War and peace

After talking to a friend of mine who develops computer games, I had an interesting thought. Collaboration with others for mutual benefit makes people feel good. Oxytocin is released, the bonding hormone. In contrast, feeling like you must defend yourself from threats (real or imagined) creates stress. Epinephrin is released and, in chronic cases, the dreaded cortisol which leads to a myriad of health issues. Jesus had it right; love is the answer. Biochemistry does not lie.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has come to a head again since the recent attacks by Hamas. There have been numerous fake news and/or incomplete reports propagated by Israeli and United States media outlets that seek to villainize Hamas as a stereotypical Muslim terrorist organization. Israel is no better, however, similarly bent on eliminating Palestinians, and their retaliation has been equally brutal. (The IDF operates basically as government sanctioned terrorists.) To make a long story short, these two peoples have been fighting over this region that was originally Palestine since the Israeli-Arab war of 1948. It was then that the country of Israel was created giving half of the territory (the better, more economically prosperous, half) to a minority of Jewish citizens because the United Nations was trying to compensate for the mistreatment of Jews during World War II.

I believe terrorism is not psychological; it is economic. This is what happens when individuals are marginalized by society and are not getting their basic needs met: food and shelter. This is what has happened in Palestine since the Israeli occupation. This is why Hamas and all Palestinians are fighting, for their basic livelihood that has been taken away. It is also not entirely true that the majority of Palestinians support the radical actions of Hamas. When they came to power in 2006, a significant number of Palestinians were actually too young to participate in the process and various political shenanigans both during that election and since then have prevented further voting.

Granted, killing is never justified by either side (who started it is irrelevant) but Palestinians (and Israelis) are not purely evil men, incapable of seeing reason. In order to achieve a lasting peace, the economic dysfunction of the region must be resolved. Israelis and Palestinians must learn to work together for mutual benefit. (Release the oxytocin!)

Political Limerick

Everyone loves a good president
Who doesn't increase your rent
He tells gender goodbye
Because DNA doesn't lie
And sends illegals back where they're meant.

Narcisism

I think humans have a natural tendency to want to be right all the time. When our behavior does not align with what we know to be true, we experience something called cognitive dissonance. The difference that distinguishes narcissists is how people deal with this feeling. Narcissists rationalize the situation until they have developed a belief system, potentially divergent from reality, that maintains their superiority. In contrast, normal people admit they have made a mistake, attempt to correct it if possible, and adjust their world view to hopefully decrease the likelihood of making the same mistake in the future.

Gossip Girl

Someone once asked me what I like to do for fun. Recently, I have been binge watching the series 'Gossip Girl'. I am trying to figure out how some people can go around plotting and scheming, eating whatever they want, drinking whatever they want (mostly alcohol) and somehow still managing to maintain perfect GPAs, extracurricular activities, and getting into the best Ivy league schools without being doubled over in pain or running to the bathroom all the time. In other words, how do the rich and famous manage stress without succumbing to incapacitating digestive issues?

Why Gossip Girl? Several years ago, I was presented with the natal chart of Blake Lively as an example of associating astrological prediction with personality. Aside from being good friends with Taylor Swift and occasional showing slightly too much cleavage, Blake seems like a pretty cool person who is surprisingly 'down to earth', raising four children with her husband (and their father), Ryan, of over ten years. Cudos on that anniversary, Blake. Hope you keep it up; menopause can be a bitch.

Back to the show...

When I see all those women (and men) at their high society parties and charity events, I wonder what is going on in their colons at that moment. As mentioned in a previous post, a person's microbiome can have a big effect on their personality which in turn, I understand, is affected by diet. I briefly considered spending a summer dumpster diving on the upper east side of New York, if they even have dumpsters. I think it would be very informative as I have heard astonishing statistics about the amount of food people throw away and rich people are probably the worst offenders.

Most of the research I have read about the correlation between gut bacteria and socioeconomic status assumes economics is the cause of the bacteria. However, new research on the gut-brain axis makes me wonder if the relationship is reversed. Is there a correlation between the microbiomes of the rich and famous and if I inoculate the colon of a poor person with a stool sample from a rich person, will the poor person become successful?

Healthcare

How to tell if your doctor is bad: no repeat customers
How to tell if your doctor is good: no repeat customers
How to tell if your doctor is rich: lots of repeat customers

Therein lies the fundamental problem with healthcare. The entire goal of the profession is to make money and that means selling something people want, but it isn't health. Rather, I think it is something more like an illusion of health that only makes people feel better for a short time.

Health insurance is also the ultimate example of socialism. The entire concept (of insurance in general) is based on everyone putting something in a giant pot based on probability and then only taking out what they need, hopefully not all at the same time. If you got out what you put in, you wouldn't need insurance and could just save your money and pay for healthcare yourself. The question is, will the chips fall in your favor? I think that is really the appeal of socialism, because everyone wants to feel like society has got their back. It is, however, a false sense of security because, eventually, you will run out of other people's money.

Christmas Limerick

The season is here.

So go be a dear

And buy me a gift

To heal the old rift

And ring in a merry new year.

Limericks II

Pulling this wagon is hard.
The workers, they won't accept lard.
They're becoming unwilling,
With this system of billing.
I hope that they don't shoot the bard.