The American Psychosis: A Quasi-Psychoanalysis of America’s Racial Roots and Practice

Let me preface this analysis by making a full disclosure: I am in no way, shape, form, or fashion, nor do I claim to be, certified or trained in the field of psychiatry, psychology, or sociology (I did take a few psychology classes and Sociology 101 in college). Hence, that is why this is a ‘quasi-psychoanalysis.’ My field of training is theology and biblical studies, but the LORD God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary (Isaiah 50:4 ESV). This is merely my personal insights and views of the origin of the racial issues and tensions in the United States of America.

On the outside, looking into the field of psychiatry and psychology, I noticed that one of the very first things those who are trained in those areas do to assess the extent of their patient’s abnormality is to analyze significant events in the patient’s childhood years. Therefore, in seeking to find the root of America’s racial problems, we need go back to America’s childhood.

Most people, who would eventually become Americans, voluntarily migrated from other areas of the world. They came to the land, that would eventually be called; America, seeking religious freedom and opportunity to better their lives and the lives of their descendants. However, Black people did not voluntarily come to America! While the Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower, seeking freedom, the Black African people were brought over in chains, in the cargo-holds of slave-ships, for the expressed purpose to serve those who were seeking freedom! This was the beginning of the American psychosis! By the way, as a matter of definition, psychosis is defined as a serious mental illness (such as schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions. So with that definition in mind, if we are honest, we must admit that it must have been a case of delusion, a ‘divorcement from reality’ for those who voluntarily came to these shores; seeking freedom, to involuntarily bring others to these shores as slaves! That sounds a little crazy to me! That sounds like a case of psychosis!

But not only was America delusional in practice in the beginning, she was delusional in principle also. In early July 1776, a document was formally approved that would become the bedrock of American independence and freedom. It was called: The Declaration of Independence. The most famous, and most often quoted part of that declaration is the second sentence, which states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Now, here is the hypocrisy and the psychosis of that formalized statement: The primary author; Thomas Jefferson, was one of the forty-one (41) of the fifty-six (56) signers who, at the very moment they signed the document, owned slaves! You draft and sign a formalized document declaring that it is self-evident, it’s obvious, that all men are created equal and that they have a God-given right of life, liberty (freedom), and the pursuit of happiness, yet you yourselves deny freedom, the pursuit of happiness, and the self-evident revelation of all men being created equal to Black people! That’s delusional! That’s a case of psychosis!

Now I don’t know what was going on in the mind of these men, but in order for them to be oblivious to the obvious hypocrisy they engaged in, several assumptions had to have been in play. First of all, since the statement specifically said; ‘all men are created equal,’ in their minds they must have assumed that Black men were not human! Or they wrote it with the unstated understanding that it was to only apply to ‘White’ men. Whatever the reason, it is obvious that America had its inception in racial psychosis! Whichever case was the truth, it may be an indication that it was never the original intent of the majority of the founding fathers for Black men to ever be free in America! Racial discrimination and inequity was ingrained into the DNA of America! The racial tension we are experiencing in America today is nothing new; America was born with this racial psychosis!

But in all fairness, I just said that 41 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were slave-owners, consequently, that means; 15 of the 56 were not! Among those 15 were abolitionists; people who were actively working to abolish slavery. Among those 15 were people who indeed wanted freedom for ‘every’ man in America! I brought this out because I don’t want you to see this critique as being an indictment against ‘all’ White Americans past and present. No! There were some White settlers and colonists who truly believed and sought to live-out, and fight for the true meaning of the Declaration of Independence to be true for all men, including Black men! There have always been some White Americans who were not and are not infected with the American psychosis!

It wasn’t long after the formation of America that many realized their indefensible position of Black non-humanity. When the first constitution was being formed, for the purpose of taxation, the number of seats a state would have in the Congress, and the number of electoral votes, there was a debate over how slaves would be counted. Although the Southern states legally deemed the slaves as property, if they were counted as ‘people’ the Southern states would have an over-whelming majority, clout, and power in Congress, but at the same time, they would have to bear a greater tax burden than the states that had no slaves! Thus a compromise was made that involved counting only 3/5th of the slave population as people for the purpose of taxation and representation. When you deny people their humanity, all sorts of complications and psychotic behaviors come into play!

