Solutions to Social Dysfunction

An opinion by David A. Hall, MD

After reviewing the extent of social dysfunction which is quite severe in our society, it should be obvious that any solution will be a radical departure from current practices. It is natural to resist change. When I was in the fourth grade every desk had an ink well. We dipped our pens in the ink well in order to write. This was in 1947. One day a girl brought in a ballpoint pen which had just been recently invented. The teacher sent it to the principal’s office for an opinion. The principal said that we could not use it for penmanship because it did not contain real ink.  It took two years before we were all allowed to use ballpoint pens in the school.

This basic defect in our thought processes as a society is still prevalent. Most people would agree that education has the best chance of being the basic source of solutions to the problems that we have described in other articles. But many people have difficulty letting go of the traditional model. Many of our belief systems are held so deeply that they are not accessible by our critical mind and therefore, debate is futile.

Inculcation
The word inculcation comes from the same root as the word cult.  Cults have an important thing in common. They propagate belief systems that are unscientific and not generally held by the general population. Their leadership instills these notions by frequent repetition and emphasis which I refer to as inculcation. This process, like hypnosis, bypasses critical mind and therefore is not affected by logical intervention.

Inculcation is prevalent in our school systems. Students are frequently told that certain skills that they learn will be important later on in life when indeed this is a false belief. Intelligence in and of itself is not a barrier to inculcation. Many of our most prominent educators carry inculcated opinions. They are passed on from generation to generation. Some people are particularly susceptible to inculcation while others are more resistant.

Inculcation is generally at the root of deep divisions in opinion. The division is often a conflict between reason and inculcation. We see this in the sharp differences in opinion about our school curriculum. While educators are in the minority, they are nonetheless the decision-makers.

One of the workarounds that we offer is a learning system that operates many times faster than the traditional model. The traditional model operates at such a slow and inefficient speed that the student has time for little else and is unprepared for life after 13 years of basic education.  The challenge then becomes developing additional curriculum material that really does serve the student’s best interests. This is a more costly proposition because there are many fewer people who can write flashcards on the subjects because they have not learned them in school.  Nonetheless, we intend to do it.

Mental Health
Psychological dysfunction generally begins at an early age. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, twenty-six percent of Americans have a diagnosable mental illness. A much greater percentage lead dysfunctional lifestyles. The school system is in an excellent position to address this major social problem. As we see it, parents would have the ability to opt out of any part of this program but we predict that this will be a rare occurrence.

Negative Emotions
Virtually everyone has the capacity to store negative emotions. A traumatic event, or a situation that is perceived as traumatic can be stored in the mind and body not only as a memory but as an energetic emotion. The energetic emotion can last a lifetime. Most adults who are honestly introspective are able to identify approximately 300 or more such events. I practiced for 20 years as a board certified psychiatrist. A psychiatrist is trained as a medical doctor and then goes on to specialize in the medical specialty of psychiatry. In reflecting back on my experiences, this phenomenon is universally accepted among mental health workers. The challenge is to prevent and remove the damaging persistent negative emotions. They play a part not only in individual dysfunction but also, along with the phenomenon of inculcation, lead to such social problems as war, terrorism, domestic violence, and an endless list of related issues.  We believe that the restructuring of education on a global level can dramatically impact the damage of these processes.

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