Knowing Others is Intelligence; Knowing Yourself is True Wisdom

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power" - Lao-Tzu

Yesterday in English class, we talked about our own "shadows". My teacher explained that when we were young children, our parents most likely told us encouraging things like "You're so much calmer than other children. You're the best." or "You're so much more outgoing that the other children. You're the best". These adjectives are opposites. So while the calm child is rewarded for being calm, they are also being told not to be outgoing. While the outgoing child is rewarded for being outgoing, he or she is also being told not to be calm. These things that "we are not" become our shadows. Our feelings towards people that represent our shadows fall into one of two categories, both of which are intense. You either find yourself being incredible bothered and annoyed by these people, or you fall in love with them. Remember, opposites attract! In class we were asked to make a T-Chart of what we are and what we are not. Below is my chart.

    I am                                                I am not
__________________________________________

                                                                                 

* strong                                        *weak

* rule-follower                                *funny

*clumsy                                        *focused

* smart                                         *outgoing

*forgetful                                       *productive

*stubborn                                     *a quitter

*quiet                                           *wild

*determined                                  *troublemaker

                                                                       

                                                                           

                                                                              

After class, I decided to take a personality test to see how well it matches up with the list I made. The results from this test told me I had the personality type ISTJ. All personality types fit into four 'temperments'. I was classified as a Guardian, and more specifically, an Inspector. An Inspector in a nutshell is superdependable, responsible, patient, dedicated, quiet, are most likely involved in community service, and follow the rules. As I read the description of an Inspector, it mentioned that because these people follow the rules, they are often musjudged as "having ice in thier veins" or "being hard-hearted". I couldn't stop laughing as I read this because my dad is always saying I'm cold-hearted. Most of the description was amazingly similar to the list I developed in class. Keep in mind that I had about 5 minutes to compile this list. While I seem to know myself pretty well, I still find it's helpful to read a description about yourself. Some personality traits seemed annoying as I read about them, and now I realize that other people that have a different personality than me might think so too. I encourage everyone to take this  test and find out more about themselves. Improving your understanding of yourself can help you maintain the relationships you have and your relationship with yourself.

A Trap is Only a Trap If You Don't Know About It

“A trap is only a trap if you don't know about it. If you know about it, it's a challenge" -China Miêville

Why do we do what we do? Do the poorest countries in the world choose to be trapped in a continuous struggle of internal conflict? Recently, I've been reading The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier. It focuses on the poorest countries on the planet and explores their past and present economic and political situations. Each of these counties has fallen into one of four traps that keeps them in an endless cycle of internal struggles. These countries fell victim to a certain set of circumstances and cannot seem to find a way out. Conflict, natural resources, bad governance and being landlocked are the four traps identified by Collier. I'm going to explore how Russia does, or does not, fall into these traps. 

The Conflict Trap

The Russia-Georgia conflict, the 1st and 2nd Chechen Wars, and the current conflict in Syria are on the list of major conflicts Russia has been involved in since it's establishment in 1991. Russia has generally remained strong internally, and has avoided civil war since branching off from the USSR. Not one of these major conflicts, nor any others, have caused Russia to collapse economically and fall into the Conflict Trap. 

The Natural Resource Trap

Some people that natural resources automatically means wealth. Natural resources can be profitable if used correctly, but if a country has an abundance of natural resources and fails to manage them effectively, they can fall into the natural resource trap. Some countries fight about resources within their own country, while others can't figure out how to export and distribute them effectively. Russia is rich in oil, gas, coal, and timber. Most of these resources are located in remote areas that are difficult to reach, but Russia has managed to extract them and remain a leading producer and exporter of minerals, gold and fuel. In 2010, Russia exported $376.7 billion worth of natural resources and imported $191.8 billion. Being such a strong exporter in the world economy, it would be hard to imagine Russia falling victim to the Natural Resource Trap explained by Collier. 


The Bad Governance Trap


Collier makes the claim that countries that have bad governance can grow and maintain reasonable economic policies, like Bangladesh, the most corrupt country in the world. Bad governance can also cause a crash an economy in the blink of an eye. Still, it's important to note that having a good government can only do so much. The economic growth rate plateaus around 10%, no matter how good your government is. For bad governance to drag the nation into the bottom billion, it needs "qualifiers". Bad governance alone will most likely not cause a country to fall into a continuous cycle of struggle. 