The great divide in America, which eventually led to the Civil War was the slavery issue! In the Southern states, cotton was king! Much like the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs who forced the Hebrews slaves to build their cities, the economy of the South was built on the bedrock of free slave labor! In the mid-19th century, while the United States was experiencing an era of tremendous growth, a fundamental economic difference existed between the country’s northern and southern regions. In the North, manufacturing and industry was well established, and agriculture was mostly limited to small-scale farms, while the South’s economy was based on a system of large-scale farming that depended on the labor of black slaves to grow certain crops, especially cotton and tobacco. Growing abolitionist sentiment in the North after the 1830s and northern opposition to slavery’s extension into the new western territories led many southerners to fear that the existence of slavery in America—and thus the backbone of their economy—was in danger.

According to an article on History.com: “In 1854, the U.S. Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which essentially opened all new territories to slavery by asserting the rule of popular sovereignty over congressional edict. Pro- and anti-slavery forces struggled violently in “Bleeding Kansas,” while opposition to the act in the North led to the formation of the Republican Party, a new political entity based on the principle of opposing slavery’s extension into the western territories. After the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott case (1857) confirmed the legality of slavery in the territories, the abolitionist John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry in 1859 convinced more and more southerners that their northern neighbors were bent on the destruction of the “peculiar institution” that sustained them. Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 was the final straw, and within three months seven southern states–South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas–had seceded from the United States.” The obvious irony in that article that jumps out at me is the fact that the Republican Party was actually birthed as part of the anti-slavery movement in America, while the Democratic Party is the descendant of the old Dixie-crats of the South! Another example of the American psychosis!

I don’t mean to bore you with a long-drawn-out history of America’s racial issues, but I highlighted these early events to shed light on the fact that America was formed, birthed and achieved world dominance in the backdrop of and on the backs of Black slaves! There are many today who are promoting the slogan: “Make America Great Again!” The truth of the matter is: America HAS NEVER BEEN GREAT for the Black, Brown, Red, and Yellow people living in America! America’s so-called greatness was achieved at their expense! Every gain Black people have achieved in America has been through blood, sweat, tears and struggle! The truth the country’s fore-fathers talked about that were endowed by the Creator, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have never been ‘given’ to Black people! Whatever degree of those attributes Black America might possess have been purchased with blood, sweat, tears and lives!

When I saw the image of George Floyd, laying on the ground, with his hands, hand-cuffed behind his back, with three White police officers placing the full weight of their bodies on his back and neck, and one other officer standing guard to make sure there was no interference, to me, it was a picture that epitomizes the 400-year-struggle of Black America! The weight of racial bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination has been consistently weighing heavily on the backs of Black America! While there are White Americans, who proclaim to be innocent by not actively adding to the weight, they are complicit in that they have turned their backs to the obvious injustices and pretend they don’t see or that these issues don’t even exist! Just like the police officer, with his back turned to the crime, they symbolically stand guard to maintain the status quo!

How can the issue be resolved? The answer is simple, yet complex at the same time! Just do the right thing! Just resolve to live-out the true meaning of the original creed that was written in psychotic-hypocrisy: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men, not just White men, but Black, Brown, Red, and Yellow men as well, are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I don’t pretend to have all of the answers as to how this can be practically done! But I do know that it will not be done in any form or fashion until there is an acknowledgement of the possibility that many of the original authors of that creed were suffering from a form of psychosis! How could the author of such words write and believe them while, at the same time, owning slaves, which was the very antithesis of the statement? Answers: (1) selective delusion (psychosis), (2) denial of Black man’s humanity (psychosis)! As long as there are a substantial number of White Americans who refuse to acknowledge this psychosis, the problem will persist! As long as there are a substantial number of White Americans who insist on blaming the victim to justify police brutality and injustice; the problem will persist!

I was about to end this article with that point, but I thought about another sign of psychosis that often rears its ugly head in American society. There are some White Americans who say that if Black Americans are so dissatisfied with their life in America, then why don’t they go back to Africa? How delusional can you be? Black Americans did not voluntarily come to America; they were involuntarily ripped from their native lands and brought here, in the holds of cargo ships, packed like sardines, chained as slaves! They worked as slaves, under inhumane conditions to build the economy and structure of America, not to benefit themselves, but to benefit their slave-masters! As time progressed, they work harder for less pay! They sacrificed the most and benefited the least! They were the last hired and the first fired! Whatever America is, she would not be half of what she is were it not for the free labor of slaves and subsequent unpaid and underpaid contributions of Black Americans! And then, some White people have the audacity, the gall, the nerve, the stupidity, the historically uninformed lack of reality to tell Black people to go back to Africa? Black Americans have a stake and interest in this country that has been paid for with the very lives of Black people! How dare those who have benefit the most have the audacity to even suggest that those who have paid and sacrificed the most for their benefit, leave! Not only the suggestion, but even the thought if it, suggest a severe case of psychosis! America needs help! American needs to heal! America needs to spend some time on the psychological couch to free her of her historical and current racial psychosis!

