Are we living in a psychopathic society?
I'll post some excerpts, but it is an interesting article and I suggest reading the whole thing. I'm not necessarily saying that I agree with it though
Despite one’s seeming concerns, good intentions are not enough; experts have warned it is time to wake up to a new problem which is running rampant. Whether one calls them antisocials, psychopaths (sociopaths), or even malignant narcissists, psychologists and sociologists claim that a disturbing rise of people with dangerous personality disorders is on the rise, especially among the young. This increase of antisocial disorders is a sign of the times, a “lack of concern coupled with an attitude of moral apathy.” (Wolman, 1999, p. 15).
Indeed, without morality, one cannot be concerned. Antisocials and psychopaths are very comfortable with their immorality, they are not bothered by it in the least, for “the second primary symptom of psychopathy is the missing or deficient sense of morality.” (Guggenbuhl-Craig, 1980, p. 95).
In consequence, a society which has become much too lax in its morality will breed nationwide apathy, and such a combination can be deadly, as we have already observed in the rash of school shootings, violent crimes, and alarming antisocial behavior, in general, that also seems to be an imminent, outstanding trait of an entire generation which Dr. Robert Hare refers to as the “cool” (Hare, 1993, p. 177) society.
Often witnessed in pop culture through the media, there is a disturbing glorification of “coolness,” apparent apathy, and disinterest regarding the safety or welfare of others, for “we are certainly making it much easier for the psychopaths in our midst to express themselves in ways that would have been considered intolerable or socially unacceptable in the past” (Hare, 1999, p. 177), as “more and more people care for no one except themselves. More and more people have no moral commitments. . .No feelings of remorse, no sense of guilt--an epidemic of sociopaths.” (Wolman, 1999, p. 31).
Worse yet, rap seems to be one of the most popular forms of pop music these days; far outrivaling the “Mansonites” or the pop music “Lolitas” like Spears and her imitators, “rap expresses the worst kind of images emerging from a postmodern society that has consigned a generation of young men and women to the darkest dramas of the desperately lost.” (Fields, 1998).
Another dangerous element of rap music is its inherent “misogyny. . .alienation from common humanity and community. The lyrics employ vulgar street idioms because both the language and experience of poetry or romance are absent from the lives of the rappers and their audience as well.” (Fields, 1998).
http://www.geocities.com/lycium7/research.html
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Originally Posted by Vanessa
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