While some mass shooters are psychotic or schizophrenic, only about five percent of violence in the United States can be attributed to people with mental illness. The rate of mental illness is higher---an estimated 20 percent---among rampage or serial killers. Most of the mass … [Read more...] about The Psychology Behind Mass Shootings
Search Results for: inner freedom
Our Messy Mix of Aggression and Passivity
Here we stand, aggressively destroying our planet while passively letting it happen. We simply don’t have a lot of insight into two primitive aspects of our mental and emotional functioning—aggression and passivity. Certainly we need some amount of aggression—make that healthy … [Read more...] about Our Messy Mix of Aggression and Passivity
Wallowing in the Lap of Bitterness
Bitterness is rat poison we feed our memories. It’s the tedious self-torture of desolation row. Bitterness cavorts with evil. It causes people to disown their children or to seek revenge, while it sends others off on maniacal shooting rampages. It shatters the political unity … [Read more...] about Wallowing in the Lap of Bitterness
The Psychological Roots of National Disunity
The moral philosophies of individualism and solidarity clash upon the withered plain, battling for the soul of America. Conservatives, for the most part, stand behind the former philosophy, while Liberals are tied to the latter. An intense conflict is disuniting the people, and … [Read more...] about The Psychological Roots of National Disunity
Why We Dither on Climate Change
I’ve been trying for some time to fathom the psychology of educated and supposedly sophisticated people who, in paralysis and resistance, are unwilling to respond rationally to the perils of global warming. We need to look deeply into the heart of this issue. Why haven’t … [Read more...] about Why We Dither on Climate Change