts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing this, it
is not unwise to consider every stranger as at least a potential threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are also armed, the risk of harm as a
result of their actions increases exponentially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is, they represent a threat to public
safety.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The examples of beliefs I gave above illustrate that
rationality/irrationality is not an objective matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of us have opinions regarding when a
particular example listed above could well be rational, as well as when we
would regard it as obviously irrational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, there are certain instances of these acts that we have, as a
society, decided upon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a person suffers
from a mental disorder as a result of a malfunctioning brain (e.g.,
schizophrenia) we would hold their belief about most or all of these as
irrational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand, these
same beliefs will be held in other circumstances to be rational, e.g., at war,
or in various cultures, including ours, at various times and places.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My intention in mentioning these concerns about people is to
normalize them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is, these concerns
are realistic, legitimate concerns we have about each other and that we bring
these concerns to any situation in which the use of guns is a possibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dealing with them in any negotiations
regarding use and control of firearms is, therefore, a necessity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The Place: the Social
and Physical Environment<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The threat posed to others by a person carrying a weapon in
a public space varies considerably depending on the characteristics of that
space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Characteristics I consider
relevant and discuss here are population density, law enforcement, and
political stability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There may be others
that people think are equally important.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The extent of risk is directly proportional to the
population density within the range of a weapon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carrying a weapon in a city puts many people
at risk while in unpopulated places of the West there may be places where even carrying
a high powered rifle puts no one at risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the same time, in more populated areas, the likelihood of
interactions with strangers that might go astray also increases.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe that most people would agree that the decision to
carry a firearm in public would legitimately depend on the degree to which the
rule of law prevailed in the area one is in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The social situation in the mid 1800’s “Wild West” differs greatly from
that of present day prosperous small town in the Mid West.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these examples we can see many factors
that determine lawfulness vs. lawlessness of different spaces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These include the presence of law
enforcement, the sufficiency of the force, and the lawfulness vs. lawlessness
of the law enforcement force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also
important is the social cohesion of a population and its “buy in” of a social
contract that expects law-abiding behavior and just application of state
sanctioned force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously this can
vary greatly over even relatively small distances, such as even neighborhoods.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, the political situation in a country is a factor in
the decision to carry firearms in public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does one only need to protect oneself from lawless citizens or also from
ruthless and/or corrupt government agents?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Limitations on Access
and Use<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Given all the considerations described above, does it not
seem reasonable that these considerations be taken into account in any attempt
to regulate access to and use of firearms?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Only someone who believes the have a “right” to any weapon, anytime, anywhere,
would not acknowledge the legitimacy at least one of these as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">their</b> concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given that, it also makes sense that gun laws
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">should</b> differ across places and/or
communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is, there is every
reason to suppose that reasonable gun laws in Montana would differ greatly from
those in New York City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The populations
of these two areas can be assumed to have significantly different views on each
of the issues listed above.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, at the same time, it is also true that we are a
highly mobile population and citizens are always moving to or visiting other
areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This suggests there could be
certain standards that we (as US citizens) would want to apply everywhere in
the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I am obviously suggesting a
national-state-local approach to gun laws where the Federal laws set certain
baseline rights and responsibilities while state and local governments are able
to adapt them to particular circumstances. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe, however, that there is another, far more
meaningful way of hearing all the considerations I’ve listed above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that, carefully considered, what
they suggest is that what we are really talking about is considering the impact
of owning/carrying/using a firearm on our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">neighbors.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thinking about it this way re-defines the
debate about gun laws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I am at all
open to considering the potential impact of my owning/carrying/using a firearm
on the people I know who live near me, then the discussion is between them and
me-that is, within my local community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is
this not the definition of responsible ownership:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that I take responsibility for the impact of
my firearm on the people around me who it might affect?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t the refusal to consider <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> such issues the very definition of
irresponsible ownership?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Given the vast differences in the social and political
situation of various communities across the US, there are legitimate
differences in the perceptions of members of various communities about the role
and intentions of the State and National Government regarding gun laws and
usage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, given the historic
policies of enforced segregation, the war on drugs, civil forfeiture, stop and
frisk, and funding local government through ticketing minor offences that have
been differentially applied to communities of color, it is perfectly reasonable
for such communities to hold vastly different views of the issues than ranchers
in Wyoming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both communities should be
in control of major aspects of how firearms are and are not used in their
respective communities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My hope is that this framework may help change the
discussion about guns from an adversarial assertion of rights, from “them”
versus “us,” from individuals versus the Government, to one between fellow
citizens, each of who has neighbors and is a neighbor, each of whom is
dedicated to taking care of him/herself while also recognizing his/her
membership in some community of fellows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of whom are interdependent and share the hope of a better world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-28082082683081792122016-04-20T11:03:00.001-05:002016-04-21T08:54:58.242-05:00The Leadership Failures Revealed in Serial, Season 2<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I've just finished season
two of Serial and have a few thoughts about some of the leadership issues
discussed in the podcast. I think they were thorough and wide-ranging in
examining the issue of leadership. However, I believe that they do not
appreciate the full significance of the leadership failures and the magnitude
of the impact such failures have on morale, cohesion, and performance.
Indeed, I argue here that much of the leadership described in the podcast
constitute violations of the sacred duty of military leadership as defined in
my <a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-sacred-duty-of-military-leadership.html" target="_blank">previous posting here.</a> In my view, Bergdahl's diagnosis of the
leadership problems was correct, but his prognosis was exaggerated, and his
choice of treatment, while dramatic, made him, rather than the leadership failures,
the center of attention. Given the significant problems of leadership
revealed in the podcast, this is unfortunate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: , serif;"><br />
</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: , serif;">The incident salvaging the damaged MRAP provides the first
example of poor leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the
Battalion CO says "What?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You couldn't
shave?" we all get the insensitivity of the comment. The podcast does
a good job of demonstrating how the CO showed concern for appearances and
disregarded the welfare of his men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
apparently lacked concern for their wellbeing and was indifferent to their
suffering. When told of the men displaying disposable razors on their
uniforms, Sarah gets that this is a "Fuck you" to the CO. But
she may not appreciate its full significance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the military there are
regulations and traditions that severely limit what juniors can say to seniors.
So much of what the men in the platoon were feeling and thinking could
not have been said to the CO. In response to these strictures there is
also a long military tradition of passive-aggressive behavioral communication
of that which can't be said. This "Fuck you" is an obvious
example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was, in fact, an act of
insubordination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had anyone said it out
loud, they would have been so charged. But even beyond that, such a
passive-aggressive though unmistakable message to a CO after their first combat
engagement on a deployment is a powerful statement of the men’s profound
withdrawal of trust in leadership. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
a clear and unequivocal statement that they do not believe that the CO will
execute his <i>duty to spend their lives as dearly as possibly</i>. They
believe that he can't be counted on to make his decisions based only on
military necessity and not put their lives at risk for any other reason, such
as, for example, protecting his career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bergdahl saw and articulates this concern, though imperfectly and inaccurately,
by imagining that the CO might send them on a suicide mission. Berdahl seemed
to have seen where the CO was coming from, but due to his (Bergdahl’s)
paranoia, he likely exaggerated the CO’s likely course of action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my experience, leadership like this
frequently leads to a sense of betrayal on the part of subordinates that can
have <a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2013/05/leadership-and-ptsd.html" target="_blank">significant negative consequences.</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">Similar issues are
revealed in the incident where members of the platoon were digging a barricade
while out of uniform. Again, the focus on appearances was noted.
However the harm of this focus was understated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question of appearance standards in
combat is a deep and ancient struggle as old as formal militaries and there are
vital arguments for and against holding to standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in this case, I believe the evidence in
the podcast supports the belief that what motivated this CO was not concern for
discipline but something else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">Soldiers can't know the
true intentions or the character of more remote leaders like the Battalion CO.
They don't have direct, everyday contact with him as they do with platoon
or company level officers. But because the Battalion CO holds their lives
in his hands, they are obviously deeply concerned with who he is, what he's
about. They are left, then, to read signs, seeking insight from orders
and actions relayed down the chain of command. As a result of this
discrepancy between great import and low information, even apparently insignificant
actions can take on highly symbolic importance as indicators of who a leader
is, what's important to him, and whether or not he is "taking care of his
men." I believe the data in this podcast shows the CO's concern was
not as he stated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">First, consider that the six-man
unit digging in on the hill is described as having called higher command for
permission to relax standards and that was granted. Given that, if any
disciplinary action was warranted, it should have been directed at whoever gave
the men permission, not the entire platoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Further, that should have been done in private, following the injunction
"Praise in public, correct in private." If permission had been
granted, why then was the <u>entire</u> platoon was chewed out?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">Second, the "discipline"
the platoon received was ludicrous, obviously hysterical, as some men appeared
to notice, calling it "too much". But again, more here is
revealed than meets the eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The notion
that relaxing uniform standards in extreme conditions will lead to mass murder
is ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm not denying the
"for want of a nail the war was lost" theory of combat contingency
but the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>exaggerated, prolonged, highly
emotional, shaming, and diminishing tirade by the CO was <u>not</u> good
discipline. It was not coming from a rational concern for his men's
welfare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not a rationally
considered argument. It was not an attempt to demonstrate the importance
of seemingly insignificant actions in combat. It was not the conveyance
of vital information the men needed to understand and correct an error.
It was, instead, the rant, in my opinion, of a fragile, petty tyrant
revealed as imperfect to his superiors. It was motivated by a "cover
your ass" mentality, a result of his fearfulness of a reprimand from his
superiors in response to the published pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">Finally, though I don't
know if the CO knew this, his rant effectively obscured a more significant
failure of tactical leadership about which I will say more later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">On a larger scale, the
description of the search for Bergdahl revealed similar leadership
failures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Sargent Major Wolfe says,
so powerfully, that the continued search was "Fucking bullshit" he is
expressing essentially the same criticism as Bergdahl. As he implies, by
that point <i>everyone</i> knew Bergdahl was almost certainly in
Pakistan (including the highest levels of command.) So what's the BS?
To state it explicitly, at that point the search is being continued not
for the stated reason but in support of another agenda. The continued
search is not really in the interest of doing everything possible to find
Bergdahl, but, instead, in the interest of <i><u>being seen as </u></i>"doing
everything possible." The search is continued in the interest of
public relations, of showing determination, in preventing possible criticism of
insufficient effort should Bergdahl show up dead. In other words, again,
as in the previous examples - for appearances. This is, indeed, serious
bullshit. And, here again, this focus on appearances both undermines
confidence in leadership and cohesion. At the same time, it causes and obscures
tactical failures of leadership that nearly had catastrophic consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">In addition, in each of
these three incidents, there were demonstrably incompetent acts of omission by
leaders that easily could have had disastrous consequences for soldiers.
I'll describe these from least to most significant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">Whatever the merits of
the CO's complaint about taking off the uniforms while digging a barricade, the
failure to notice one obvious solution concerns me. If this action was so
imminently dangerous, why then were there only the six men on the hill?
If six were necessary to dig the foxhole, why not six to dig, and six
more to provide cover? Even if the men had maintained full battle rattle,
they cannot both dig and be effective lookouts. If the situation was
really so dangerous, adequate force to do the job should have been provided.
I believe the men knew this - though possibly not consciously – and that knowledge
contributed to their seeing the CO's rant as ridiculous and dangerous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">There were also tactical
errors in the incident retrieving the damaged MRAPs. Leaving aside other
questions about how that operation was conducted, one question begs an answer:
Why was there no pre-arranged cover for the extraction? The platoon
and the vehicles were in an exposed location for several days. There
were, apparently, only two routes off the hill they were on. Every
Taliban for miles around no doubt knew they were there. The platoon must have
known there was a possibility of an ambush when they left. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there seems to have been no recognition of
this possibility on the part of Bergdahl's command. Certainly none was
evident in the description of what happened at the ambush. And although
things turned out well, it so easily could have gone otherwise. Imagine
if platoon leader Billings had been killed, or worse, wounded, in his attempts
to put a cable on the disabled MRAP. Others would have inevitably
attempted a rescue, exposing them to enemy fire without cover, possibly leading
to a string of fatalities. Such a situation could have easily spiraled
out of control with a complete slaughter of the unit possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">This appears to be a
substantial failure of planning in the entire mission: a failure to
imagine and anticipate enemy actions. It gave the impression of senior
command sitting around the base, out of touch with realities on the ground.
I may be accused of Monday morning quarterbacking, but this was
described as an experience battalion with previous deployments. I'll ask
others with more recent combat experience to weigh in on whether my analysis is
out of line. Yet, that there was no mention of the possibility of an
ambush by any party in the podcast leaves me concerned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">Finally, the most
significant, and potentially dangerous, failure of leadership was revealed
during the search for Bergdahl. An incident was described where, acting
on intel, a team went to a site where they incredibly fortuitously discovered a
booby trapped ambush. I find no fault with anyone's failure to anticipate
this. However, to continue the massive search thereafter, rather than
standing down all efforts except by small, elite units acting on something
resembling valid intelligence was, in my opinion, criminal negligence. I
cannot fathom continuing the scattershot melee of troops speeding from place to
place kicking in doors, given this clear warning that the US forces were being
played. This is especially true given that this appeared to have occurred at or
near the time when Bergdahl was widely believed already to be in Pakistan.
This failure to change course continued to expose large number of troops
to real danger in the absence of actual necessity. This is the very
definition of a failure of <a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-sacred-duty-of-military-leadership.html" target="_blank"><span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/effectsofcombat\.blogspot\.com\/2016\/02\/the-sacred-duty-of-military-leadership\.html\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><u><span style="color: #1155cc;">the sacred duty of military leadership</span></u></span>.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "-webkit-standard" , "serif"; font-size: large;">I realize that I am far
removed from these events and may lack vital information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope, however, that I have raised issues
worthy of consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-23158256050767327502016-02-03T09:00:00.000-06:002016-06-14T09:32:55.342-05:00The Sacred Duty of Military Leadership<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Sacred Duty of Military
Leadership<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Because we believe leadership is a fundamental
determinant of group cohesion, and cohesion is a fundamental determinant of
organizational performance, leadership is a concern of almost every human
organization. In spite of its obvious importance, there is no widely held view
of what leadership consists of or how to foster it. I present here a
simple theory of leadership and argue its powerful utility. I also show how the mortal consequences of military service uniquely obligates military leaders while also showing how inherent internal conflicts place extraordinary demands on the integrity of military leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">For thirteen years I directed a program treating
returning combat veterans experiencing PTSD and/or medically unexplained
physical symptoms (e.g., Gulf War Illness) at Walter Reed AMC. Based in part on that
experience, I was hired as a subject matter expert providing services to the
Defense Center of Excellence. One of its projects was improving background
material in support of the Army Total Force Fitness campaign. I was part
of the team examining social fitness through the lens of leadership. Our task was to find a concise method of improving the
leadership abilities of senior enlisted and junior officers. After a
thorough review of the literature, we had found nothing suitable. Then
I came across this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Muzafer Sherif, a founder of modern social
psychology, had formulated a technical definition of a <i>social unit</i> as consisting
of a number of individuals interacting with each other with respect to:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">1. Common motives and goals;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">2. An accepted division of labor, i.e. roles;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">3. Established status (social rank, dominance)
relationships;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">4. Accepted norms and values with reference to
matters relevant to the group;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">5. Development of accepted sanctions (praise and
punishment) if and when norms were respected or violated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Sherif was trying to identify the necessary and
sufficient features to distinguish a social unit from an unrelated aggregation
of people, for example, a bunch of people walking down the street. It
seemed to me, however, that in doing so he had also inadvertently provided a
useful definition of cohesion. I believe most readers would agree that if
all five of these elements were true of a group of people, we would expect it
to be quite cohesive. Indeed, it's hard to imagine them being true of a
group and the group <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> being
cohesive. Perhaps it's also evident why this formulation seemed to me to
be just what the Defense Center of Excellence sought: It
provides a framework that focuses a leader's attention on critical issues while at the same time <i>defining success</i> as the creation of these
conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> The word cohesion comes from the Roman military
term "cohort" which was the name of a sub-unit of a Roman Legion
containing five to eight hundred men. Consider what it says about the
consistency, reliability, solidity, focus, cooperation, and drive of Roman
cohorts that they became the very definition of unified, coordinated, goal
directed action: cohesion. Indeed, the mental image of lines and
rows of soldiers all marching in step in the same direction with determined
purpose is probably a commonly held defining metaphor of cohesion. That
same image also defines our view of how it is leadership that takes a group of
aimlessly milling individuals and transforms it into a cohort: a
cohesive, purposeful group. It is due to the very fact that Sherif's five
elements of a social unit so closely define what we think of as a cohesive
group that their relevance for leadership becomes immediately clear and why,
therefor, studying their implications has value. Less obvious, possibly,
is that this definition has some subtle and important implications.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">1. The "truth" that matters here is
not the objective specification of these elements, but rather the subjective,
psychological realty of each group member. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">2. Group members will be simultaneously
members of multiple other groups which may have similar,
competing, or antagonist goals and this fact defines much of the challenge in
creating cohesion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">3. Group norms and values concerning the
behavior and motivation of the leader in particular have unique importance in
determining group cohesion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Subjective vs. objective reality<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">As a social scientist, Sherif was no doubt
attempting to develop an objectively verifiable definition of a social
unit. While an important goal, it is interesting to note his use of
language. Notice that "accepted" appears in three of the
elements. "Accepted" is inherently a <i>psychological</i> term,
referring to the outcome of a process internal to an individual: starting
from a place of doubt or uncertainty and then yielding to an experienced or
perceived truth. There is no way to determine if a person has acutualy accepted something; even asking will not suffice since there is always social
pressure towards conformity that may influence what people say as opposed to
what they truly believe. Nonetheless, we know that people constantly
evaluate information and accept or reject its truth according to its fit with
their view of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Thus, the accepting that really matters lies in the
internal state of each group member. Written policies and procedures may
exist that detail goals, job descriptions, rules and regulations, etc.,
but each person is only "in" the group to the extent that they
personally accept the goals, etc. as binding on <i>them</i>.