Please! Don’t Take Me With You!

I am deeply disturbed by the recent rash of murder-suicides happening all around the country with couples. I am trying to wrap my head around it. The whole situation is senseless!

I mean, if you kill that person in a fit of jealous rage, that only proves that you really didn’t love them in the first place and that the relationship was all about you, because real love doesn’t hurt!

So, you kill them, cause untold grief and despair for everyone involved, ruin your life and then go to jail, just to prove you are not to be played? That doesn’t seem very smart to me! Especially when you consider how many other people there are in the world; surely there is someone else you could find happiness with.

And then there are those who kill their lover and then turn around and kill themselves! I mean; what’s the point? If you killed them because you couldn’t stand the idea of them being with someone else, why not just kill yourself first? That would serve the same purpose.

Now before anybody thinks that I am suggesting murder or that people should commit suicide before they murder someone, I am not! I’m just thinking out loud, trying to make sense out of a senseless situation.

But, I will say this: If you are troubled and contemplating such irrational actions as I have just described, find someone to talk to! I can assure you that murder and suicide are never viable options! If you are angry and upset that they left you or cheated on you, your best revenge is to go on with your life and be happy! Whatever you’re going through, remember that you’re just going through; it won’t last! It’s only temporary! That is why murder and suicide are so tragic; murder and suicide are permanent solutions to temporary problems

In times like these, we need to be there for one another! If someone comes to you with a situation, most of the time, they already know what they need to do, they just need someone to listen. Please be a good listener and a good friend. Don’t betray their trust in you and don’t abuse their confidence in you.

Let’s look out for one another! Murder and suicide are never viable options; but love always is! 

 

Christ-like Christians

intensify-christlike In Acts 11:26, the Bible says the disciples or the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians” at Antioch. Historical evidence suggest that it was a derogatory term given by unbelievers. Today the term is used to describe anyone who has even a loose association with the teachings and character of Jesus or to describe one who has made an authentic profession of faith. For some, the term “Christian” is merely a political label, used to distinguish those who advocate a certain political agenda. For others, the term is used as a synonym for church membership. For years, I thought all church members were Christians! It wasn’t until I became a church leader that I discovered that was not the case! But, even though all church members are not Christians, all Christians should be church members!

So, the problem today is an age-old one. Many who claim the name “Christian” have caused the name to be dishonored and cursed. There are just so many un-Christ-like Christians! It is because of these un-Christ-like Christians, the name of God, is as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2:24, blasphemed, or spoken evil of, among unbelievers. I think the real problem many unbelievers have with Christianity is not so much with Christ, as with those who profess to be followers of Christ! By and large, those of us who claim to follow Christ have not been very good representatives of him.

For many people, Christians are considered to be narrow-minded, bigoted, judgmental, and hateful. To those people, I would say: “Please don’t judge the Father by the short-comings of his children!” Real Christians are by no means perfect people, they are just people who have been perfectly forgiven! And often, they forget that just as they have been forgiven, they have been commanded to forgive others. A real Christian is a works in progress; unfinished, still in the growing process.

But what is the difference between a real Christian who is a work in progress and a person who is not a Christian at all, but just is merely claiming the title? Well, for the real Christian, there was a definite point in time when their lives were transformed by the power of God. At some point in time, God transformed their lives and His Spirit took residence in their hearts. At that point they were “born again” and the growth to spiritual maturity began. The person who is merely trying to act like a Christian has not had this experience.

But my purpose is not to discuss the differences between those who are Christians and those who are not. What I want to point out is some of the un-Christ-like attitudes and actions that even genuine Christians might from time to time perform. For instance, there has been so much talk since the death of Bishop Eddie Long of the New Birth Baptist Church in Lithonia, GA. Many so-called Christians have used the occasion of his death to demonize him and his legacy. Truth is; Eddie Long was not a perfect man! (But neither are any of us perfect people!) He made his share of mistakes, but he also did a lot of good things. While I did not personally agree with his theology and many of the things he did, I dare not defame him or his memory. The Apostle Paul asked in Romans 14:4 “Who are you to pass judgment on another’s servant? Before his own master, he stands or falls.” (Rom. 14:4 NET) No matter what any of us think of Bishop Eddie Long or anyone else, in the final analysis, it really doesn’t matter! We don’t have a heaven or a hell to send anyone to! And besides that, we should also remember; the same rule we use to measure or judge others, we will be measured and judged by!