Russia, no matter how bad it's government is, does not meet these other qualifications. Russia has a population of 142,517,670 and became independent of the USSR when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Russia's education system is ranked 20th in the recent ranking published by the Economist and has produced nearly 100% literacy. Its per capita GDP is $17,000. The variables that keep a country from falling into the Bad Governance trap include a large population, high income, and a greater proportion of people with a substantial education. Judging by the statistics, Russia probably won't be falling into this trap anytime soon. 


The Landlocked Trap

Being surrounded by poor neighbors can be detrimental to a country's international trade and growth. Being as large as it is, Russia has many neighbors. Some of these neighbors include Kazakhstan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Finland. None of these neighbors have had enough of an economic impact on Russia to cause an economic collapse or any significant impact on trade. Like i mentioned in the Natural Resource Trap, Russia is one of the world's largest exporters. 

While Russia may be gradually falling into other traps not explained by Collier in the Bottom Billion, it has managed steered clear of these four major traps. Russia is a strong nation internally and has healthy international relationships. For now, the Russians are optimistic about their future as a successful country. The countries that have found themselves in the bottom billion have most likely developed learned helplessness, and will need help seeing a way out. So does this mean they're choosing to stay in the Bottom Billion? I believe they are truly trapped and will need help unlearning this helplessness some of these poor countries have developed. 

Immigration is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

"Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery" - Jack Paar

A hot topic in the United States in recent years has been immigration, particularly illegal immigration. Some Americans whine and cry and do everything they can to establish a secure border between the U.S. and Mexico. When these Americans think of immigration they think about "hopping the border". These people might identify with the quote, “a nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation”, said by Ronald Reagan.

What they don't usually think about are people who do not choose to come to America. People who would rather stay in their homelands, but can't because of political turmoil. People classified as refugees.

In life, there are a number of needs we, as human beings, need to satisfy. According to Abraham Maslow, those needs can be assembled in a pyramid that looks like this:

Photo Source

At the base of the pyramid we can find physiological needs. These needs include hunger, thirst, bodily comforts, etc.. In countries with great amounts of political turmoil, people's basic physiological needs are often not being met. This creates an atmosphere of distress, and forces the country's people to seek refuge. If they can't satisfy their physiological needs, at least partially, they can't go on to satisfy safety needs. Safety and physiological needs are especially vital to survival, and without proper access to the resources needed to satisfy those needs, these people will be forced to find them elsewhere.

America welcomes refugees with a different attitude than is given towards illegal immigrants. But is this fair? Illegal immigrants are leaving their home for some reason. Some of their needs aren't being satisfied in their homeland. Chances are those needs don't have to do with self-actualizaion or trancendence. More likely, they have to do with safety or maybe even physiological needs. Illegal immigrants come to America not only to find the "American Dream", but they come to America to satisfy their basic needs. Keeping this in mind, does the connotation of "Illegal Immigrant" become more like that of a "Refugee"?

If life was good where they lived, people wouldn't go to such great lengths to come to America. Instead of viewing these people as "invaders" in our land, maybe people can start viewing them as human beings trying to thrive. Just people trying to meet their biological needs in the land of opportunity.

So like I said earlier through the words of Jack Paar, "Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery". 

He Who Influences the Thought of His Times Influences The Times That Follow

"He who influences the thought of his times influences the times that follow" - Elbert Hubbard 

Election times are near, and it got me thinking. How do we really choose who to vote for? Can we effectively look at policies objectively? Candidates use psychological tactics in attempt to influence voters' thoughts, and often times, voters fall for it. 


One way to get more support is to make the opponent look bad. This is possible by using push polls. When surveys are given out, a hypothetical question is phrased in a way that fabricates negative information about one candidate. Push polls can heavily influence push polls. To find out more information or see some examples, visit The Yale Scientific Magazine.


There are other factors that influence voters too. Unfortunately, some are a bit shallow. Psychology Today claims that some voters choose the candidate based on physical appearance. When people for one country given a pictures of two candidates from another and told to choose one to be the leader, people often chose the candidate that was winning, even though they knew nothing about the two candidates. It turns out everyone is a little more superficial than they would like to admit. 

People, especially in America, also vote for a specific candidate solely because of their party affiliation. Americans live in the world of Democrats vs. Republicans. Deep down, a die hard democrat might want to vote for a republican candidate one year, but can't because they feel obligated to stick with their party.