Obviously the degree of acceptance can vary for each person on each element
over time. The essential point is that each member is "in" or
"out" of the group to the degree that their lived experience in the
group leads them to believe that what the group <i>says</i> it is about is<i> </i>really
what it <i>is</i> about. Put another way: Their perception is that what <i>really
happens</i> in the group is <i>close enough</i> to what<i> should</i> happen
according to their <i>understanding</i> of the five elements. Each
italicized word in the previous sentence is a subjective judgment each person
makes in accordance with his or her experience. I emphasize this point
because it is critical to understanding the utility of this approach to
leadership. Leadership is the process of influencing those many personal
judgments in a desired direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Simultaneous memberships and
competing goals<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">People are always members of multiple groups (and
sub-groups) meeting these criteria even though some of those groups may have no formal
or written explication of the elements. Families, for instance, meet this
definition of a social unit even though nothing may be explicitly written (or
even said) about an element. Sub-groups of a larger group may coalesce
around variations of the group goals, roles, or rules. When one
recognizes the sheer number of formal and informal groups a person belongs to, the potential for internal conflicts in a member regarding her/his
obligations towards various groups becomes obvious. Less obvious,
perhaps, is the inevitable additional conflict between group goals and the
deep, often unconscious, <i>personal</i> goals of the individual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Physiological needs, safety, and belonging are well
recognized basic goals people pursue. There are, however, many goals we may pursue that are unacknowledged, such as revenge, rivalry, status seeking, power, and
excitement. Individual (often called "selfish") goals potentially
conflict with group goals. We are inherently attentive to whether we are
able to meet our personal goals in a given group or whether membership in the
group requires too great a sacrifice on our part. We constantly monitor
the balance between self-sacrifice and self-interest, between the costs and
benefits of membership versus going it alone. If we feel that the group
is providing us less than it should, we may not necessarily leave it, but we
may psychologically abandon it and put more effort into meeting our individual
goals, obviously affecting our contribution to the group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Just as members are assessing their own goals in
relation to those of the group, they are also constantly assessing every
other group member's adherence to those same group goals and standards.
Since they know that the true degree of a person's acceptance can never be
fully known, their assessment is based primarily on observing the behavior of
the other group members with respect to the other elements and making their subjective
assesments. Are they doing their job? Following the rules?
Respecting others' positions? How these evaluations turn out determines
how each member sees every other member as being in and of the group versus
pursuing personal, "selfish" goals. Even though everyone
knows that it is possible to act one way while believing something completely
different, we all nonetheless carefully scrutinize the acts and statements of
others, believing this is still our best source of information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Each group member is always somewhere on a
continuum from complete buy-in to being on the verge of exit. By buy-in,
I mean that based on the person's lived experience this <i>is</i> a group that
she/he <i>is</i> a member of. The more true that is for the more members
of a group, the more cohesive that group will be. Conversely, the more
that group members experience other members as pursuing their personal goals
within the group, the less connected and committed to the group they will be,
and the more inclined to pursue their own goals and/or exit the group they
become. Clearly then, a fundamental task of leadership is to facilitate
the belief that group membership will fulfill individual goals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Leaders and norms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">What was said above about members' scrutiny of
other members with respect to their fidelity to the group is far truer for leaders. Most organizations delegate authority to leaders which gives
them the power to direct members' behavior. All but the most oppressed
individuals, however, carry some desire for personal autonomy - a desire to do
as <i>they</i> see fit. Given the ever-present conflict between group and
personal goals, the directives of the leader will be minutely scrutinized to
determine how congruent they are with respect to the leader's proper authority
and the group goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">In addition to that concern, however, there are
also many group norms and values that apply primarily or exclusively to
leaders. While many such norms and values may be explicit, many also may
be individually or collectively held yet never voiced. For example, the
fact that we frequently refer to leaders as "authority <i>figures</i>"
indicates we have a generally widespread knowledge that leaders are both seen
as who they are and also as whom they <i>represent</i>. One representation that
is nearly ubiquitous is that we tend to relate to leaders in a manner similar
to how we related to our parents. As a result of this tendency, there
almost always exists an unspoken expectation that a leader, like our parents,
has a <i>duty to care</i> about members' personal well-being. This dynamic is particularly salient in the
military due to the fact that the military recreates many aspects of families
that effectively <i>invite</i> such expectations. In the military there
are designated authorities, expected obedience, sanctioned punishment,
restricted liberties, and explicit care-taking (in the form of benefits such as
housing, health care, commissaries, etc.) Put another way, in some ways
military life psychologically replicates parent-child relationships. As
will be shown below, this "duty to care" in the military context
takes on extraordinary valence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">It is also worth noting that leadership will almost
always be contested within groups. Each of Sherif's elements, along
with every one of its numerous specifications, is a subject of scrutiny,
interpretation, and debate within the group. Is this person doing his/her
job? Was that punishment fair? Did that person get fair
recognition? Is this the best way to achieve our goals? Any deviation
from either official policy or widely held group norms can be used by the
ambitious or the disaffected to lobby for a change of perception about the
group, even, on occasion, a change of goal(s). Open rebellion is not
necessary for leadership challenges to be successful; the spreading of
discontent is enough to effectively change the direction and/or performance of
a group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Special Case of the Military<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Up till now, what I have said applies to all
groups. But leadership in the military is an immensely more vital issue because
the stakes are so high. The military's job is to preserve the nation,
often the most over-arching goal to which people give allegiance. In pursuit
of that goal, military leaders have the authority to order, and the power to
compel, people to risk their very lives to attain the group goals.
Although this fact has many implications, this present conception of cohesion
and leadership suggests that for military leadership, one implication is
exceedingly important: <u>Everything a military leaders does will be
viewed by group members through a lens that evaluates whether or not s/he <i>truly
cares</i> about the members, and <i>anything</i> that a leader does that is
seen as putting his/her personal goals ahead of of group goals will be
experienced by members as destructive to group members and cohesion</u>. </span><span style="font-family: "\22 times\22 "; font-size: 21px;">Any hint that their sacrifice, their acceptance of another's authority, is being used, taken advantage of, to further that other person's personal goal is extremely toxic - - corrosive to trust, self-esteem, hope, fairness.. everything that makes mutual effort possible. </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16pt;">While this may seem obvious, I believe failure to appreciate the importance of
this dynamic is a fundamental cause of many, if not most, of the major problems in the military.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">This issues is well illustrated by considering this quote attributed to
General Eisenhower: “I believe the American soldier can endure almost
anything as long as he knows his generals are looking out for him.” Every
soldier has a pretty good idea about what is meant by "almost
anything:" everything we understand "War is Hell" to
mean. But “looking out for him” is more complicated. It surely
includes the obvious concerns such as training, equipment, food, medical support,
and all the other support services necessary to putting an army in the
field. However, while these are unarguably important aspects of generals’
jobs, they are not the f<i>oundation</i> of soldiers' endurance. What the
soldier needs from the general, what is literally <i>vitally </i>important, is
that the soldier believe the general is "looking out" for the
soldier's <i>life</i>: he/she will conduct military operations so as to <u>spend
the soldiers' lives as dearly as possible consistent with victory.</u> <i>Every
action that puts soldiers’ lives at risk must be based on mission necessity and
only on that necessity.</i> If necessary, the soldier can and will endure
"almost anything" in the attempt to execute the order and complete
the mission. In the absence of necessity, however, the soldier’s goal becomes
survival, dying becomes meaningless, killing becomes murder, self-sacrifice
becomes suicide, and service becomes servitude. This reality defines the
sacred duty of military leadership: <u>A leader must purge all
self-interest from any decision that puts soldiers' lives in jeopardy.</u>
And, because every military leader also relays orders from a superior: <u>A
leader must also be willing to sacrifice his/her ambitions, even his/her
career, if necessary, in opposition to an order that <i>unnecessarily</i> puts his/her
soldiers’ lives in jeopardy.</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The importance of this duty can also be illustrated by
appreciating how delicately <i>vulnerable</i> troop morale is to the subtlest
violations of it: Any act or statement by any decision-maker that casts <i>any</i>
doubt on a leader's commitment to these principles will have a corrosive effect
on morale, cohesion, and, ultimately, effectiveness. This fact underlies
the central importance of Sherif's definition: it identifies the many essential
issues wherein actions by leaders have the utmost impact on creating or
destroying cohesion. This is true even when the issue may seem to be only
tangentially related to combat decisions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> To illustrate this tangential vulnerability, I'll
describe two examples of leadership failure that had negative consequences for
morale: one profound, well known, and from our common cultural
inheritance, the other trivial and from my personal experience. Both
cases indicate how attentively leaders' behavior is scrutinized and how impactful
are the consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Homer's Iliad provides a well-known example of a failure of leadership that nearly had disastrous consequences for the
Greeks. The precipitant was Agamemnon's abuse of his power to seize a war
prize that should have belonged to Achilles. While we may have no
clear idea how the Greeks decided on who earned what by valor in combat, it is
clear that the seizure was experienced by Achilles (and most of the other
Greeks) as an obvious violation of Scherif's fifth element. The outrage due
to Agamemnon's misappropriation is usually explained as its having been an
affront to Achilles's "thumis" or manly pride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The magnitude of the disruption to the war
effort that this act produced suggests there is a deeper meaning. Recall
how, in response to Agamemnon’s testing of morale, the Greek forces attempt to
abandon the war until halted by Odysseus. Though there may have been many
other reasons for their discontent and desire to cease fighting, lack of faith
in Agamemnon's leadership as a result of his seizure of the war prize clearly
played a role. Agamemnon's act reveals his corruption. He shows
that he is not motivated solely by the desire to achieve victory, but by
jealously and/or competitiveness and a desire for personal gain. He shows
that he is willing to abuse his authority in service of attaining his
personal goals, thus acting in a way that violates Sherif's elements one,
three, and five. If the kin, in effect, abandons the war effort by pursuing
personal gain, why shouldn't the common soldier do the same and go home? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">This example of leadership from our common heritage
illustrates a gross failure, obvious to all. In order to show how more
subtle violations can also have negative impact, I will share an episode from
my time as a young Naval Officer on a destroyer in the South China Sea during
the Viet Nam war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">At this time I was a newly commissioned Ensign
three or four months into my first deployment and was the Junior Officer of the
Deck, learning ship-handling and Naval operations while seeking to become
qualified as the Officer of the Deck. The OOD is the person with
immediate authority to direct the ship's actions in accordance with the Captain's
directives and attaining the qualification is a vital milestone on the road to
command. As the JOOD, I was responsible for maneuvering the ship under
the oversight of the OOD. Our destroyer was following in the wake of the
aircraft carrier, in "plane guard" position where we were ready to
rescue any pilot whose plane might crash on landing or take off. Though
an important function, at that time we were merely "station keeping"
as there were no planes taking off or landing. The task force was simply
tracing an imaginary square in the ocean while awaiting the next operation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The aircraft carrier signaled and then executed, a
90-degree left turn. My ship, however, doesn't make the turn at that same
moment. As we are supposed to follow a mile behind the carrier, we
proceed on the old course until we come to the point where the carrier turned
and then make our own turn. But, of course, there is no road, or any
marker where the carrier turned. As JOOD, it was my job to take into
account all the available information and turn our ship at just the right
moment. Too soon and we end up of to the left and too close to the
carrier, too late we end up off the right and too far behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> I had a nickname then of "Bullet," given
me by another OOD for the way I ricocheted around the bridge checking the
course, wind, carrier's position, etc. Obviously, then, I did not take my
duties lightly. As I took in a breath to give the order to the helmsman,
the OOD said, "Put the helm over."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">By not letting me execute my decision, and bear its
consequences, the OOD robbed me of the opportunity to hone my judgment and
increase my ship-handling skills. But far more important here is <i>why</i>
he elected to make that decision. I believe he feared negative
consequences if my decision was at all off. Worse, I believe he had good
reason to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">If our ship ended up "off station"
because I turned too early or late, there was a real possibility that the task
force commander might send the ship a message directing us to resume station.
If that had happened, the Captain would likely experience that as a reprimand,
however mild. Depending on <i>his</i> leadership abilities, he might very
well chastise the OOD. The OOD prevented this possible negative outcome
by temporarily relieving me of my responsibility and authority and issuing the
command. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">For learning to occur, mistakes <i>must</i> be
made. Only by seeing the result of my decision would I be able to see if
my judgment had been correct and be able to make corrections if it
weren't. Learning, and its consequent improvement of performance,
therefore depends on leaders being willing to accept a short-term performance
loss in the interest of long-term performance gain. In the military,
where performance has life or death, mission success or failure, consequences,
skill learning is of the highest importance. Yet this OOD elected to
sacrifice my learning, with its benefits to me, and hence, to the Navy, instead
selecting "CYA."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">This is a trivial failure of leadership, but that's
exactly the point. It is an example of a common occurrence and anyone who
has spent any time in the military could come up with examples of their own
including ones far more consequential. On a daily basis, in war or
peacetime, leaders make decisions and take actions that experientially define
Sherif's five elements for the group members. In the military, every one
of the elements is fully specified by written rules and regulations and
everyone knows exactly the way "it's supposed to be."<i> </i>Any
perceived difference between how things should be done and what a leader does
will be scrutinized. If a leader is seen as unwilling to do the right
thing out of fear or self-interest, it will have substantial impact. For a military
leader to display any lack of <i>moral courage</i> during peacetime, let alone
during war, is to call into question his/her character, his/her willingness to
"look out" for the troops, his/her commitment to act only out of
necessity and, hence, his/her fitness to lead. In combat, any such
failure will be experienced as a betrayal of sacred duty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Every decision or act, in war or peace, by every
leader contributes to the lived experience of every soldier who then holds a
view of each leader as fitting somewhere on a continuum of acting out of duty
or self interest, and therefore, as trustworthy or not. If a leader is seen as not trustworthy, the soldier’s
commitment to the group and the group’s goals will be affected negatively as will group morale and performance. A thorough understanding of this argument
defines the content, scope, and vital i<i>mportance</i> of training in
leadership for all military leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16.0pt;">There is, however, one aspect of military culture
that makes such training exceptionally difficult and merits mention. The
military values of duty, service, and self-sacrifice are deeply held.
