Psychopaths and Monsters

 (Author note: Another from the archives. I'm not sure if this has been published, unfortunately my archives are a complete mess and requires a lot of guess work. In my files it's simply titled Psychopaths, and I can't find a corresponding or closely worded title on any of my published lists. It was written in 2007 or 2008, and I removed some old links to dated political information.) 

 

 

 

I spend a lot of time reading opinions and attempting to unravel the mysteries of all the barriers we place between us. I recognize that folks are different and that is the beauty part of the beast, but we have been taught that down deep we all share similarities. The dictionary defines the soul as “The animating and vital principle in humans, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion and often conceived as an immaterial entity” and the spirit as “The vital principle or animating force within living beings”. I once asked some religious people for the difference between the spirit and the soul and none could provide an answer, but for me, I define the soul as that spark of light inside and our spirit determines whether or not the spark becomes a flame. 

 

From the time of our birth we are told we are all alike, the differences between us are only visual. Medicine and science also confirm this idea, although we are men and women, young and old, and come from a variety of cultures and religions, basically we are the same, but I have wondered if we really are all the same. Do we all have souls? Do some possess neither the spark nor the flame? I think that the difference between us is deep below the surface, unseen, and it has nothing to do with race, culture, religion, or gender, and has everything to do with either having that spark or not having it.  

 

Some have suggested that those in power, relentless executives and politicians making the rules for us all to live by are psychopaths, which Dr Robert Hare, creator of the psychopathy checklist, describes as "social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets. Completely lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they selfishly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret." http://www.hare.org/  Often when we think of psychopaths we think of brutal criminals sitting in jail or receiving the death penalty for their unimaginable behaviors. And statistically we understand a lot of folks jailed for their criminal actions tend to come from poverty and abuse-ridden homes, but what happens to those young psychopaths born into grace and wealth?

 

John Lennon once said, “Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.” And I think he was correct, we live in a psychopathic world and we are being trained to become a psychopathic population. I think the mistake many make when thinking about psychopaths is we envision that they are sinister, murderous, and television has done a fine job of teaching us that they usually get caught. But the truth is psychopaths are charming, cold-blooded, superficial, and I am beginning to understand lacking both the spark and the flame. They are the movers, shakers, and climbers of the world, carelessly seeking their own agenda, while around them those with simple goals, conscience, and who feel compassion and empathy for their fellow man fall and flail and flounder. 

 

They hold power over us because we believe we are all the same, we believe we all possess the same emotions, so it is hard to imagine a view without those connections. I am coming to the conclusion that we do not all have the spark of light and for many who still do in these days of old, it is sputtering. This darkness is not a new thing on this earth, history and legends have always attempted to explain the lack and left us clues in scary stories of monsters, devils, aliens, zombies, and vampires. But what has been lost in translation is that on the surface those monsters look just like us, the calculating beast resides deep below what we are able to see. And because our lack of knowledge has made us blind, we follow the boogey men and our spark begins to sputter and die.

 

The psychopaths and monsters have taken over and they have convinced us that their way, full of lies and deceit, is the truth. And we believe because we cannot imagine that some folks are completely empty inside. They keep us distracted with work, sex, and fancy gadgets, and sooth us with convenient drugs. We quickly learn if we work very hard we can find God and our mansion, which can only be bought with lots of money.  We spend hours watching their magical and hypnotic box as they instruct us in the way we should go. We hand over our children earlier and earlier with each passing generation and then wonder why our children begin to grow to see us as the enemy. We, who carry the spark inside of us, are being conquered, divided, deceived, and extinguished at an unbelievable rate.

 

It seems we have come to believe that if it is not on television, then it is not the truth, as if those attempting to deceive us are going to tell us the truth. The television, and then the Internet, has been the evil-doers greatest success in molding a human, tearing down the moral fiber, dumbing down the population, and creating a sense of apathy, fear, division, and sedation among the people. Do we really believe that they, the ones without spark or flame, are going to inform us that our flame is in the process of being extinguished? How can we understand we are living in deception, yet accept that deception as truth?

 

With all the chaos occurring in our world, I wonder how many understand that underneath the chaos a spiritual battle is being waged. In these modern times, it is easy to believe that what is occurring is just a product of advanced civilization, a sign of the times of living in a terrorist era or a technological age, but the battle being fought under the surface is as old as time. A wise man once said that the path is a narrow one and as I look about the world and see how easily we have accepted the training to surrender our spark and accept this psychopathic way of being as normal, I understand that man spoke truth.   

 

As always, keep seeking.