American's are privileged to have the opportunity to vote. Not only should every American make the effort to vote, but they should vote honestly as well. People should spend a little effort learning about the policies and trying to decide which candidate to vote for based on that instead of party lines. As good as that sounds, it isn't likely to happen


The truth is, no matter how much we may want to believe it, we are influenced by many things. Campaigns, surveys, physical appearances, parties and many other things can change the way we vote. If people could vote objectively, many elections would have turned out differently.

To Say "I Love You" One Must Know First How to Say "I"

“To say "I love you" one must know first how to say the "I".” -Ayn Rand

Could you be a bully?

How do we define “bullying”? According to Merriam-Webster, bullying means “to treat abusively” or “to affect by means of force or coercion”. Does that mean bullying has to be physical? Can it be verbal as well? And what about cyber-bullying? The Centers for Disease Control and Protection qualifies bullying as anything including direct attacks such as hitting, name calling or teasing, as well as indirect attacks, such as spreading rumors. Is it possible that we could be bullying someone and not even know it? Someone you know may seem like a stable, moral person, but if they have ever spread a rumor about someone else, they helped make that person feel rejected and humiliated, even if they didn’t start the rumor. Sometimes harmless joking goes a little too far. Think about it, how often does the joke become a serious matter? If it happens often, it might be time to re-evaluate your thought process.

The act of bullying dates at least back to the 1800s, when Sigmund Freud wrote his famous paper, The Neuro-psychoses of Defense. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of the defense mechanism is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a mental process initiated unconsciously to avoid experiencing conflict of anxiety”. There are seven major defense mechanisms used by psychoanalysts today.

Repression

React Formation

Projection 

Regression

Sublimation

Denial

Rationalization

(To find out more about defense mechanisms or see where I got some of my information, visit Defense Mechanisms)

The defense mechanism most prevalent to bullying is projection. Projection in this sense basically means that the bully takes his or her feelings of anger or insecurity and subconsciously transforms them so they recognize the feeling as if it came from someone else. For example, if Billy really doesn’t like someone, he may project his feelings onto him or her, and he will actually think that person doesn’t like him (Projection). The so-called bully may not even be aware that they are experiencing feelings of hatred, low self-esteem, jealousy or resentment.

This is what makes bullying so dangerous. The people picking on others may not be aware of the harm they are causing. Even if they are aware of the situation, they probably don’t know why they treat others poorly. Something needs to be done to make bullies aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it. The psychological effects on children that have been picked on or abused by peers are tremendous. This is not a problem only seen in the United States. Victims of bullying are suffering in Asia, Latin America, Europe and America. Bullying exists all over the world. Efforts have been made in every country to start anti-bullying programs, but will this be enough?

Bullying and harassment will be a part of every country, city and town in the world, no matter how effective anti-bullying programs may be. It’s in our best interest to spread the word and help people understand why kids get picked on by their peers.  

Challenge yourself to recognize the signs. They could be coming from you, your classmates, siblings or friends. Awareness is the first step to helping bullies around the world come to peace with their emotions. It would be difficult to learn to love others if they can't love themselves. 

Below are links to a few articles and videos about programs created around the world in response to bullying.

In the UK

In the US

In Latin America

In Japan

In Europe

Wonder is the Beginning of Wisdom

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom”- Socrates

Have you ever wondered why we do the things we do?

What makes us different from each other? 

What makes us the same?

  

I often find myself asking these questions, but I usually can't come up with an answer. This is why I want to dedicate the next year to answering questions like these as they come along. Rest assured, I won't be making up my own answers to all of these complicated questions. My information will come primarily from psychological studies, psychology class or English class.

The ideas and opinions that link us together as humans are the same things that make each individual unique. All parents guide their children in some way or another, but something drives them to have different parenting styles. Teachers also have different teaching styles. All marketing agencies use strategies to attract customers, but each product is advertised differently. All government candidates want more votes, but they don’t go about the campaigning process in the same way. I want to know what accounts for these differences. I want to know why we behave the way we do.

A better understanding of the human race can be found with the help of research studies and class materials. This journey will also help me find out more about myself. What better way is there to discover new things about myself than to first discover new things about the human race?

My name is Molly and I am on a journey to find out what makes humans tick.