Emphasis on them may cause conflicts with the various personal goals mentioned
above. If, though, personal goals are <i>devalued</i> they may become harder to
acknowledge, be suppressed, and may come to operate outside of conscious
awareness. We all have the capacity for self-deception and are capable of
denying motives that may cause us shame (e.g., being “selfish.")
Successful leadership training in the military will require a recognition of
this dilemma and a cultural change which allows for acknowledging the
legitimacy of self-interest while helping leaders develop the self-knowledge
necessary to see and shun it when unit cohesion is on the line. The toxic
effect of covert career ambition and avidity for war on unit morale and
performance demands no less. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2013/05/leadership-and-ptsd.html" target="_blank">This article describes the relationship between leadership and PTSD</a></div>
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Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-53602037690070899272015-10-29T14:56:00.002-05:002015-11-18T11:25:52.539-06:00Five Easy Principles: A Fair Tax Plan<style>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">Five
Easy Principles:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Fair Tax Proposal</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">In the same way that war is too
important to be left to the generals, I believe taxes are too important to be
left to politicians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The size and content of the tax code is testimony to the power of special interests at the expense of simplicity and fairness. Whatever our differences, we all pay taxes and care about the tax systems. </span>I propose
here a major modification to our income tax system that is based on several
principles that, I believe, most people can agree on, at least in general
terms. The goal is to design a general structure that is impervious to the machinations of special interests and politicians; a people's tax policy. I ask that you suspend judgement until having considered it in its
entirety because it will only makes sense, and seem fair, when <i>all</i> of
the elements are in place.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> I believe that most citizens would agree in principle that:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> I. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;">
</span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">There is a maximum tax <u style="text-underline: #0000E9;">rate</u> above which taxes are excessive.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">II. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">There is a minimum <u>income</u> below which a person should not have
to pay taxes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">III. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">All
money is of equal value.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">IV. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">Tax
policy should be about raising money for government programs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">V. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">All “persons” are created equal. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">These principles can be the basis for a
fair and equitable income tax program. To see how, I
explain below what I mean by the principles and show how they become the basis for a fair tax system.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> I. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">There is a maximum tax rate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people would agree that there is, or ought to be, some maximum
income tax rate. While people may have various ideas about what constitutes a fair rate, a survey several years ago by Readers Digest suggested that most
people thought a rate above 25% was too high and unfair. Suppose we had a national referendum to determine the maximum rate, and for
the sake of this discussion, let’s say the most popular value was 33%.
(We could use range voting as probably the best way to determine the most widely held value.) This value will become central to this tax
program.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">II. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">A minimum taxable income.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> Again, most people
would probably agree there is a minimum income below which a person shouldn’t
have to pay taxes. Some possibilities include the poverty level and the
point at which it costs as much money to collect the tax as the money
collected. Some may say every one should pay taxes, irrespective of
income. Again, I propose we have a national referendum
and decide the issue for ourselves. For the sake of the discussion
here, let’s say the chosen value is the poverty level.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> With just these two
principles in hand, it is possible to lay out the basic structure of a tax
policy. These two values, plus only one more, completely define a
workable tax system. The tax <u style="text-underline: #0000E9;">rate</u>
is simply a linear function of income, starting a 0% tax at the poverty level income and increasing to 33% tax (our assumed maximum rate) at some (as
yet undetermined) income level. A graph of the tax RATE as a function of
income looks like the figure below. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
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" 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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">All that’s left to fully determine taxes is to decide at what income the maximum tax rate is reached.
We can leave that to Congress. They can adjust it so as to insure the
necessary income. BUT THEY CANNOT CHANGE THE MAXIMUM RATE OR MINIMUM
INCOME. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> Whatever other objections one might have, this tax rate structure has obvious benefits over other tax simplification proposals such as a flat tax. While still simple it preserves the progressive tax policy that has long been a generally agreed upon feature of income tax. Further, it eliminates stair step tax rate increases which are fodder for special interests and create disincentives for additional income.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> III. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">Money is money.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> Money IS money, and
it doesn’t really make any difference how you got
it. Whether it came as a gift, as wages, as capital gains, or whatever,
if you get money, you can spend it as you see fit. So I propose that ABSOLUTELY ALL
INCOME be included in what gets taxed. No more special consideration
for this kind of income or that; it’s all the same. If you received
money (or equivalent instruments, goods, services, etc.) it’s taxable. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">IV. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">Taxes are about raising money for government.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> Taxes <i>should</i> be about raising money for government operations <i>only</i>. Taxes should not be about family planning,
or savings, or social policy. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">Paying taxes is a shared obligation of citizenship and</span> one of the
most ubiquitous aspect of government that links all citizens. It is an essential basis of our social contract: the idea that we, as a people, have common goals which we
share the expense of attaining. Everyone paying his/her fair share is
central to that idea and fairness is a fundamental value held by all.</span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> When taxes are seen as unfair, the "system" is seen as corrupt.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> Under the present system, every time a deduction or
allowance is created, someone benefits and somebody else looses. So I
suggest that just like all income is taxable, there will be NO DEDUCTIONS.
Why should I get a deduction for my home mortgage interest and you not for
your rent? Why should a medical bill be
deductible and an education expense not? All such items are
put into the tax code either to benefit some group with the clout to get it there or
as a consolation prize to those without power to keep them quiet. A great deal of politics is primarily about taxes. If we eliminated that, perhaps we could attend to other important issues.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">V. </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">All “persons” are created equal.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> This is the really
radical part of the proposal. The quotes are to bring attention to the fact
that there are two kinds of persons in the U.S, people and
corporations. Corporations were originally intended to be just legal
constructed “persons” for business purposes, hence the same root as
corporeal, i.e., a body. But over time two classes have evolved and
present tax law <u style="text-underline: #0000E9;">heavily</u> favors
corporations. What I mean by this principle is that all the exact same
rules that apply to people </span><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";">should apply to corporations.</span> Therefore, all
corporate income would be taxed and there would be no deduction for business expenses either. That is, corporations would be taxed on their gross income, not
net. The only exception to this would be wages (and all other
compensation) <i>directly</i> paid to employees and officers. (This would also apply to
private individuals as well: if you pay a housekeeper W-2
wages, those would be deducted from your income since the housekeeper
would be paying his/her taxes on that money.) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> Just as there is no objective basis for what is a
legitimate expense for a private citizen to deduct, the same applies to
business. What makes supplies, depreciation, lunches, etc.
legitimate expenses and others not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The true answer is power and politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let’s get entirely out of the business of making some expenses cost
less because they are deductible. This practice ultimately distorts
spending and diminishing incentives for minimizing costs. The
fundamental idea to keep in mind is that whenever Congress creates a
deduction, it doesn't make just one. There's always something else in
the proposal, ostensibly to make it fair to some group, but most likely it's really to pay a
political debt to a donor somewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As Warren Buffett has said, every line in the tax code has it’s
champion(s).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> If these principles
were scrupulously followed, then I believe a very interesting thing would
happen: Taxes would no longer be a very important economic
consideration for both people and businesses. Indeed, I don’t have the data to calculate this,
but my bet is that the maximum tax rate necessary to provide our present
Government services might be less than 33 percent and that rate
wouldn’t be reached until a fairly high income. Doing taxes would take
about 20 minutes and the tax rate would be low enough that <u style="text-underline: #0000E9;">businesses and people</u> would make decisions
based on what made economic sense, rather than on what the effect on their
taxes would be.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> Given that I am by no means a tax policy wonk, what I have proposed here may have missed some important considerations. I welcome any suggestions. I hope that they would confirm to the guiding principle of this proposal: It attempts to create a tax plan without consideration of how it effects any individual person (or corporation.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> By way of beginning the discussion, I want to suggest two modifications that I thought of recently.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> 1. Allowing the tax rate to "go negative" for incomes lower that the poverty rate would allow payments to the poor similar to those provided by the EIC. This system has the added advantage that there would be no critical points where incentives would change substantially.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3b455e; font-family: "arial";"> 2. Once a basic maximum tax rate were chosen, it could be adjusted automatically by some formula that caused it to vary inversely with respect to changes in the GDP. If GDP increases, the max tax rate goes down. Perhaps this would incentivize the rich to avoid bubble making. If the GDP decreases, increased taxes would provide income for stimulus programs. Although this idea might have multiple unintended consequences, the idea of an automatic feedback system has a certain appeal. Perhaps economist could devise one that we could agree on.</span></div>
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Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-23518358321092618442015-08-10T15:03:00.003-05:002015-09-23T09:55:47.708-05:00Our Contribution to Pollice Corruption and Gun Culture: 2. Gun Culture<style>
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<br />
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
2. Gun Culture</div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The police, however, are neither the only
ones experiencing vulnerability nor the only ones with firearms. In the
next section of this paper, I will examine how these same forces play out to
produce our gun culture.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are approximately 100 million gun owners in the U.S.
and 300 million firearms. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The role of
experienced vulnerability due to fear of crime is known to play a major part in
the decision to purchase guns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many
such gun owners, owning a single firearm appears to be enough to quell their
fears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for the 20% of gun owners who
own 65% of firearms, something else seems to be going on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to biologist, humans evolved to live in small
groups (50 to 90 max) of individually know others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(This is not true of wildebeest or bears, for
example, but is of wolves.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, of
course, implies that there must be some survival value associated with such
grouping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That further implies that
there would be some vital costs associated with being excluded from the group;
costs of which we would have some experiential knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is, we won’t like to be expelled from a
group; we will find it aversive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our nation has a long history of defining groups of people
as other, not us, not fully “we, the people.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examples include Native Americans, slaves,
various immigrant groups, women, gays, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When a person comes to see that they are, or are seen as being, a member
of one of these excluded groups one of the effects is that they also come to
realize that they are, to some degree, on the other side of the police force
barrier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They “get” that the power and
firearms of the police is less likely to be of assistance to them and more
likely to be directed at them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
many in America have been oblivious to this reality, the recent videos of
police interactions with African Americans vividly demonstrate this fact.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not being within the perimeter of police protection and,
instead, being part of that which is being protected against inherently
increases <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">actual</i> existential vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Each person’s self-defined <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">identity</i> regarding their degree of
membership in or out of the dominant culture determines <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perceived</i> vulnerability to the forces of chaos, and the degree of
protection or threat they can expect from the police.</u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How we see which “we” we are a part of and
which we are not is a fundamental determinant of perceived vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This self-definition, though largely subjective, is almost
always powerfully influenced by how we are treated by the people we live and interact
with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This fact is extremely important
because any of the myriad ways we denigrate and mistreat others may become the
basis of isolation and eventual alienation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We, like all peoples, have innumerable “causes” to reject others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obvious examples include “race,” gender,
ethnicity, religion, income, and sexual orientation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Subtler ones include virtually any difference
we can perceive between people: physical ability, intellectual ability,
appearance, beliefs, and material wealth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The essential point is that any of these differences can
become an axis along which social, family, interpersonal, and intra-psychic
forces can propel a person from “in” and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“us” to the periphery, and, eventually, to ”out” and “them”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shorn of identity, connection, and social
support, and individual’s perceived vulnerability may increase
dramatically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me use one example to illustrate the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suppose you are a white male, who, by virtue
of even mildly neglectful or abusive parenting, has a lessened sense of personal
power, that is, your own ability to get what you want in a manner in accordance
with social norms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If “merely” average
in intellectual and athletic abilities, you may find yourself gravitating
towards the lower status groups in school, the crucible of much of
identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With college not an option,
for whatever reason, your options are severely limited and you take a low
skilled, low paying job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You get married
but, like half of marriages, it fails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Like is not going according to your dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At some point it becomes understandable how
even such a person, who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could</i> see
himself as born-into-it member of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i>
in-group, instead comes to see himself as an outsider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shorn of the group, the protection of being
in the group, he comes to feel diminished in status, in power, and, maybe, beating
on the barriers to consciousness, an increased experience of vulnerability.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obviously, what’s possible for a white male is even more
likely for members of any group that’s discriminated against, seen in any way
as other by the dominant culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once
again, remember that people abhor the experience of vulnerability and everyone
will look for some way to decrease it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately,
for them, the wide availability of firearms in the U. S. means they won’t have
to do a hell of a lot more than I did in Vietnam to pick up a gun.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s much more that could be said about how “othering”
people leads to increased vulnerability and increased propensity to possess
firearms but one point is critical:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is an inherently shaming process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As one
comes to see oneself as on the outside, unwelcome in the larger, “in” group, it
is impossible not to feel shame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may
not be acknowledged as such but it will be experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that’s vitally important because one of
the ways we have of dealing with shame, one, attack others, is the chosen path
of many who are most likely to come in contact with the police.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shame is such a searing, painful emotion that it’s tolerated
even less than vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all
learn mechanisms to quickly and effectively minimize our experience of shame by
moving in one of four directions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">withdraw</i> from interaction and/or
society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can try to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">avoid</i> shame by presenting and conducting ourselves as though the
very possibility of shame is unthinkable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">attack ourselves</i>,
berating ourselves, thereby accepting a smaller portion of shame in hopes of
avoiding being the target of more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
finally we can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">attack others,</i> through
blaming, criticizing, put downs, and violence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think all of us have some familiarity with sting of shame
that happens when someone with more power than us says or does something
diminishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine, then, the impact
on the dispossessed when they encounter the police who treat him/her with
indifference, contempt, or violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They will feel shame that this happens to them , shame that they can do
nothing about it, and shame that others see this happening will course through
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than the police providing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>protection, they get assaulted, and further
expelled to “not us”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Given this othering, is it so hard to see the attraction of
a gun?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of a lot of them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you imagine the relief of finding like-minded
others, a group to be a part of?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you
feel the attraction of someone to blame for all this, some group that, all
agree, must be stopped by whatever means necessary?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Section 3: Guns and
Us</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although I’ve portrayed three distinct groups-“us”, police,
and “outsiders” I’m hoping you see a bigger picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m hoping you see how all of us are connected
to and interact with each other through the issue vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of us are always at risk for death,
disability, and loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of us employ
psychological and actual barriers (fences, locks, etc.) to ward off our
experience of vulnerability and it’s overpowering fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How we do that, however, can not only fail to
protect us, but also perversely create more vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The police stand at the very fulcrum of this
process.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The police are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">our</i>
firearms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We deploy them to protect us
from gangs, criminals, “thugs”, violence, and chaos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The police force is our power to coerce
“others” to do our will; to leave us alone, to not hurt us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are our power to ameliorate our feelings
of vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we, too, are not
immune to the corrupting influence of power, we, too, have become corrupted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We insulate ourselves from our complicity in
any abuse of power by police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hold
police as “heroes” but turn a blind eye to the harm they do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
almost always take their account at face value and refuse to find them guilty
when tried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This creates the paradox that by “supporting” our police to
arduously, we end up paradoxically enabling their brutality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t see how our “support” has the effect
of leaving them on their own and therefore vulnerable to the corrupting
influence of power. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We turn a blind eye
to the dangers we expose them to by failing to provide the necessary training,
working conditions, supervision, and oversight needed to protect them from the
threats of their job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We essentially
abandon them, sacrificing them as we pursue our own stuff, status,
and safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The conspiracy of “support”
by police officers, police unions, prosecutors, and juries, all essentially sacrifice
the police officer on the altar of our “safety.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Put another way, it may be said that we have
failed to provide them the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4349203474150839761#editor/target=post;postID=5367508033575897352;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=6;src=postname" target="_blank">leadership</a> that is critical to preventing the risk
of damage inherent in the use of deadly force.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We leave the officers “holding the bag” of moral injury
resulting from what they’ve done. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the
“justification” our support provides can never fully silence the knowledge
–that they keep hidden within--that they have betrayed themselves and their
duty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That, in actual fact, they did
