Trend or Isolated Incident? Depends.

"Some polling suggests that Americans view high-profile shootings as isolated events, not evidence of a broader problem in American society," quotes an article in the Washington Post.

This quote illustrates the point that, in a hierarchy, it makes a difference whether criminals are from a low group or a high group.  If there are some undesirable behaviors, real or perceived, among some in a lower group, most often this problem will get spread to all members of the group. But when there is detrimental behavior from members of a top group, it's not perceived as specific to a group, but as individual, unrelated instances.

Here's an example. If one person who is a lesbian or gay molests a child, all of a sudden there is a widespread cry for all lesbians or gay men to be banned from teaching school. Anita Bryant led a coalition called "Save our Children" that stirred up a nation-wide panic.

We've heard no one suggest that white males should be banned from teaching because they are most likely to bring a gun to school and shoot the students. Hierarchical position does make a difference in how we in this country perceive criminal behavior.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/2012/12/14/91940c90-4631-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.htm

Commitment

The United States Military Academy at West Point has hosted it's first same-sex marriage held in the Cadet Chapel.

Charlotte visited West Point in the early 1990's for a research project, and was impressed with how committed they appeared to be in providing equal opportunities for women. A faculty member explained that even though individuals at West Point may not have wanted women, once it was decided to admit women, the officers got behind the command to make it work, no questions asked. One story she remembers was that male cadets who heckled female cadets at a football game were immediately disciplined.

It looks like the same commitment has been made about equal opportunity for lesbians and gays. We are well aware that parts of the culture that are sexist and homophobic take generations to change, yet at least the command at West Point appears to be giving the right message.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/30/west-point-same-sex-marriage/1738665/

Medical Hierarchy

Even though we've been following the clues for decades, we've not commented on the huge amount of hierarchy in the Western medical system.

Here's some examples of clues:

1.  A very large amount of resources goes to the top of the system – to physicians, insurance company CEO's, and drug companies.

2.  There are higher people who can receive health care but many people who cannot afford it.

3.  We become dependent on medical institutions when we agree to over-medication and must keep coming back into the system to keep the prescriptions current.

4. The western medical system is physician-centered with the physician being viewed by some like a deity. There is much less emphasis on individual people taking control of their own health and believing the body can heal itself with appropriate care and time.

The medical hierarchy, just like any hierarchy, can be hazardous to your health. Danish researchers have found that annual physical examinations might actually have a negative impact on your health. Using a large study group of 183,000 people, they found that those who received regular check-ups were no less likely to die of cancer or heart disease than those who only saw their doctors when symptoms occurred. People who saw their doctors regularly were more likely to be diagnosed with diseases and to take prescribed medications - but those visits did not improve their health, and did increase unnecessary biopsies, surgeries, and other treatments.

Another study has found that mammograms have not been effective to catch deadly breast cancers. and more than a million women have been treated for cancers that are not life threatening. The article below, "spotlights a reality that is tough for many Americans to accept: Some abnormalities that doctors call "cancer" are not a health threat or truly malignant. There is no good way to tell which ones are, so many women wind up getting treatments like surgery and chemotherapy that they don't really need."

Because the medical system often operates as a hierarchy, we may want to use hierarchical tools to navigate our way through it. We can ask, "WHO'S BENEFITING?" when we are encouraged to hand over decisions about our body to someone else. We can do our own research and expect to be able to ask questions about the services we are paying for and being advised to accept. We can also seek out health professionals who aren't on top of the medical hierarchy, including those practicing alternative medicine.

http://women.webmd.com/news/20121012/health-checks-may-not-be-beneficial.

http://www.examiner.com/article/danish-study-disputes-need-for-annual-physicals

http://hosted2.ap.org/OREUG/health2/Article_2012-11-21-Breast%20Cancer-Mammograms/id-8817566f0c2e4faf959cf6f127915bc4

Men's Health

"I consider that there is a men's health crisis going on is this country," says Jo Davies,  a staff psychologist at the University of Oregon. Davies is the co-founder of the UO Men's Center, which is dedicated to promoting the physical, emotional, and social health of young men. He says, "We need to help men realize that it can be liberating to give up power and control – that choosing not to exercise power does not mean powerless."

Over that last half-century, women have established many centers to help them expand their options and to be more healthy.  It's wonderful to hear of men who are establishing centers to help men find the freedom from their restricted hierarchical roles.

http://www.registerguard.com/web/living/healthandfitness/28940252-57/davies-health-women-center-male.html.csp

Succession Solves the Budget Crisis?

While Romney claimed that Obama supporters are moochers, the fact is that in most of the red states that backed Romney, the amount of federal money they receive is more than what their residents pay in taxes.

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/opinion/milbank-secession-has-its-upsides/nS7QQ/

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/11/states-federal-taxes-spending-charts-maps

Hierarchical Programming

To keep people in their lower ranks of hierarchies, fear and unquestioned loyalty are essential.  Recent research shows a link between these two elements and political conservatives including the Republicans - the ones who are most actively supporting hierarchies.

Researchers have found that children whose parents believed that children "should always obey their parents," and people whose parents described them as being fearful and cautious were likely to vote conservative/Republican. Children whose parents believed that "children should be allowed to disagree with their parents" and who were active and restless as young children tended to prefer Democratic party policies later on.

Authoritarian attitudes and fearful temperaments produce conservatives who in turn produce hierarchies. Looks like it is a simple and predictable path.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/parenting-and-temperament-in-childhood-predict-later-political-ideology.html

Clueless Death Struggle Gains Traction

This week, we've seen two national columnists who use the word clueless when describing what we call hierarchy conservators and also describe the top as appearing to be in a death struggle.

"In its delusional death spiral, the white male patriarchy was so hard core, so redolent of country clubs and Cadillacs, it made little effort not to alienate women," writes Maureen Dowd. "And shocking as it may seem, his strategists weren't blowing smoke when they said they were going to win; they were just clueless."

Kathleen Parker describes the Republican convention: "If the latter sounds like something in the final stages of life, you're not far off." Later in the article, she writes, "More to the point, the GOP seems willfully clueless."

This website predicted this death struggle two years ago, based on social and political trends and hierarchy theory. The numerous articles about last weeks election, specifically the widespread discussions about the weakening of the white male patriarchy, is very encouraging. We're looking forward to continuing our work to make sure we move forward.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/opinion/sunday/dowd-romney-is-president.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kathleen-parker-republicans-undermined-their-own-candidate/2012/11/09/e858bb64-2a9f-11e2-96b6-8e6a7524553f_story.html