July 3, 2009Apparently, the poor woman knows not what she does. The following news item by Gale Chester Whittington is dedicated to Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern, who issued a “Proclamation for Morality” July 2, 2009, blaming the world’s financial crisis on “abortion, same sex marriage, and many other forms of debauchery.”
Ultra-Conservatism Linked to Missing Gene
By Gale Chester Whittington
Through no fault of their own, some humans come into the world bearing a handicap—the inability to understand others. It has long been assumed by the downtrodden that those who don’t show compassion are just plain mean. But a new University of Daily Living longitudinal study indicates political ultraconservatives and religious fundamentalists lack a gene that enables empathy.
In 1981, First Lady Nancy Reagan remarked, “It is appalling to see parades . . . claiming ‘gay pride’ and all that. What in the world do they have to be proud of?” Few people faulted her for ending the sentence with a preposition, but many reacted with indignation over her lack of understanding. How were they to know she literally couldn’t help thinking her way of life was the only “correct” one?
This new study may lead the way for society to become more compassionate about fundamentalist behavior. Preliminary results reveal that these unfortunate souls have inherited DNA that lacks a gene enabling them to imagine they could ever be in the shoes of others.
The same missing gene may also be linked to the inability to temper fear of the unfamiliar with common sense configuration. Follow up studies are needed to prove conclusively that ultraconservatives are phobic by birth, however. Previously, it was believed parents and preachers taught intolerance to their children. The recently released studies now indicate self-delusion—usually blocked by the newly discovered empathy gene carried by most people—runs rampant in fundamentalists.
Dating back to the days of tribal rivalry, the traditional thinking that such behavior was learned allowed the self-absorbed to rationalize the fear/hatred of tribes or lifestyles different from their own. Considering such attitudes necessary for the survival of the species, the dominant tribe or religion attempted to isolate and humiliate those they didn’t understand, regardless of the resulting oppression or torture. Indeed, some even reveled in the pain of minorities, delighting in it for entertainment purposes.
Denying civil rights and/or medicine to those they fear allows persons without the gene to maintain a false sense of security. Behaviorists caution, however, that society must keep up its guard, that understanding the reason people hate should not automatically result in tolerance of the resultant oppression. Rather than coddling those without this gene, the world community must keep up its vigilance against all manifestations of scorn.
For lack of a better name, researchers have dubbed the syndrome “bigotry.” Hope is on the horizon, however. Now that scientists know the root cause, it will be possible to develop “target-on” chemicals to stimulate the brain to undergo electro-chemical reactions to produce a more humane view of those who are different, poor, or ill.
Results of medical experiments with a new drug, christened “Enlightenment,” have so far been highly variable. Trials among lifelong traditionalists from fundamentalist lines of families show that most surreptitiously avoid taking the drug, often touting aloud the benefits of understanding while secretly bathing in the gratification that hate and self-righteousness provide.
Free speech aficionados and minorities are cautioned that until all persons in positions of power or influence who lack this gene have been identified and helped, protective safeguards should not be withdrawn. Risks of allowing their unchecked behavior to run rampant include their clever ability to seize power through deception, such as by extolling “passionate conservatism.”
They have been known to send large groups of suspected detractors to isolated secret prisons around the world without benefit of communication. Those not incarcerated are often denied basic civil rights, including the right to medicine and marriage, should they be outside the lines of the fundamentalist narrow, self-righteous view of acceptable behavior. To suppress their own urges toward the very things they criticize in others, they often proselytize twice as loud as anyone else.
All applied psychological and medical therapies should engage close monitoring, as studies show people without the gene don’t believe intolerance is wrong, but rather they are convinced that suppression of those who are “different” protects society. This can result in fundamentalists pretending to take the medicine, only to spit it out when the caregivers turn their backs.
Behaviorists caution that until the congenital defect can be reconfigured, those who care about others can only continue to offer the ultraconservative fundamentalist victims Enlightenment therapy until each and every one gains the world-saving power to imagine themselves in the shoes of others.
In 1981, First Lady Nancy Reagan remarked, “It is appalling to see parades . . . claiming ‘gay pride’ and all that. What in the world do they have to be proud of?” Few people faulted her for ending the sentence with a preposition, but many reacted with indignation over her lack of understanding. How were they to know she literally couldn’t help thinking her way of life was the only “correct” one?
This new study may lead the way for society to become more compassionate about fundamentalist behavior. Preliminary results reveal that these unfortunate souls have inherited DNA that lacks a gene enabling them to imagine they could ever be in the shoes of others.
The same missing gene may also be linked to the inability to temper fear of the unfamiliar with common sense configuration. Follow up studies are needed to prove conclusively that ultraconservatives are phobic by birth, however. Previously, it was believed parents and preachers taught intolerance to their children. The recently released studies now indicate self-delusion—usually blocked by the newly discovered empathy gene carried by most people—runs rampant in fundamentalists.
Dating back to the days of tribal rivalry, the traditional thinking that such behavior was learned allowed the self-absorbed to rationalize the fear/hatred of tribes or lifestyles different from their own. Considering such attitudes necessary for the survival of the species, the dominant tribe or religion attempted to isolate and humiliate those they didn’t understand, regardless of the resulting oppression or torture. Indeed, some even reveled in the pain of minorities, delighting in it for entertainment purposes.
Denying civil rights and/or medicine to those they fear allows persons without the gene to maintain a false sense of security. Behaviorists caution, however, that society must keep up its guard, that understanding the reason people hate should not automatically result in tolerance of the resultant oppression. Rather than coddling those without this gene, the world community must keep up its vigilance against all manifestations of scorn.
For lack of a better name, researchers have dubbed the syndrome “bigotry.” Hope is on the horizon, however. Now that scientists know the root cause, it will be possible to develop “target-on” chemicals to stimulate the brain to undergo electro-chemical reactions to produce a more humane view of those who are different, poor, or ill.
Results of medical experiments with a new drug, christened “Enlightenment,” have so far been highly variable. Trials among lifelong traditionalists from fundamentalist lines of families show that most surreptitiously avoid taking the drug, often touting aloud the benefits of understanding while secretly bathing in the gratification that hate and self-righteousness provide.
Free speech aficionados and minorities are cautioned that until all persons in positions of power or influence who lack this gene have been identified and helped, protective safeguards should not be withdrawn. Risks of allowing their unchecked behavior to run rampant include their clever ability to seize power through deception, such as by extolling “passionate conservatism.”
They have been known to send large groups of suspected detractors to isolated secret prisons around the world without benefit of communication. Those not incarcerated are often denied basic civil rights, including the right to medicine and marriage, should they be outside the lines of the fundamentalist narrow, self-righteous view of acceptable behavior. To suppress their own urges toward the very things they criticize in others, they often proselytize twice as loud as anyone else.
All applied psychological and medical therapies should engage close monitoring, as studies show people without the gene don’t believe intolerance is wrong, but rather they are convinced that suppression of those who are “different” protects society. This can result in fundamentalists pretending to take the medicine, only to spit it out when the caregivers turn their backs.
Behaviorists caution that until the congenital defect can be reconfigured, those who care about others can only continue to offer the ultraconservative fundamentalist victims Enlightenment therapy until each and every one gains the world-saving power to imagine themselves in the shoes of others.
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Photo of pink Hagley Hybird Clematis Vine blossom from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos59Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author
==copyright 2009==
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