something they shouldn’t have done, whether out of fear, rage, or some other
emotional need of their own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By not
holding an offending police officer truly accountable, we destroy any hope of
reconciliation, repair of the social fabric, and the possibility of
reintegrating the officer into the full society, including it’s softer sides of
inclusion, compassion, and altruism.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In ignoring <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">our own</i>
vulnerability, in ignoring how our deploying the police protects us from
feeling vulnerable, we make it impossible to have a serious discussion about
what it will take to have a justice system that truly protects and defends <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">all </b>of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order for that to happen, we have to be
willing to tolerate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i>
vulnerability in the interest of increased safety. We need to give up the false
sense of security provided by mass incarcerations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pay for effective rehabilitation and accept
the fact that mistakes will be made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pay
for community policing and the additional costs of careful selection,
continuous training, and effective oversight such programs require.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to provide adequate court resources
to truly provide timely trials.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We can agree that our neighbors can provide their own
self-defense in their homes but negotiate the weapons suitable to that purpose
in our neighborhoods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to provide
appropriate limitations on the police use of weapons: who to shoot, where,
when, and why while accepting that instituting such limitations will make both
the police and us somewhat more vulnerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the same time, we need to diminish the supply of illegal guns that
are the main source of police vulnerability. Finally, we have to recognize the
inherent vulnerability created by othering people: making them “the other”; not
me, not us, whether based on race, or poverty, sexual orientation, or political
difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because this is the first
step in the process that creates the “them” that “justifies” the coercive
policing of “them.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What I hope I’ve illustrated is that this same dynamic
operates in all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of us have
fears, and fears of vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
of us reach for and rely on whatever diminishes fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And all of us are vulnerable to the
corrupting power of that which makes us feel safer, whether firearms or the
police, alcohol or heroin, denial or cynicism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
The paradox is that our attempts to limit our vulnerability frequently have the unintended consequence of increasing it. </span>Only by all of us learning to tolerate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some</i> feelings of vulnerability will we be able to devise democracy
creating, rather than democracy destroying means of dealing with the dangers
inherent in our large, heterogeneous society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’re all in the boat.</div>
Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-50654441515526398032015-07-22T13:41:00.000-05:002017-11-05T15:42:28.755-06:00Our Contribution to Police Corruption and Gun Culture<style>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Our Contribution to Police Corruption and Gun Culture<br />
<br />
<i>Whenever we loose the Great Way we get benevolence or righteousness.</i><br />
<i>Lao Tzu</i><br />
<br />
1. Policing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know the feeling of power conferred by a gun, both in owning
one and using it. And I also know it's corrupting influence.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two years out of the Naval Academy, while on a Navy
Destroyer already in the combat zone off Vietnam, I got orders to become the
executive officer of River Division 594 in Operation Giant Slingshot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Division consisted of 10 River Patrol
Boats with 60 men on a base straddling the main Viet Cong supply route to
Saigon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was scared from the moment I
got those orders until the end of my tour when the plane crossed the Vietnamese
coast headed home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it wasn’t until months
after receiving those orders that I first truly experienced my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">vulnerability</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It happened on my last training patrol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Chief Petty Officer was the Patrol Officer,
in charge of two boats and also training me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I was still in training, I had no actual assignment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly we came under enemy rocket and
automatic weapons fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing I can
say can possibly communicate the immense totality of the vulnerability I
experienced in that moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
standing exposed on the engine cover, with no weapon, bullets flying by, noise from
every direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I experienced myself as
a naked piece of meat that could be shredded in an instant; me, and all my dreams,
could disappear forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the
worst, most intolerable feeling I've ever felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I didn’t have to tolerate it long (though it seemed so).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found an unused M-16 and, though “shaking
like a leaf,” I somehow managed to cock it, flip the safety and fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although still experiencing my vulnerability,
still aware I could be killed in an instant, I also experienced the immense
relief that came from not feeling <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">totally
helpless</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was doing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">something</i>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some</i>
power and that decreased the lived experience of my vulnerability.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I left Vietnam I wanted nothing more to do with war, guns,
or hierarchical organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to
live on a hill by myself in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s not how it turned out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After awhile I rejoined society and pursued a
graduate degree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually I married
and had a son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At which point
vulnerability overcame me again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s one thing to be willing to tolerate the possibility of
my own death but with the birth of my son, right alongside intense love, came
overwhelming vulnerability. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I could not then and still can't bear the thought of the possibility of his dying. </span>I strongly
felt the need to protect him, both by taking care of myself and doing
everything in my power to preserve his life and prevent harm to him.<br />
<br />
The
way emotions work is that when one is stirred, it also brings to mind other memories
of our experiences with that same emotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
you might well imagine my experience of vulnerability at my son’s birth to have
been amplified by my memories of combat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And you might therefor not be surprised to hear that I reached for a
similar solution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought an M1 carbine
from a neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believed it provided an
ace in the hole in case the world descended into chaos, as it sometimes feared it
would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I still have it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It may be that I’m unusual, but I don’t think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my thirteen years as a psychologist working with combat
vets at Walter Reed Army Medical center I saw many veterans who always sat with
their back to the wall in restaurants, wouldn’t go to malls, and slept with
a hand gun under the pillow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who got intensely
angry with their children and wives but had no idea why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of this is new, it’s well known by
anyone who works with combat veterans, but I bring it to your attention because
I believe the experience of combat veterans provide us a stark, clearly
understandable example of dynamics that operate in all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All human beings must come to terms with fear.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fear is ubiquitous and nearly constant even
if mostly unacknowledged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are afraid of
being criticized, of spiders, flying, talking (our blood pressure rises every
time we speak to another person), public speaking, being left, intimacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The list is endless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are the inheritors of the ancient fear
mechanisms that kept our tiny, tasty, early mammalian ancestors alive in the
land of the dinosaurs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the last two summers I’ve been training a wild lizard in
my back yard to eat out of my hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
took awhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what really impressed
me was that even though she’s been doing so for many months now, if I make the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">slightest </i>move too quickly, she flees
immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Stupid lizard,” I would think, but over time, seeing it again and again, it has led me to have a deep
appreciation of how central instinctive fear is to survival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ironclad rule: one mistake is too many.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe the lizard’s experience of fear is very similar to
ours, both in the feeling and the inclination to act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But our big brains allow us to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i> something the lizard doesn’t: the things
we fear can kill us or cause excruciating loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(The lizard needn’t know of its mortality; fleeing when something moves
quickly toward it suffices.) Thus, for us humans, instances of fear also stir recognition
of our vulnerability to death and loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And,
like combat vets, we, too, find that very difficult to tolerate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all devise, inherit, and/or adopt ways of coping with the
daily onslaught of fear and vulnerability, be it denial, ignoring it, praying,
believing our specialness exempts us, superstitions, substance abuse,
obsessions, rituals, and on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anything
that can dispel or diminish the experience of fear is itself experienced as
relieving and very desirable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
easily convince yourself of this the next time you see an animal carcass on the
side of the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice how quickly
your eyes and thoughts slide elsewhere, preventing the recognition that you, or
your loved ones, could become a similar pile of dead meat at any moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It happens instantly, below or just barely in
conscious awareness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barely aware of the
threat, you are also barely aware of the relief that came from being able to
keep it out of consciousness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s probably not too much of a stretch to say that warding
off the experience of vulnerability is a major focus of human activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That it’s the goal of many of our actions and
much of our psychological process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
goal is to explore here this intertwined, shared process in police, gun owners,
and us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Try an experiment:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Before reading further, allow yourself to imagine for a moment what
would happen if we took all the guns away from the police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you have a vision of chaos?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you notice feelings of fear?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A recognition of vulnerability?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you did, and you think it likely that
others would too, this has, I believe, two important implications I want to
consider here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, having an armed
police force is one of the ways we ward off experiencing our own vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, people who have reason not to trust
police will be inclined to arm themselves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fear is a feeling, an emotion and, usually, feelings come
and go quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vulnerability, on the
other hand, is an unchanging, existential fact of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Loss and death are ever present possibilities
of every moment, and recognition of this, with its attendant experience of
vulnerability, is forever hovering somewhere on the far outskirts of
consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ability to keep
recognition of our vulnerability at bay enables us to live and function in
relative comfort, at least until some threatening event places the fact of our
vulnerability front and center in our consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This suggests that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the psychological function</i> of an armed police force can be
understood as providing a bulwark against the experience of vulnerability and
its attendant fears.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not common for us to think of things in terms of their
psychological function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we think of
the function of the police we think of providing law and order, deterring
crime, protecting law-abiding citizens, apprehending criminals, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although we think of these as objective realities, the truth is that what really matters to us is our lived experience
of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If harm or threats of harm from
our fellow citizens are experienced very infrequently, if that’s our lived
experience, then we see ourselves as inhabiting a crime free space where law
and order prevail and the experience of vulnerability is kept at bay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If, on the other hand, we are frequently assaulted
with experiences that puts our vulnerability in our face then nothing will
convince us that order prevails and the system works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many, but by no means all Americans, the
armed police force is experienced as functioning well enough to enable us to
generally feel comfortable with our level of vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The barriers are holding and the level of
fear tolerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Being a "barrier" is tough anywhere but in some places here in the U.S. it's probably worse than my combat experience. Policing in big American cities must feel a lot like being on the front lines of a war. Officers must go to work knowing there is a real danger of encountering mortal threat every day. Every encounter with almost anyone may feel like it has the potential to turn violent at any moment. No matter how hardened an officer may become, having their vulnerability shoved in their face frequently requires effort on their part to cope with it. I still experience occasional reverberations from my one year in Vietnam. I can only wonder about the effects of years of this on big city police officers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Historically, mainstream American society has held a very
positive view of the police force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
invaluable service police provide us by standing between us and violent
lawlessness put us in their debt, we "owe" them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
“pay” that debt by our “support” of the police in the courtroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Police
testimony is almost always taken at face value and incontrovertible evidence is required
before jurors will abandon their belief in police veracity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see them as doing a
difficult job we need done, we trust them, and so we give them the benefit of
every possible doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much sense as this makes, the truth is,
however, that by our refusal to hold them accountable
for their excesses, we have in abandoned them to corruption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have given them great power but fail to provide the checks and balances necessary to ensure the safe exercise of that power.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Power corrupts,” we say, and it’s true almost always.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the police officer repeatedly confronting potentially dangerous situations, the power of a firearm is an ever-present
temptation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i> to tolerate those awful feelings<i> </i>of
vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes
strength of will to resist that temptation and most officers do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for some, depending on their exposure and
their history, the threshold for use of deadly force lowers to below dire
necessity and firearms are drawn when they shouldn’t have been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when a gun is pulled, fear skyrockets,
rational thought impaired, and mistakes made with deadly consequence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We understand the corrupting possibility of power and that’s
why our political system is based on checks and balances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In policing, however, the system of checks and balances is severely compromized. </span>Having ceded to the police the power to use deadly force, we
cannot, or should not, relinquish our responsibility for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how </i>they use it. But the evidence suggests we have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As more videos come to light, we have become
aware of how unrestrained the police use of power actually is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these videos we clearly see the failures of selection,
training, supervision, on-site oversight, and accountability that are directly
attributable to our “washing our hands” of the whole business of policing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the interest of protecting ourselves from
the harsh realities of policing (and the vulnerability it stirs in us), we have abandoned them to the streets,
relentlessly exposing them to what we now call “moral injury” i.e., having done something they shouldn't have, something "immoral". What this really means is the intense <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shame</i> felt when our behavior radically
differs from how we believe we “should” act, based on our idealized version
of our best self.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The police live in a world where the myth of the “rational
man” is shattered by the daily reality of how easily we are all overcome by fear, rage,
shame, and distress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many of the videos we have seen, we frequently see a moment when the officer is suddenly overcome by some emotion. We watch as in that second he or she abandons proper, professional conduct and, instead, acts out of their personal feelings stirred by the interaction. They know this too and later will likely feel some shame about their own "failure." But the defenses against feeling and acknowledging shame are every bit as well developed as those holding back vulnerability. Plus, acknowledging mistakes on the job can get you fired or worse. Then, add to that the estrangement from society that police feel when they are so often attacked and vilified and it's no surprise,that we rarely see police risking further vulnerability by admitting to mistakes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In shielding ourselves from experiencing our vulnerability
by ceding power to the police, we have also protected ourselves from knowing about the corrupting effect of facing life or death situations while having access to deadly
force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watching the videos of police in
action show us what happens then, and what could happen to us. What’s new now is we are beginning to realize
the price <i>we pay</i> for abandoning the
police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see now, and are beginning to
be forced to acknowledge, that their exercise of power harms some of our most
vulnerable citizens, destroying the sense of equality and shared purpose
necessary for democracy and civil society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, we are at risk of disowning this new knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see that when we either demonize the offending
police officer, self-righteously calling for severe punishment, or when we make
excuses for them, refusing to hold them accountable. Either option is a continuation of our attempt to disown our own responsibilities in how power is exercised in our name.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This new attending to how policing is done is forcing us to recognize that policing stands at
the nexus of fundamental issues threatening our democracy: income inequality,
racism, mental health treatment, poverty, gun culture, drug use, immigration
policy, terrorism, and the entire criminal justice system of courts and prisons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although police play a vital role in all
these arenas, police forces - local, state, and national - are woefully under
resourced, over tasked, and insufficiently supervised to be able to meet these
multiple demands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The citizens of the
U.S. must transfer substantially more of their time, effort, money, and
attention to the problems we have so recently become aware of if we are going to have a police force
that protects and promotes democracy rather than one in danger of subverting
it. If we are going to have a police force willing to endure the vulnerability they must in order to truly serve and protect, we must become a society worthy of such a sacrifice on their part by owning our own duty to provide <style><!--
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the necessary and appropriate working conditions they need in order for them to be
protected from the multiple risks and dangers of doing their job, including the risk of abuse of power.</span>
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<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2015/08/section-2-guns-and-them.html" target="_blank">2. Gun Culture</a></div>
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<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2015/08/section-2-guns-and-them.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2015/08/section-2-guns-and-them.html" target="_blank">The police, however, are neither the only ones experiencing vulnerability nor the only ones with firearms in our society. In the next section of this paper I will examine how these same forces play out to produce our gun culture. To continue reading this section, CLICK HERE.</a><br />
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Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-47442713127433404142015-02-27T08:02:00.000-06:002016-02-26T10:27:45.344-06:00An Allegory for Climate Deniers.<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
I've put this up because I used it once to communicate my frustration with a friend who was a climate science denier. He later told me it had changed his attitude about looking into the evidence. I hope it might be useful to others in conversations with a good friend. </div>
<br />
An Allegory</div>
<br />
Imagine a dearly loved relative is mysteriously murdered. Though floundering in grief, you are still able to follow the investigation looking for the murderer. Eventually a suspect is identified and the case brought to trial.<br />
<br />
You, of course, follow the trial avidly and though uncertain at first, the evidence piles up and you become sure they have got the culprit. Yet at the same time, as you watch the jury to see their responses to the evidence, you notice one juror who stands out. Unlike the others, he seems disinterested, he pays little attention to the presented evidence, sometimes he's even openly dismissive. <br />
<br />
The case goes to the jury and after days of deliberation they report that they are unable to reach a verdict, hung 11 to 1 favoring a verdict of guilty. Afterwards you seek out the juror you'd noticed and, doing you best to contain your emotions, you ask him his thoughts.<br />
<br />
"Oh, I just think there's still room for doubt," he says.<br />
<br />
How would YOU feel?<br />
<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-58953493828097623492013-06-18T11:46:00.000-05:002013-07-10T19:19:41.250-05:00PTSD: it's not what you think it isI really don't know what PTSD is. Nor do I know what <u>is</u>
PTSD. I know the definition, what the DSM says, but that definition seems way
too small to me, inadequately capturing the full human experience.