Even in the matter of obvious sins, we should be careful that we don’t attempt to usurp the authority of God in judging people. We often quote John 3:16, but very few people remember John 3:17 which says: “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (Jn. 3:17 NLT) If we call ourselves Christians, that means we are Christ-like or like Christ. Well, if Jesus wasn’t in the business of judging people and we’re supposed to be like him, then why are we so quick to be judge, jury and executioner? Now, I hear somebody saying: “Preacher, I’m not judging, I’m just telling the truth!” That might very well be, but the Bible teaches that we are not to use the truth as a weapon to harm others! Ephesians 4:15 teaches us to speak the truth in love. In other words, our motivation for speaking the truth shouldn’t be to tear others down or to belittle them, but rather to lift and build them up! Now, this doesn’t mean that we are not to condemn sin. No, we are to love the sinner and hate the sin! Just because you may point out someone’s sin, that doesn’t mean you’re being judgmental or hateful. In fact, if it is done correctly with the right motivation; it is an act of love! It is a mean and hateful person who sees me headed for destruction and does not say anything to warn me! It’s a poor parent that doesn’t say anything to a toddler who is about to tip boiling hot water on its head because the parent doesn’t want to hurt the child’s feelings!

I didn’t mean to go off on a rant, but I felt compelled to write this in view of all the hateful, mean-spirited, words that are being spoken and written by those in and out of the church today! The bottom line is this: If we claim the name “Christian,” the least we can do is act Christ-like! Do we honestly think Jesus would say some of the things we say and act the way we act? The Bibles says, the same mind that was in Christ Jesus should be in us. Let us pray that as we live our lives, we will be shaped into the image of Christ and be strong enough to resist the temptation to try to shape Christ into our image. Let us pray that we will truly be “Christ-like Christians.”

Get Jonah Off Your Ship!

jonahThe story of Jonah in the Bible is an interesting story. The sailors that Jonah was sailing with found themselves in a storm only because Jonah was on board! They were caught up in the middle of a bad situation that they really had nothing to do with! The Bible indicates that the only reason they were going through the storm was because Jonah was on board!

Could it be that some of the turmoil in our lives might be caused by the Jonah’s we’ve allowed to be on board our ships (Friendships, relationships, and fellowships)? Now, this is by no means an attempt to legitimize blaming other people for the situations in our lives. But it is merely to point out the fact that many of those situations exist only because of the presence of certain people in our lives. We can’t legitimately blame other people for the situations in our lives because we allow their presence in our lives! We are the ones who gave them the boarding pass (permission) to be in our lives!

So, if there is turmoil in your life, it might be a good idea to take inventory of the people you have allowed in your life to see if they are Jonah. How can you tell if they are Jonah? Let’s go back to the biblical story and see if there are some hints.

Note the biblical text reveals that the ship was going in the opposite direction from which Jonah was supposed to be going. The Jonah’s in your life are the people who didn’t really intend to go in your direction; but they are just with you for the ride. They make no real contribution and before you allowed them on board, they weren’t even going in your direction! The Jonah’s in your life are the people who don’t quite fit, but they make superficial adjustments just to be on board.

Jonah paid the fare and immediately went down into the hull of the ship! The Jonah’s in your life are the silent, non-participating, and non-revealing people in your life. They know something about you; but you really don’t know much about them! They are the ones who are always “taking” from the relationship while never making a meaningful contribution.

Jonah went down into the ship and went to sleep! He even slept through the storm! The Jonah’s in your life are the people who sleep through your storms! When you are going through whatever you’re going through, they are mostly detached, uninterested or otherwise unavailable.

And then finally, it was Jonah himself who was the cause of the storm! Because Jonah was attempting to flee from the presence of the Lord, he put innocence people at risk because of his presence on their boat! Beware of letting people into your life and then getting caught up in their drama, which really has nothing to do with you! The cemetery is full of people who are filling an early grave because they allowed certain people into their lives and they got caught up in Jonah’s storm! Many jails are populated with people who made the mistake of letting Jonah get on board and then they got caught up in Jonah’s storm! Whoever you allow in your life; remember their baggage comes with them! Be careful that you don’t suffer the collateral damage of getting caught up in their storms!

When I was a teenager, whenever I would tell my parents about meeting a new friend, the first thing they would ask me was: “Who are their people?” Knowing their folks was a good indication of their character! Every now and then, I would meet someone and my mother would tell me that I didn’t need to associate or be friends with that person because my mother knew that person was a Jonah! We all would do well to check the passenger lists of our various ships to see if we have a Jonah on board. And if we do, it would be wise to get Jonah off the ship!