Most of the "symptoms" described in the DSM are either expectable adaptive response to dangerous conditions and/or conditioned emotional responses.* The DSM's purpose is to define a disorder, but I can find no
basis for distinguishing a normal response to horrific events from a
"disorder." How much is "too" much of a response, too big an effect?
Who's to say? If I imagine a mother seeing her dearly beloved child hit
by a car, how long "should" it be before any thought, any reminder of
her child will not bring up the image in her mind and a flood of tears?
Years later, when she comes across a toy in the attic, might she not
break down in sobs again? If so, does that mean she's suffering from a
disorder?<br />
<br />
I recently read a review of the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wave-Sonali-Deraniyagala/dp/0307962695" target="_blank"><i>Wave </i>by Sonali Deraniyagala.</a><i> </i>The
book describes her experiences subsequent to loosing both her parents,
her husband, and her two children to the Indonesian tsunami. She, as she
said, "lost my world." When I thought about that, I thought she was
exactly right. Doesn't our world, the world we really <i>live</i> in,
consist of the web of primary relationships in our lives? That's the
meaningful world, the world that concerns us. My connection to
everything else is much more tenuous and abstract. What's the right
response to loosing a world? She tried to kill herself several times,
drank as much alcohol as she could get, did nothing "productive" for
years. Any inclination I have to judge her response, call it too much,
"pathology," is instantly tempered by my own knowledge that in her
situation, I have no confidence at all that I would do anything in any
way substantially different. I know I certainly couldn't guarantee it
even though I see my writing this blog as demonstrating some level of
resiliency. The only way I can imagine one makes such a judgement is to
perform some sort of disconnect from one's own fears and knowledge
about one's self.<br />
<br />
Categorizing
a person's response to combat or other horrific life events in terms of
a set of "abnormal" symptoms is insane. It seems to me to resemble
nothing so much as whistling in the dark. We are all faced <u>daily</u>,
by the possibility of tragedy, horror, and loss. Each time we get in a
car, or our loved ones do, some part of us is more or less aware of our
vulnerability. Do you track your loved ones' flights? As a parent,
are you a little anxious when your children, even though adults, embark
on a long drive? The reality of sudden, "unexpected" death is all
around us. We all need, and find, ways of dealing with the fear of
sudden, catastrophic loss, this reality stirs. One way of lessening
our fear is, I believe, to say to ourselves: "Those people who are <i>still</i> suffering? They're different, got a disorder." Implied is "I wouldn't be like them." Really? Are you sure?<br />
<br />
I
think it is arrogant on our parts to imagine we can define what is a
normal or abnormal response to what is essentially a personal
existential crisis. What will a soldier decide to do about all she/he
has seen and done? They have seen how the animal drive to survive
obliterates all man-made ethics, laws, morals. They have seen human
beings, who they may well have believed to be made in the image of God, engage in
wanton butchery. They may have done the same and tasted a blood-lust in
them which, being so foreign to our conception of ourselves, they
cannot/will not acknowledge. They have experienced our essential,
undeniable vulnerability and meat-like existence; that a little blob of
metal can reduce to non-existence, obliterating everything. They know
that we, too, live in a dog eat dog world.<br />
<br />
They have seen
that which everyone has told them were inviolate, first principles of
our social order betrayed like so much dust. Things like duty, honor,
trust, loyalty, decency, basic humanity. They may have done things that
violated there most deeply held and cherished values and believe there
is no real possibility of redemption or forgiveness. These are some of
the real issues combat veterans struggle with and then they come back to
a world that refuses to know much of this. A society that, all too
often, makes them either cardboard heroes, demonic "baby killers," or
passive victims of a malevolent government and, at best, offers them a
disorder as a way of understanding all they are going through. <br />
<br />
So
since I have no idea what the "proper" or normal response to all this
is or should be, I can't imagine defining some responses as a disorder
and others not. I don't know what <i>is</i> PTSD: what response is a
disorder, abnormal, too much, "pathology." So because I don't know what
is PTSD, I don't know what PTSD is and neither, I believe, do you.<br />
<br />
But
even more importantly, what does it matter? Are only the diagnosed
entitled to help, care, concern, understanding, compassion? Only those
with a disorder should be held deserving? Given the potential damage
that the diagnosis of PTSD can do, as I have detailed in this blog,
insisting on the absurd administrative requirement of a diagnosis before
help is offered is nearly criminal. EVERY combat veteran should have
easily available opportunities to seek assistance on his or her own
terms without the necessity of agreeing to be defined as having a
disorder. When we designed the program at Walter Reed we explicitly
defined it as available to any combat vet "having difficulty
re-adjusting to life in the US" with no mention of PTSD. I refused to
do a CAPS ** on prospective program candidates, believing to do so would
increase the likelihood of them seeing themselves as "having" a
disorder, rather than struggling to come to terms with their combat
experience. It was only because we stood "outside" of the normal
military mental health system that we were able to do this and that
reality was no small part, I believe, of what made our program
effective.<br />
<br />
So let's admit we don't know what PTSD is.
Let's admit we don't know how a person "should" cope with things we can
barely imagine. Let's stop the focus on "symptoms" and symptom relief.
Instead, let us, as individuals, therapist, and society, embrace the
whole, struggling person in humble commitment to travel alongside. I
think it will improve the assistance we offer. And probably us too.<br />
<br />
* In the June 3, 2013 <i>New Yorker</i> article "In the Crosshairs"
Jonathan Shay defines combat PTSD as "the persistence into civilian life, after
danger, of the valid adaptations you made to stay alive when other
people were trying to kill you."<br />
<br />
** Clinician Administered PTSD Scale: the so called "gold standard" for PTSD diagnosis.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-53675080335758973522013-05-09T11:05:00.002-05:002016-01-29T08:31:39.912-06:00Leadership and PTSDWhen trying to understand who exhibits PTSD and who doesn't, we
mostly consider just two variables: the degree of "the trauma" and any
preexisting vulnerability. But when considering the effects of combat, I
suggest a third factor: failure of leadership.<br />
<br />
What
does it take to get a normally self-preserving person to face deadly
fire in combat? To willfully approach an enemy intent on killing
him/her? An answer I came across but can't relocate said three things:
A belief in the justice of the cause, faith in the integrity of the
officers, and trust in the fidelity of your fellow soldiers. Of these,
the second is the most important.<br />
<br />
Officers make the
strategic, operational, and tactical decisions that determine soldiers'
destiny. The decisions that put them in harms way, require enduring
unendurable hardship, demand effort exceeding capability, and result in
losses beyond bearing. With such power comes commensurate
responsibility.<br />
<br />
I believe Eisenhower captured the full
import of this responsibility in a single sentence: "I believe the
American soldier can endure almost anything as long as he knows his
officers are looking out for him." By "looking out for him" Ike doesn't
mean tucking them in bed at night. Nor does he mean just ensuring they
have food, weapons, and training, although those are all a part of it.
What he means is that in every decision the officers make they are
"looking out for," caring about, the lives of their soldiers. And, most
vitally, they decide how to conduct combat operations with a sole focus
on doing what is necessary to achieve victory and doing it <i>only</i> because it <i>is</i> necessary, not for<u><i><b> any</b></i></u>
other reason. It is necessity that steels a soldier's will. If any
part of the officer's motivation is self preservation, self-promotion, a
failure to exercise due diligence, or any other concern, the troops
will know and morale will suffer. In truth, soldiers have a huge
tolerance for such failures; we all know we are all human. But it is
also true that every person also has their limits and when that limit is
exceeded, a seismic shift occurs. <br />
<br />
Betrayal refers
to "the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract." A soldier
signs a blank check. S/he enters an opaque contract, putting his/her life in the hands of unknown,
anonymous others. Whenever any officer in the chain of command,
commissioned or non-commissioned, up to and including the Commander in
Chief, issues any order or command not based on military necessity he or
she violates that contract and the soldier has the lived experience of
betrayal: someone's failure to faithfully execute the duty to care
(about my life.) The person may feel treated as if their life has no
value.<br />
<br />
Almost without exception, every Service member I treated while at
Walter Reed expressed some sense of betrayal. He or she stated, not
always explicitly but more or less clearly "I did what I was told to do
and they didn't take care of me." Who the "they" was and how
specifically identified he/she was varied but their was always a someone
who they felt had betrayed them. Often, my task was to help them know
and verbalize the exact injury done. What, exactly, had happened. Who
had precisely what responsibility for what? Who failed in their
responsibilities and exactly how? Frequently many of the charges were
against themselves and overstated while their characterization of the
betrayal was most often understated. A common line I came to use was
"You're charging X with a misdemeanor but the behavior you've described
is a major felony."<br />
<br />
Such a betrayal is an intolerable
diminishment. It is unacceptable to anyone with any degree of pride and
can be crushing to those with a less solid sense of self worth.
Ordinarily it stirs anger that demands action, some fight-back. But in
the military, the huge difference in power across the ranks may make
this all but impossible. A corporal has virtually no way to hold a
colonel accountable. "Having PTSD" offers a way. The dysfunction of
PTSD can be understood as a communication, a statement that says "See
what their incompetent leadership did to me. See the effects of their
cowardice (or incompetence, uncaring, etc.) This is what I suffered
because of them."<br />
<br />
I offer one story to illustrate.<br />
<br />
I
had already been treating veterans at Walter Reed for many years when
this story begins. A new group included two men from the same unit who
immediately told of the poor leadership of their unit and its
consequences. But I experienced one of the two as unusually aware, and
conscious of the subtleties and circumstances surrounding the story he
was telling. He seemed quite self-aware and told the story of his
betrayal with a lighter touch, even a hint of irony that was uncommon.
Based on my assessment of his strength I made a mistake with him: I
invited his attention to his contribution to his present difficulties
well before I should have. He said nothing, but the next day the two
returned to the group and announced their plans to become professional
hitmen after they were released from active duty. Hearing me as blaming
them, they came back placing the blame firmly where they believed it
lay.<br />
<br />
I realized this indicated I had made a mistake but
was not clear what to do about it. Everything I tried to find some way
to connect with them, understand them, confront them, yielded nothing.
They masterfully deflected my every move. At some point I decided I
had no choice but to abandoned them and try to limit the damage done to
the rest of the group. Undoubtedly they left the program feeling
betrayed again and they were right. Here, I was the "officer" who
failed in my duty to understand and effectively engage them.<br />
<br />
Only
after the program was over and they had returned to their duty stations
did I finally recognize the accurate emotional logic of their
statement. By going to the extreme, they were helping me see what I had
missed earlier. To this day I wish I had had the wisdom to say,
sincerely, " Brilliant! You've found the perfect way to speak the truth
that can't be spoken. To show how the criminal incompetence of your
unit's leadership created a situation so horrible that it turned two
decent country boys like you guys into soulless killers. I can only
hope the country hears you."<br />
<br />
Betrayal is a bitter bill, toxic if swallowed but
so hard to spit up. The desire for revenge is as human as the desire
for justice. In addition to having to struggle with all the horrors of
war, the killing, mayhem, and losses; in addition to having to struggle
with one's own history and specific vulnerabilities to having old wounds
reopened, in addition to all that, the combat veteran must also often
struggle with his/her desire, and inability, to say to some other "Look
what you did! Take responsibility for the god-awful mess you made!"<br />
<br />
Some
will say I diminish the soldier by saying these things of those who are
struggling with the effects of combat. But I say I honor him/her,
offering a vision of what they are doing that respects the meaning of
what they have been through and are trying to do. That acknowledges the
need to express that which can't be said. That this is their desperate
attempt to speak truth to power. And hopefully, by recognizing this,
they may be able to find a less personally costly way of doing so.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-64426158037920239052013-05-01T19:53:00.000-05:002015-08-13T14:10:44.695-05:00Some Interesting Comparisons<br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>CARS<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>SCOOTERS<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>GUNS</div>
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Age limit to use 16<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>None<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>None</div>
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License required Yes<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>No<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>No</div>
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Insurance required Yes<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>No <span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>No</div>
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Training required Yes<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>No<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>No</div>
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Registration required Yes<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>No<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>No</div>
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Lock included Yes<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>No<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>No</div>
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Marketed to children No<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Yes<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>Yes</div>
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Injuries per year 2,300,000*<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>27,600****<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>70,000**</div>
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Deaths per year 34,000***<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2****<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>32,000***</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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So we can regulate cars but not
guns just because cars weren’t mentioned<br />
in the Constitution?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Or is it that we regulate guns
the same as scooters because they are<br />
equally dangerous?</div>
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<br />
For some thoughts on how to combat gun violence see my previous post.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/index.html</div>
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** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States</div>
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*** http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm</div>
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**** http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4949a2.htm</div>
Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-56420232110055727642013-04-30T11:28:00.000-05:002016-07-06T10:11:49.004-05:00Combating firearm violence<div style="text-align: center;">
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</style> Responsible Gun Ownership and Combating Firearm Violence</div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Decreasing gun violence has become a primary concern for me. As a combat veteran and gun owner, I am concerned about the rising level of gun violence in our society. Nothing in me is willing to accept this level of carnage, terror, and pain. The rest of the world shows us this level of killing is not necessary as a price for "freedom" or any rights. The wholly-to-be-expected-public-concern about this, if it continues to be met by implacable opposition to even the most reasonable efforts to diminish the threat, may threatens Here are some thoughts on
a strategy for promoting public safety.</span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">1. I think it is critical for those hoping to decrease gun violence to publicly support
the right to firearms for home defense and hunting. The ability and
determination to protect one’s family and obtain food through one’s own efforts
far predate both governments and society. Indeed, it's probably true that society grew out of efforts to protect families. Acknowledging this right also undercuts the major objection to most gun control measures.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">2. Relentlessly
publicize the fact that any/every use of firearms carries the risk of
unintended death or injury to innocent bystanders and/or the user. Thus
event the private use of a firearm in the home or outside it inherently creates a risk to PUBLIC safety. This is the
sole basis of efforts by gun control advocates to restrict the caliber, capacity, action, range, etc.,
of firearms used in home defense and hunting. It is not a "slippery slope" to siezing all guns, just an attempt to protect us all from the unintended consequences of gun use.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">3. It is also important to
publicize the fact that the mere <u>possession</u> of a firearm also creates a threat
to public safety. Because of its lethal power, it is desirable to persons other
than the owner for purposes other than intended. This again constitutes a
threat to public safety and is the basis for regulations on how weapons are
stored in the home, their design (safeties, etc.), and their traceability. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Since a firearm is an inherently dangerous device, it should be stored appropriately to prevent unauthorized use and theft. This is the obvious responsibility of every gun owner. Unfortunately, the deaths of many toddlers who access guns is grim testimony to the fact that not all gun owners take their responsibilities seriously. These failures, just like other failures of parenting, authorize public intervention into private matters. Requiring "smart" guns is one obvious solution. Gun owners' insurance would also be useful.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Once a firearm is stolen, it becomes a new threat to public safety. Laws specifying storage, unauthorized use preventing features (smart guns), insurance, and reporting requirements are clearly in the public interest and do not infringe second amendment rights to possess firearms.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">4. We need to develop and
publicize objective method of comparing the lethality of various weapons. This could show how fundamentally different an assault rifle is from a
breech-loading musket as well as from knives, etc. But more importantly, it would provide a rational basis for policy decisions on what we do and do not want think is appropriate weapons for different uses. To state the obvious, a high power rifle useful for hunting big game is not useful for home defense.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I don’t know if a method of calculating lethality of a weapon exists, but I
don’t see why it couldn’t be calculated. For example, imagine a school room filled with manikins representing people. How many of them could be “killed” in a set
time, say 15 minutes, by someone using a knife? A breech loader? An
assault weapon? Gathering and using such data puts the arguments on
weapons restrictions on a much firmer basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if absolute comparisons between kinds of
weapons is not possible, it is surely possible to quantify relative differences
in the lethality of firearms based on their caliber, muzzle velocity, rate of
fire, action, projectile weight, etc. This data could be used to devise
standards for specifying acceptable and unacceptable firearms for home
protection and hunting.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">5. Recognizing that any possession and/or use of a firearm creates a risk to public health frames the debate regarding concealed and open carry. In the interest of public safety, concealed carry should be limited to those who have some justifiable need and who can demonstrate they </span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">6. Fund
research/advocacy/legal efforts to overturn the idea that “the need for a well
regulated militia” constitutes a basis for owning military firearms AND
justifies gun ownership to prevent government “tyranny.” Such an effort
is needed to counter the fact that this interpretation is in fact the result of
a NRA supported effort to CREATE that interpretation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Thoughts/comments in
support of the above.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">1.
Recognizing the right to own arms for specific purposes respects responsible
gun ownership, alleviates their fears and makes it far more difficult to
portray gun control advocates as “taking away our guns."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">2.
Developing data showing the death/injury caused unintentionally by gun usage is
absolutely vital. Document all the injury resulting from accidental
discharge, killing/wounding bystanders while hunting, engaged in home defense,
firing on firing ranges, showing off, etc. This is vitally important
because this threat to public safety, my safety, our safety, is the sole
legitimate basis for our restricting the characteristics of acceptable weapons
for home defense and hunting. It is the basis for prohibiting both 50 cal
machine guns and assault weapons.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">3.
Publicize all the death/injury caused by unauthorized/illegal/(not sure best
word here) use of weapons, i.e., that caused by someone who used a firearm that
they wouldn't have been able to obtain if weapons were stored in a
manner consistent with their dangerousness. Think of Sandy Hook: If
guns were required to be stored in an impeccably safe manner, had a user-only
safety, or a GPS chip to disable it when removed by other than owner, etc. then
many such tragedies could be avoided. Publicize both owner and non-owner
suicides, gun thefts (which puts lethal power in the hands of someone who
obviously shouldn’t have it), and injuries/deaths caused by family
members/others who used firearms they should not have had access to. Again, this is the fundamental basis for regulations designed to ensure the
public safety from this device with extraordinary power by requiring firearms
to be safely stored and used.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">4. We must continually highlight how many crimes are committed with illegal firearm, whether bought illegally, or bought legally but transported to places they are illegal, or bought with sham purchasers, or sold by gun stores in violation of state and/or federal law. At present, efforts to stem the flow of such weapons is hampered by multiple difficulties such as limitations on gun store record keeping, interstate differences in laws, lack of gun registries, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.0pt;">5. </span></div>
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Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-60623032690778248382012-11-21T10:31:00.001-06:002013-07-10T08:18:46.093-05:00Symptoms of what?A recent piece of research adds to our understanding of PTSD. <a href="http://scienceblog.com/57765/embattled-childhoods-may-be-the-real-trauma-for-soldiers-with-ptsd/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogrssfeed+%28ScienceBlog.com%29" target="_blank">This article</a> seems at first glance to show what's already known about PTSD: As usual, the vast majority (84%) of those experiencing combat show no significant ill effects. But of those that do, the leading contributing factor is adverse childhood experiences. This fact drives the "vulnerability" theory of PTSD I discuss briefly <a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2012/07/lying-somewhere-on-cutting-room-floor.html" target="_blank">here</a>. But what's really important about this study is something else, described in the section below:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Most notably, about 13% of the soldiers in the study actually showed
temporary improvement in symptoms during deployment. These soldiers
reported significant symptoms of stress prior to leaving for Afghanistan
that seemed to ease in the first months of deployment only to increase
again upon their return home."</div>
<br />
Noting that these soldiers were more likely "to have have suffered emotional problems and traumatic events prior to deployment," the authors explain the results above by hypothesizing " that army life – despite the fact that it involved combat – offered
more in the way of social support and life satisfaction than these
particular soldiers had at home." But I suggest these results should be understood as demonstrating the <i>fundamentally interpersonal nature</i> of that which we call PTSD.<br />
<br />
First, it is no surprise adverse childhood experiences are associated with PTSD. They are, in fact, associated with (major risk factors for) virtually <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ace/findings.htm" target="_blank">every social ill as well as many medical conditions.</a> (If you are not familiar with the ACE scale and this research, I suggest a detour to <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ace/index.htm" target="_blank">this page first</a>.) The common model for understanding this progression is contained in the "pyramid" <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ace/pyramid.htm" target="_blank">shown here</a>. According to that model, adverse childhood experiences lead, in ways not fully understood, to "social, emotional, and cognitive impairments" that eventually lead to medical and social problems. But we, in fact, already have another model of this process with valuable explanatory power: attachment theory. <br />
<br />
Attachment theory is based on the understanding that children <i>need</i> to be taken care of and evolution has "designed" an adaptive behavioral system to ensure even infants can adapt to the interpersonal/emotional environment they find themselves in and thereby get their needs met. That is, "adaptive styles" (secure, avoidant, ambivalent, etc.) are understood as behaviors that are adaptive to the emotional/interpersonal needs of the child's care-taking figure. These behaviors, and the emotional learning they are based on, are the basement layers of the child's developing model of how the world works. As it is nicely put on the Wikipedia site re attachment theory: "Early experiences with caregivers gradually give rise to a system of
thoughts, memories, beliefs, expectations, emotions and behaviours about
the self and others." Which then determine how the person relates to others throughout life and thus become the roots of the "social, emotional, and cognitive impairments" that later lead to illness and social dysfunction.<br />
<br />
The parenting behaviors that leads to insecure attachments (especially disorganized attachment) do not suddenly transform as the child ages. On the contrary, the same parenting deficits may become intensified as the child's needs become more varied and less simple to to satisfy (e.g., not simply the provision of a bottle.) The resulting dysfunction may directly result in the neglect, abandonment, and abuse assessed by the ACE scale.<br />
<br />
Further, just as with adverse childhood experiences, the attachment experiences of the child have been shown to leave their mark in the behavior of the adult. The attachment style observed in the toddler predicts how the adult will relate to their own children as well as the attachment style of their own children. Indeed, it can be found to affect many adult relationships, especially those, I would argue, in which power and dependency are at issue. (For example, intimate/romantic relationships, as well as relationships with physicians, bosses, and therapists. For a thorough analysis, see <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Attachment-Psychotherapy-David-Wallin-PhD/dp/1593854560" target="_blank">Attachment in Psychotherapy</a>.)<br />
<br />
What I am suggesting then is that "social support and life satisfaction" isn't something that comes with "army life" along with your uniform. It can only be had, if at all, by successfully negotiating the complex interpersonal field of military culture. Each soldier attempts to meet his/her interpersonal needs as best they can given the developmentally created strength and weaknesses they bring to bear on the task. <br />
<br />
It is not hard to imagine scenarios in which this process goes well, even for the "vulnerable" soldier: the new recruit, highly motivated to belong, makes it through boot camp, becomes an accepted member of a unit, does the job expected of him/her in combat (maybe even a bit above and beyond), earns the respect of fellow soldiers, encounters good leadership, and comes to see him/herself as a valued member of a valued community. The essential rule of military life - do as you are told and you will be taken care of - is not that terribly demanding, though, of course, it can be severely challenging in combat. But also in combat, most of ordinary life falls aside and as long as you are doing your job virtually everything else is overlooked.<br />
<br />
But it is also not difficult to imagine scenarios when this doesn't go well. There are so many ways the military recreates early childhood experiences that may stir maladaptive responses. There are innumerable ways to run afoul of the system and just as many by which the system can fail the soldier. Though officially everything is "by the book," in reality what happens is entirely determined by the interpersonal interactions of those involved. What constitutes "social support and life satisfaction" differs greatly before, during and after combat and a soldier's success at obtaining them is essentially determined by his/her interpersonal skill and is not the result of the mere presence of "social support" or somehow automatically obtained "life satisfaction."<br />
<br />
So that drop in symptoms while deployed suggests that the "vulnerable" are not <i>destined</i> for dysfunction. That there is an interpersonal environment in which they can and do function. And that that situation is, in fact, <i>more powerful, more impactful</i> than "the trauma," both the childhood one and whatever occurs in combat. <br />
<br />
It also implies that since how we fare in combat is primarily determined by interpersonal considerations, the treatment for the effects of combat must also be primarily interpersonal, whether done while waving a finger back and forth or with two people in a room talking to each other.<br />
<br />
p.s. I know that I have merely suggested, rather than fully made the case that this drop in symptoms should be seen as evidence of the interpersonal nature of that which we call PTSD. And that this is the first explicit statement by me of that thesis. So there is much to object to in what I've written. Although it is my intention to take this discussion in that direction, my posting this now was the result of the research article having just been brought to my attention and my desire to capitalize on the immediacy of the topic. In later posts I will fill in the data and the arguments I have merely suggested here.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." <br />
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Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-62427456515315699952012-11-01T09:01:00.000-05:002013-07-09T17:05:30.770-05:00Avoidance, my old friendI recently became aware that I have been avoiding writing about avoidance. I'd think about it occasionally. And I had written (in my head) one rather glib start about how avoidance is a problem only because it works so well. But then I realized I was avoiding all the <u>feelings</u> connected to avoidance, which is, of course, the purpose of avoidance in the first place.<br />
<br />
One of my problems with the idea of PTSD is that the definition focuses exclusively on the emotion of fear. But what's so special about fear? Torn flesh and dead bodies produce disgust. (That's why we vomit.) We feel the anguish of injured, missing, dead comrades. Murderous rage abounds. And I can't begin to enumerate the endless daily opportunities, big and small, for shame about what we've done, or what we didn't do that we felt we should have. Fear is just one of several intense emotions we likely experience in war; why is it the only one that leads to "trauma?" Why is it the only one seen as damaging? While that's an important question I'll take up later, fear <u>is</u> uniquely important to avoidance because of it's relationship to any and all aversive human experiences.<br />
<br />
We are "designed" to seek out those stimuli/situations/events we experience as pleasant or pleasurable and avoid those that we experience as aversive. It's how organisms work; how they can be programed by evolution to seek and find those things necessary to survive and reproduce and avoid those that put that at risk. Fear is the experienced affect that guides us avoid the aversive. If we've come to learn a particular situation results in an aversive outcome (being shamed, for example) we will fear similar situations. These simple, obvious truths immediately reveals the complications of avoidance.<br />
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It is "natural" to avoid anything we find unpleasant. So if you were attacked on one or more bridges where you suffered painful losses, it makes sense to drive miles out of your way to avoid going over a bridge in your hometown. Seeing a bridge stirs the memories,<u> and all the associated feelings</u>, of what happened. Even <i>thinking</i> about driving over it does. Going out of your way to avoid it, while still somewhat anxiety provoking, is a lot better than what you <i>know</i> will happen if you try to drive over it. Avoidance works. Sitting with your back to the wall at a restaurant works (it lets you scan for danger). So does avoiding crowds and, if you can't, carrying a weapon (e.g, a knife).<br />
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Avoidant responses to threatening situations protectect from vulnerability to harm. But veterans also protect from vulnerability to loss/distress by avoiding family members, loved ones, or any real intimacy. Avoiding shame is more challenging but veterans do so by avoiding situatiations in which their fears could be revealled (crowds, possibilities of loud noises [e.g., fireworks], being responsible for others). They also avoid situations likely to stir their rage such as driving, working for demanding bosses, interpersonal conflict.<br />
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So you can see why a cabin in the wilderness provides the perfect solution. No people to
care about and thereby risk the anguish of another loss. No people to
threaten you. No people to see and shame you for hitting the dirt when a car backfires. No people to to see being turned into wet hamburger. No wonder so many veterans express a longing for such a solution.<br />
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However, as always, our problems are the products of our solutions. Avoidance is adaptive because it works. But just because it works so well, it's likely to be retained even when no longer necessary. Avoidance is self-reinforcing and hence, like drugs, addictive. And, just like drugs, the price of the payoff ever increases. As avoidance successfully lessens the fear of dreaded situations, more and more of life may get "roped into" an avoidant lifestyle<br />
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We know how to treat avoidance. A combination of psycho-neuro education, some form of systematic desensitization or exposure therapy, and maybe some medications, all provided, of course, in the context of a theraputic relationship with a respectful, engaged, skillful therapist. But that's not to say it's easy. We avoid at the feeling level as well as the behavioral. Even if the veteran has left the cabin in the woods the wall around his/her heart may long endure. Dismantling the wall is no small task, especially with life all too often providing incentives to rebuild it. What man hath put together even god (love) may labor to put asunder. But let us try.<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-75243448794605543202012-10-09T16:43:00.000-05:002013-07-09T17:06:18.610-05:00Duty, Trust, and BetrayalMy last several posts have been about vulnerability and how it affects the re-deployed solider. Returning to the BRAVE mnemonic of an <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4349203474150839761#editor/target=post;postID=3909099852510462007" target="_blank">earlier post</a>, let's move on now to betrayal.<br />
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Some people are smarter than others and Jonathan Shay must be one of those. He had the wisdom to see that the Homeric story <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad" target="_blank"><u>The Iliad</u></a> had much to say to the veterans of Viet Nam. Specifically, about the betrayal they felt.<br />
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About five years ago, I re-read the Iliad after having last read it in high school. I was astounded by it's relevance to what I had experienced in Viet Nam and to the South West Asia veterans I was working with at the time. The Iliad is the story of Achilles's rage at his betrayal by Agamemnon. King Agamemnon takes for himself Briseis, a queen who was rightfully Achilles's war prize. Achilles sulks and refuses to fight until his friend Patroclus is killed, whereupon he slaughters the Trojans (Note 1). There were no beautiful queen war prizes in Viet Nam and I couldn't have sulked if I'd wanted to, but nonetheless this story had much to offer me. It's story of the abuse of power by a leader and how that impacts the combat soldier was intimately familiar to me and many of the veterans I've worked with.<br />
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I have seen - with my own eyes, ears, heart, and mind - other officers make decisions not for strategic or tactical reasons but to further their careers. This criminal betrayal of duty was one of the main reasons I resigned my commission. But this blog is not about my experience in Viet Nam, and I mention my experience only as I believe it is useful to help understand the experiences of combat veterans. Specifically, when I heard about the betrayal experienced by the veterans of combat in SWA, my experience led me to listen carefully and openly, and not simply discount such accounts as blaming others to diminish one's own responsibility (though that was sometimes the case.) Again and again I heard credible stories, often backed up by more than one source, of gross dereliction of duty by senior non-commissioned officers and/or officers of all ranks in the chain of command.<br />
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It's been said that to get men (and now women) to face arms in combat
the soldiers need three things: a belief in the justice of their cause,
trust in their leaders and faith in their fellow soldiers. Like a
three legged stool, if any is compromised the stool will not stand and
the soldier will not fight. When a senior in any chain of command fails
to do his duty or abuses his position for personal gain, he betrays
the trust of all his subordinates in that chain and sabotages the moral, command legitimacy, and fighting spirit of all who serve under him. Those under him will pay with their lives or with their peace of mind for this betrayal. This is especially true when the stakes are life and death in combat and the duty not performed was the duty to look out for the welfare (lives) of your subordinates.<br />
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I was a at a conference once when another psychologist presented data about his work with a soldier with PTSD while still in SWA. The psycholgist used <a href="http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/prolonged-exposure-therapy.asp" target="_blank">Prolonged Exposure Therapy</a> and showed a graph demonstrating the soldier's decreasing symptoms over mere days of treatment. I had what I called data envy because while I had confidence in our program at Walter Reed, I knew our data showed no such quick recovery. Struggling to understand the reasons for this difference, I coined the term fulminating PTSD to describe what I thought our soldiers/sailors/marines/airmen came to us with. They had been through horrific incidents much like the one experienced by the soldier above treated with PET. But by the time they got to us, they had been through much more. Their attempt to get help might have been refused. They were unable to talk about their experience of betrayal. Their weapons were taken from them and they were relieved of responsibilities for the merest mention of emotional difficulties. Drinking let to fights, domestic altercations, insubordination with resultant disciplinary action. And more and more and more.<br />
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Most frequently a sense of betrayal was at the heart of such stories. They had done their part: put their lives at risk to do what was asked of them. But someone whose duty it was to look out for them turned a blind eye to their danger. Or failed to do her part in the heat of battle. Or failed to provide help when it was asked for. This sense of betrayal becomes a gnawing wound, festering inside, preventing trust in anyone in authority, covered over by a self-protective cynicism that denies anyone is trustworthy thereby ensuring they will never be fooled again. Unaddressed, this is a recipe for a functional loss of life.<br />
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I'll have more to say about treatment issues later, but here I want to emphasize that this is a <u><i>relational</i></u> issue. It is about how a particularly vital (but not necessarily close) relationship between the soldier and a senior she needed to trust went awry and the consequences of that relational disruption. It can't be fixed by addressing only symptoms. For treatment of such veterans to be successful, a new relational experience is necessary. The veteran must have a corrective <i>relational </i>experience. A start is for them to encounter a helper who is willing to engage them at the deepest levels, communicates deep respect, and exhibits unwavering integrity.<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
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Note 1: For an excellent article by Jonathan Shay about the Iliad and military leadership, what <i>he </i>calls <u>complex</u> PTSD, and other issues <a href="http://www.helleniccomserve.com/shayachillesnodysseus.html" target="_blank">go here</a>.<br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." <br />
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<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-37924287822607152212012-10-01T13:59:00.000-05:002013-07-09T17:06:40.939-05:00When Johnny comes marching homeIt's not just young men and soldiers who deny their vulnerability, it's all of us. We all know that we can die or be incapacitatingly injured at any time but mostly we manage to keep that knowledge well away from day to day consciousness. That's probably a good thing because otherwise we'd never get out of bed.<br />
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But for the combat veteran, life becomes more complicated. "Death is a distant rumor to the young." (Andy Rooney) After the young soldier has experienced the immediacy of death in his/her first fire fight, however, it is distant rumor no more but a hissing, in your face presence. And unless you're very lucky, it isn't just a one time encounter you'll have, but a repeated affair you face each time you go "outside the wire." So you have to find a way to deal with the vulnerability and associated fear that you used to, but can no longer, just deny. Fortunately, laying right at hand, waiting for your call, is your new best friend: anger/rage.<br />
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It is, of course, no news that soldiers in combat get into rage. It's also probably fair to say that anger/rage, more than any other "symptom" is what brings re-deployed soldiers initially to the attention of the mental health system. I don't know it that's true, but the most frequent story I would hear is of altercations with the spouse, with neighbors, with superiors at work, and/or with strangers on the street (especially in cars.) But to understand anger, you must understand vulnerability.<br />
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Constantly living in fear is immensely wearying. I remember describing to my therapist how sick and tired I became of being always afraid. How I wanted to just put it aside, rid myself of the fear, and go on patrol looking to blast anything that moved. And how ashamed of myself I was that I couldn't do it. I was shocked and, ultimately, transformed when he responded, saying how glad he was that I hadn't done that. I expected him to join me in my castigating myself for my fearfulness, my cowardice. He, instead, told me how he believed that honoring my fear had kept me (and my men) alive, how it had kept me human in an inhuman situation and how it had led to his being able to know me.<br />
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I don't think I'm the only veteran who returns from combat "sick and tired" of feeling vulnerable. Who makes it back, hoping, maybe believing, that he'll/she'll never have to feel that way again. The awful truth turns out to be that while we were always vulnerable, but able to deny it, now, whenever something happens that stirs vulnerability, the veteran is all too likely to immediately react with anger/rage. So his young daughter runs towards the street, and he is instantly screaming at her, grabbing her up, and maybe shaking her. Neither her nor the daughter know why. Or he's driving and someone "cuts (him) off" (which is, in fact, a danger to him) whereupon, in a rage, he blocks the other car in and beats in the windshield in righteous anger. Or his wife asks him to talk to her and she persists even after being told "You wouldn't understand" and suddenly he blows up in a rage and storms out of the house, barely aware that her loving interest, if allowed in and responded to in kind, would put him right in the middle of all the pain, and terror, and longing; the vulnerability that he has worked so hard to keep at bay.<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." <br />
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<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-85972237810738432702012-09-14T12:54:00.000-05:002015-08-13T14:09:04.193-05:00The tip of the spearOne more post on the collision of vulnerability and combat violence. I heard this from a Operation Dessert Storm Vet who had come to our program. This matters to a degree because it wasn't uncommon for some veterans of other campaigns, especially Viet Nam, to put down ODS vets. In this view this was a quick and "easy" war and to be affected by it, especially, clearly put you in the "weak" category. Perhaps some will think differently after hearing this story.<br />
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He came to the program when it was mostly focused on the medical symptoms veterans of the first Gulf War were reporting, what was then called Gulf War Illness or Gulf War Syndrome. Except he didn't have any of the usual complaints of joint/muscle pain, headaches, difficulty breathing, etc. He complained of feeling nothing. Now five years after the war, he described how ever since he has just felt "blah". He described no interest in much of anything, never feeling excited or happy, maybe an occasional instance of fear, but not much of that and not really depressed. He said he couldn't find work he wanted to do and didn't have friends or relationships that lasted any length. He didn't really even have much energy for complaining either, but thought he'd check out the program "'cause why not?"<br />
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When asked he told this story. You may recall there was a huge buildup of forces in Kuwait before the invasion of Iraq. He was part of that and when the order to invade was given, he was in a unit that was one of the very first to enter Iraq. The battle plan had them entering through a purported mine field, which, because the Iraqis wouldn't expect that, was supposed to provide a critical element of surprise and advantage. The plan called for Engineers to arrive first and sweep a path through the minefield that the battalion could enter through. But when they got there, the engineers were no where to be seen. The battalion commander radioed back to HQ and he was told to cross anyway and attack. Per Army doctrine at the time, the Commanding Officer told his Sargent Major to order the most junior member of the battalion to walk across the mine field, forging a path that others would follow. And shoot him if he refused or turned back. My patient was that junior soldier.<br />
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He was able to pretty vividly describe his terror: literally shaking in fear, barely able to haltingly put one foot in front of the other, sweating profusely, moving only when yelled at by the Sargent Major.<br />
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But suddenly, a miracle, something changed. One second terrified, the next, he amazingly felt no fear at all. He started walking, then skipping through the mine field, turning to hail his fellows, shouting back, "Come on in, there's nothing to be afraid of." And he laughingly lead the way across.<br />
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You don't need to be either a rocket scientist or a psychologist to know that he was somehow able to trick himself. By throwing some mental switch he was able to not-know what he knew, convince himself there was no mines (or no danger) and push away his overwhelming fear.<br />
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This (probably uniquely) human capacity to not know what we know is a last ditch method of dealing with the intolerable, a way to continue living in the face of realities that challenge our reasons to live, a way to push away feelings that would make living impossible. It works and most of us have used a variation of it or two in our lives (Scarlett O'hara: "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.") But the ability comes with a high price tag and this Dessert Storm veteran was paying it.<br />
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You can't go to war and come back unaffected. No one can. Experience changes people and there are very few more powerful experiences than combat. But affected doesn't mean <i>damaged</i>. We do what we do to survive. But what we do may incur a cost that must be paid or the interest adds up. By suppressing his feelings, this ODS veteran was able do what he had to do to keep from being shot. But the history of human experience indicates that the mechanism we use to suppress negative feelings is blunt. It can block fear, distress and anger, but also blocks excitement and joy. We may rid ourselves of the lows but at the cost of the highs.<br />
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A switch turned off can be turned on and the history of psychotherapy since Freud strongly suggests that the way to do so is to make the decision to tolerate the very feelings we believe we can't. To choose to feel that which feels intolerable: all the fear, and pain, and loss, and rage, and shame that we have worked so diligently to keep at bay. Nothing in life is easier said than done than this.<br />
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This struggle, this conflict within that I've outlined here is central to almost everything I've ever said or will have to say about PTSD. It is the reason I object to the name we give this struggle, post traumatic stress disorder, because I believe the name itself tempts the veteran to see himself/herself as not what he/she really is, a person struggling to endure the unendurable, make sense of the incomprehensible, and let go of the unforgettable: no, not that but instead a far lesser being: someone "traumatized," damaged, diminished by what they have experienced.<br />
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The work of all, veteran, therapist, society, is to keep this distinction every in mind and for each to do their part to hold to the extremely difficult, but ultimately freeing path of compassionate accountability.<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>."<br />
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<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-86963425168335533362012-08-24T11:17:00.001-05:002013-07-10T11:00:05.277-05:00Not just a riverBefore I take up how realizing one's vulnerability in combat affects life back in the world, I want to say a bit more about my contention that men are pre-disposed to ignore/deny their vulnerability. Maybe, if someone asks, I'll describe why I think it's so, but in this post I want to tell a story that will describe an extreme, hopefully convincing case that it is so.<br />
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In my division there was one sailor, an E-4, who had already done one tour as an ARMY sniper. I capitalize that to indicate how extraordinary that was. Even though in the Navy, he was apparently such a good shot that the Army "borrowed" him, sent him to sniper school, and then to Viet Nam for a one year tour. In that tour, he would go out into the jungle, <i>by himself,</i> climb a tree and shoot the highest ranking person he could see coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Now, however, he was one of 10 forward gunners in the division. On patrol, he would sit in a turret in the bow of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_Boat,_River" target="_blank">PBR</a> and man the twin 50 caliber machine guns that were the main armament of the boat.<br />
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You might imagine he would have been admired, but he was widely disliked: no doubt a result of his near open contempt for the fearfulness of the other sailors on the boat. While in ambush they were all anxious, managing their fear, he was not. He saw no reason for fear and was quite relaxed "in the bush." Not cavalier: he did his job, maintaining a watchful alertness, but he was not afraid. They might start firing at a snapped twig in the night. He expected more evidence before he would break the ambush.<br />
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Although unpopular in the division, he was very useful to me because he would volunteer for the occasional insane missions we would be directed to do by headquarters. As an example, in order to "lower our profile," we were provided a Boston Whaler and told to send patrols out on it. It's hard to convey how insane we thought this was. Standard tactics had two PBR's going out on patrol together. Each had twin 50 cal. machine guns forward, one 50 cal. in the rear, and an M-60 amidships. The Boston Whaler was armed with one M-60 and the M-16's of the four man crew. I had to go on the first missions since I was in charge of the division at that time. Fortunately for me, this ex-sniper volunteered. Fortunately for all of us, we were soon able to stop these patrols.<br />
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One night, back on the river in ambush tied to the bank, he was in the forward gun turret when a grenade struck him in the forehead and fell into his lap.<br />
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Had it not landed in his lap, it would have fallen into the boat and he wouldn't have been able to get out of his seat before it exploded. But, though dazed by the blow, he managed to pick it up and throw the grenade off the boat where it exploded. A brief fire-fight ensued and the boats returned to the base with no one injured.<br />
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The next day he came to see me in private. "It could've killed me! I might've died!" "No fucking shit." I said to myself. It was shockingly clear that he had never realized that before. It took a grenade off the head, into his lap for him to see, to feel. But with that realization, he was now afraid and he did not want to go back out on the river. "What's real courage?" I asked, "Going out when you're not afraid, or when you are?" In spite of my efforts he all but refused. This was a problem for me because no one wanted to go on the river and either he had to or I had to court martial him. Since he was scheduled to go to Hawaii in two weeks for 5 days of R&R, I made a deal with him. I'd keep him off until he went but when he returned it was back on the river or else.<br />
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Though I didn't know if he would, he returned from R&R, resumed his duties and he was much better warrior: more alert, more cautious and, yes, less arrogant.<br />
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Although his was an extreme case, I believe most who go to war share his capacity. We have ways to diminish, manage the fear. But when the uber-violence of modern warfare meets the powerful capacities of the human mind something's gonna happen. In my next post I'll talk about the impact.<br />
<br />
plato told<br />
him:he couldn’t<br />
believe it(jesus<br />
told him;he<br />
wouldn’t believe<br />
it)lao<br />
tsze<br />
certainly told<br />
him,and general<br />
(yes<br />
mam)<br />
sherman;<br />
and even<br />
(believe it<br />
or<br />
not)you<br />
told him:i told<br />
him;we told him<br />
(he didn’t believe it,no<br />
sir)it took<br />
a nipponized bit of<br />
the old sixth<br />
avenue<br />
el;in the top of his head:to tell<br />
him<br />
e.e. cummings<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." <br />
<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-4870121186489605182012-08-15T08:34:00.001-05:002013-07-09T16:55:06.974-05:00Degrees of deathIn October of 1969 I reported to a miniscule "base" on a river north of Saigon to assume the position of the Executive Officer of River Division 594. Although my primary duty was not to lead combat patrols, as part of learning the job, I had to become qualified as a Patrol Officer. A Patrol Officer is a junior officer or senior enlisted personnel who leads a "patrol" of two river patrol boats (PBRs), usually to set an ambush trying to catch Viet Cong personnel crossing the river in order to transport troops or supplies.<br />
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The training consisted of four break-in patrols where I would ride along with a senior Patrol Officer, followed by patrols thereafter on my own. On my last night break-in patrol I suddenly heard a boom and then everyone started shooting. (We had been attacked, I later learned with a B-40 RPG.) I instantly felt the most overwhelming feeling of helpless vulnerability imaginable. I felt totally exposed, "naked" to injury and death. I was standing on the engine covers, the highest point you could stand with nothing between me and incoming death. It was crystal clear to me that I could be killed at any instant. Indeed, the bullet that would render my hopes and dreams for my life a mere puff of air may have already left the barrel of a rifle. My whole body shaking, I somehow managed to pick up an M-16, flip off the safety and start shooting back. Even though it felt much better to be doing <i>something</i> I still felt the undeniable reality that at any instant I could be rendered a pile of flesh.<br />
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When I spoke of vulnerability in my last post, this is the experience I am talking about. Different than fear, though fear is obviously a part of it. It is the knowledge that you are not in control of your fate/your life. I believe this knowledge is particularly difficult for young men to accept. Indeed, I believe it is so threatening that most men commit a form of suicide in order to protect themselves.<br />
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As you might imagine, I was quite scared to assume my position as XO in a combat division. Any qualms I had were only reinforced as I flew up the river in a helicopter from Saigon to my base. I will never forget the sight of the river, totally pockmarked with craters, dead trees everywhere, nothing moving. Yet as scared as I was, the men of my division scared me even more.<br />
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It's not that they were a bunch of bloodthirsty gangsters. They were simply dead. They had <u>no</u> life to them. No emotion, no affect at all. No pleasure, no connection. When they spoke, it was robotic, saying what needed to be said and no more. They seemed to be actual zombies. Indeed, I was so frightened of them, the fate for me they represented, that I did what I had never done before, wrote a letter to my father (a fomer naval officer) asking for help. I did not want to become like them.<br />
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I have come to believe that their emotional suicide was a defense against the ever presence of death. By being already dead, they tried to rob death of its power. Death was not so terrifying if life isn't much anyway. This self death made it just barely possible to go back out on patrol after having had the experience of helpless vulnerability to the loss of everything.<br />
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Yet a strange thing happened after my first firefight. When we got back to the base the men went through an amazing transformation. They became alive, friendly, celabatory. The beer came out and there was a party. The ribbon on my black beret was cut to symbolize I had "lost my cherry." Story after story of previous firefights were told, the whole history of the division. And then the next morning everything was the same, back to zombie. It was as if the beer had been a dessert rain, producing a brief flowering. The rain came after each firefight when no one was hurt. When the VC starting hitting us harder there were no more parties. Yet, strangely, these men came to seem to me to be the best bunch of men in the world.<br />
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When Churchill said "There is nothing so exhilarating as to be fired upon without effect" he is correct but incomplete. He fails to mention that the cost of the exhilaration is the fearsome vulnerability that precedes it. In my next post I'll say more about how the experience of vulnerability affects veterans when they return to the world.<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>."<br />
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<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-39090998525104620072012-08-07T10:09:00.001-05:002013-07-09T17:09:37.367-05:00Some important issues combat veterans struggle withIn thirteen years of working with veterans at Walter Reed, you'd think I would have learned something. Well I did, but unfortunately, at the same time I was developing that disability associated with "maturity" known as CRS: can't remember stuff. So I'd find myself in sessions knowing I knew what was going on but unable to remember how to best name or understand the issue. As a result, I invented a mnemonic for myself that enabled me to call up what I thought were the central issues faced by those struggling with the effects of war and combat. Since it might be useful for others, I'll share it here.<br />
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BRAVE</div>
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There, I hope that helps. ;>)</div>
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Betrayal</div>
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If I had to say the one issue I believe is universally common to those diagnosed with PTSD, I think I'd go with betrayal. It is almost always a central thread of the story of a veteran's experience. Most frequently the veteran describes his/her experience of being betrayed by a superior who's job it was to "look out for" the veteran (or his/her comrades.) Sometimes "God" is seen as having betrayed an implicit compact. Examining the betrayal in detail is an important part of the work. Having said this, I recognize I've said a tenth part of what could be said about this issue. In this and the others below, I'm just giving the briefest of overviews of the issues. I could (and will) say much more about them. For now, I mainly want to bring them to you attention.</div>
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Responsibility</div>
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You don't come back from war without some questions of responsibility/guilt. Each person has their own, private knowledge of what they did that they shouldn't have or didn't do when they should have. There is always more one could/should do. Even the smallest actions can have horrendous consequences. When someone dies anyone involved feels responsible to some degree. And our tendency to want to have an explanation for events leads the finger to point somewhere, often at ourselves. Yet at the same time, truly accepting responsibility for our actions in the chaos and moral fog of war is a daunting challenge, especially since we so often overlook the compassion to which we are all entitled.</div>
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Avoidance</div>
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Of the "symptoms" of PTSD, this is the class easiest for most to recognize as really adaptive behaviors. I remember a veteran who would drive miles out of his way back home to avoid going over a bridge. If what happened to him on bridges in Iraq also happened to you and me, we'd all be forming a convoy taking the long route. Yet this is also the issue that is, in many ways, the most dangerous. The trouble with avoidance is that it's usually successful and therefore keeps you stuck. You'd think the person who could find the courage to do the things they did in combat could easily deal with his/her fears back in the world. But it's one thing to do what you "have" to, another to do it for yourself.</div>
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Vulnerability</div>
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Whenever I make this list for myself, I always debate which is the most crucial, the one that plays the biggest part in keeping people stuck. For men, at least, I most frequently land on the avoidance of vulnerability. Men are, I believe, genetically predisposed to deny their vulnerability (their worldwide double risk of death by auto accident is a bit of evidence in support.) The first fire fight frequently shatters their believe in their invulnerability and though they've got nothing to replace it, they must still go out on patrol and face their fear again and again. When their daughter runs into the street, swamped once again with vulnerability and helplessness, they go immediately to the only defense at hand: rage. This reluctance to tolerate feeling vulnerable makes intimate relationships near impossible. And makes life in our crowed social world a huge challenge. The avoidance of feeling vulnerable is, I believe, the main reason so many veterans are attracted to the idea of retreating to "the woods."</div>
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Entitlement</div>
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Here's another tough cookie. In the "Official Version" of reality, soldiers are all about duty, loyalty, selfless service. Yet, as I sometimes reminded them "You were a person before you became a soldier and someday you will be a person again." And people want things for themselves. In the military culture, however, powerful mores prohibit acknowledging self-interest with a result that much of it goes "underground:" there, but it won't be acknowledged. </div>
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War, however, even though truly hell, still provides many opportunities for pride where one can perform prodigious feats under the worst possible circumstances. Though officially "just" doing their duty, is it really possible not to feel some pride and some wish to be acknowledged? Read the account of Achilles finally routing the Trojans and I don't believe you will believe he expects nothing for what he has done. But he certainly says nothing of it.</div>
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I believe it is impossible to come back from combat without some sense of entitlement, which, when unacknowledged, frequently leads to difficulties in relationships, work, and sometimes leads to an endless effort to wrest "benefits" from the military/VA. (The quotes are to indicate not that they aren't entitled to benefits, but that there may also be more to it than that.)</div>
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Obviously this is not an "all inclusive" list and I will address some in more detail later. I would also love to hear any comments, questions, doubts, criticisms, etc. Give me something to respond to.<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." </div>
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Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-78911749068266551842012-07-24T11:48:00.000-05:002013-07-09T17:10:06.783-05:00"Thank you for your service."Recently a segment on MSNBC described Rush Limbaugh's efforts to dodge the draft during Viet Nam and that he never volunteered after he got a high lottery number. Nothing particularly troubling in that. However, now he is an avid hawk, belligerently supporting every war, and calling for more. When I heard the piece, my response was "Go ahead Rush, thank <u>me</u> for my service." If you can't hear it clearly, I was angered and deadly sarcastic.<br />
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I have a lot of respect for the impetus behind the present convention/practice of thanking veterans for their service. In no small part this is because as a Viet Nam vet, I wasn't exactly thanked. So I was appreciative of the maturing of the American culture where we learned to separate whatever feelings we had about a particular war from our feelings about those who fight it. Yet I know from my own feelings and my years of experience helping Veterans at Walter Reed that thanking and being thanked is a much more complicated matter than it appears.<br />
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Almost universally, veterans thanked for their service by a stranger report their response is to smile, nod, raise a hand, or verbally respond positively. But when deeper feelings can be acknowledged in the safety of a therapeutic group, another side sometimes comes out.<br />
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Some describe feeling that it is meaningless because they were just doing their job. Others complain about the impersonal nature of the thanks, feeling it's done more for the thanker than it is for them. And there are a lot stronger response still:<br />
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"F#$@ you! Don't <u>thank</u> me, go do you share."<br />
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"If you had any idea what it was really like, you'd know how meaningless and empty that sounds." <br />
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"That's it, 'Thank you' that repays what?"<br />
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"Where were you when the decision to send us over was made?"<br />
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"You want to thank me? Then give me back my old self... take away this grief (or guilt)...<br />
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This and more I've heard from veterans, and not just "loosers" but men and women I respected for their honest efforts to come to terms with their experience of war.<br />
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I know what I'm reporting here is extremely controversial and many will be outraged by my saying it, going as it does against the grain of the primary military value of self-sacrifice. But in order for soldiers to self-sacrifice, i.e., willingly risk their lives following orders, three things are necessary: They must believe in the justness of their cause, that their leaders are concerned about their welfare, and that their fellow soldiers can be trusted. If any of those are violated then self-sacrifice becomes suicide. For those not so inclined, cynicism (and rage) may be the only protection.<br />
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So if you've come to believe that the justification for your war was false/specious/self-serving, what would it be like to be thanked for your service, as though you gave it willingly? When you've come to continue doing it because you'd be killed or imprisoned if you didn't and to keep faith with your fellow soldiers? And if you come to believe that your leaders were more concerned for their safety or careers than your welfare, could the sweetness of thanks quench the bitterness of betrayal?<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank"> </a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>."<br />
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<br />Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-18632443357539745162012-07-17T09:49:00.000-05:002013-07-09T17:10:51.328-05:00On the reification of traumaTrauma is a word borrowed from medicine where it means the damage caused to tissue by the application of energy, e.g, blunt force trauma is damaged cause by hitting a body with a blunt object such as a baseball bat. This is a different kind of damage than that caused by, say, a bullet, though both are trauma. Indeed, the nature of the damage can tell us something about the causative agent. My objection to the diagnosis of PTSD is largely based on my objection to the idea of damage and it's inevitability implied by the concept of trauma.<br />
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The damage done by a bullet is pretty much (I say facetiously) independent of the person struck. It depends almost entirely on the characteristics of the bullet: its caliber, velocity, trajectory, impact point, etc. Two people hit the same way will generally suffer similar damage. Yet this is clearly not true about the effects of combat (or other severe stressors) on people. For example, at the grossest level, research shows that no matter how trauma is operationally defined (in a combat zone, shot at, wounded, etc.) most of the time most people "exposed" to "the trauma" don't develop PTSD. Yet one frequently hears discussions about combat, of even just being in a war zone, as if it is inherently "traumatic" for virtually everyone. I think this is an effect of what I see as the reification of the psychological concept of trauma.<br />
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The damage done by a bullet is a real, objective thing. It can be seen, and cause and effect relationships are easily established. Not so for psychological "trauma." Exactly what is "damaged" by killing another person? Or being terrified? Or seeing a battle buddy killed? Is any of these inherently damaging? And even if so, surely not the same "thing" is damaged in all three cases. Would it be the same for different people "exposed" to each of these? Indeed, could there ever be the same "exposure" for different people, even to the "same" event?<br />
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Consider two humvees on patrol when one is struck by a rocket propelled grenade that, let's say, kills one person in the first humvee. Looking at each person's experience, it quickly becomes apparent that even though everyone there was at the same event, their "exposures" differ radically. Indeed, every difference in situation, conduct, relationship, and history (and more) will make a substantial difference in what each experiences and must deal with.<br />
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Note first the huge difference in being in the first humvee or in the second. Those in the first may well see their comrade die before their eyes, perhaps disappear "in a pink mist." But even then, not necessarily. Depending on where each is sitting and where they were looking and what they were doing, what they initially see could be quite different. And the people in the second humvee will only hear of this later.<br />
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If the soldier didn't die immediately then who did what when can matter a great deal. Did others provide first aid or not? If not, why not? In either case their may be intense feelings. For example, the person who did provide aid my feel guilt when the victim dies. And the person who didn't may feel ashamed for not doing so. <br />
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But these gross, obvious differences only begin to scratch the surface of all the differences that could make a difference. Did someone have the job of being the lookout for ambushes? Did everyone return fire or not? Was this the first casualty each has seen? Or the twentieth? Was this someone's best friend? Had they just had a fight? Does someone else despise the deceased? What experience has each had before the war with death? With vulnerability? What degree of loving support has each experienced in their life? Etc, etc, and so forth.<br />
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Given all these potentially highly significant differences between the experiences of people, it is, I believe, completely erroneous to believe that the <i>characteristics of the external event per se</i> give us any useful information about its impact on the individual. Yet every time someone talks about "the trauma" or the "exposure" this is, to some degree, what they are doing. <br />
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What I have said here will, no doubt, be obvious to many. Yet it is, I believe, another way that the concept of "trauma" has coarsened and dimmed our understanding of what veterans must cope with following combat and thereby lessened the effectiveness of our efforts to assist them.<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-17955349737054883282012-07-10T09:14:00.000-05:002013-07-09T17:11:21.514-05:00ONE of the problems with "vulnerability"Lying somewhere on the cutting room floor of Psychotherapy Networker is nearly half of the original article I wrote. That part dealt with the other half of Lao Tzu's statement (<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2012/07/whenever-we-loose-great-way-we-get.html" target="_blank">see previous post</a>), the righteous error.<br />
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When faced with trying to understand why some (but not all) of those exposed to the horrors of war "get" PTSD, many of us choose the idea of "vulnerability" as the favored explanation. The idea being that some event(s) in the person's past made him/her more susceptible to the "damaging" effects of combat (or other awful events.) I will have more to say about what I believe are the deficiencies of this idea in later posts but want to illustrate its dangers but telling a story from my time at Walter Reed.<br />
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One day my administrator, a retired Army Sargent Major, came to me distressed after attending a lecture by a therapist, an author of a book on war and PTSD. The author had described the research linking difficult upbringings (abuse, neglect, etc) with subsequent combat PTSD. "He shouldn't have said that," my administrator said, "even if it's true. In the Army that will come to mean those with symptoms will be seen as previously damaged, already broken, and that's why they're sick."<br />
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My administrator was pointing, I believe, to a fundamentally important dynamic about how we respond to those who don't "bounce back" after horrific events. You and I don't really think we're likely to get schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder or some other serious mental illness after we've reached adulthood. But PTSD is different. All of us harbor some concern about our ability to handle the very worst that life has to offer. Who among us would "guarantee" our ability to come back from, say, the brutal slaying of our loved ones, or worse? Knowing how we judge others who "fail," we fear others' judgements and seek ways to reassure ourselves we'd do better. "Vulnerability" provides just what we're looking for. By seeing those with problems as having them because of pre-existing "deficiencies" we can tell ourselves what happened to them won't happen to us. Useful if you're headed into combat.<br />
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I'll have much more to say about vulnerability in later posts, but for now can you smell the hints of contempt, the righteousness behind the concept?<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a><br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>."Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-31615536893709219162012-07-03T17:59:00.002-05:002015-08-13T14:07:05.451-05:00The Great Way and PTSD"Whenever we loose the Great Way, we get benevolence or righteousness."<br />
Lao Tsu<br />
<br />
This quote is a central touchstone for me, both for therapy in general, but especially for my work with Vets with PTSD. But if you're like me, you may not be at all clear about what it means on first reading. That quote was originally the epigram for my article about PTSD but it didn't make it into the edited version published in the Psychotherapy Networker (<a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd" target="_blank">viewable here</a>). In fact, I considered my original article an attempt to illustrate the meaning of Lao Tzu's statement. With this and subsequent posts I'll show what the quote means and how useful it is as a guide to therapy (and life!)<br />
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A careful reading of the PN article would reveal that it is really a warning about one side of Lao's statement: the benevolent side. The "Great Way" refers to what we know as the Tao, from Taoism. It is Lao Tzu's description of the essential way of living, more of a philosophy than a religion. Leaving aside for the moment a definition of this "Great Way", how could benevolence be bad? We're taught to think of benevolence as a good thing, like doing things for others or being kindly. But Lao Tzu knew otherwise.<br />
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In my article you'll note I talk about the effects of a kind of "helping" that, in my view, crosses a line from caring for or about a person to taking care of the person. Indeed, I suggest much of the motive behind the PTSD diagnosis was attempt to lessen the stigma associated with having troubles after combat by saying it was wound <u>caused</u> by combat. Though this may sound like a good thing, my article describes some of the risks of doing so. But Lao Tzu shows us that benevolence, is an attitude of superiority, of something flowing from a better to a lessor. As though somebody <u>needs</u> our help. This is a subtle but important distinction about which there is much to say.<br />
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<a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">Roy Clymer</a> <br />
<br />
For the background and context for these remarks, please read my article
on PTSD published in the Psychotherapy Networker which can be found
here <a href="http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd">http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/recentissues/1151-the-puzzle-of-ptsd</a> or see a copy of it found on this blog titled "<a href="http://effectsofcombat.blogspot.com/2011/02/puzzle-of-ptsd.html" target="_blank">The Puzzle of PTSD</a>." Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4349203474150839761.post-52151404334223760962012-07-03T17:22:00.001-05:002012-11-05T10:56:34.060-06:00My private practiceI've recently decided to start a private practice in Austin focusing on PTSD, men's issues, and health. As part of that effort, I'm energized to begin posting on this blog again. I'll be talking about how veterans and PTSD are portrayed in the media as well as a discussion about how to treat PTSD. I intend to make it interesting.<br />
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You can make referrals via my <a href="http://royclymer.com/" target="_blank">website here</a>.Dr. Roy Clymerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06231889670744010019noreply@blogger.com0