In the last three years, a few colleagues and the Jackass have investigated reasons why people do not investigate or show interest in the decayed financial structures and depleted economy. Many go farther and hold firm to odd indefensible beliefs, while mocking those who display curiosity and put forth theories for test. We examine why they choose to remain uninformed and in the dark, even to hold firm on slippery ground. This is a new intriguing aspect of human psychology, and as fascinating as disturbing. Here are some conclusions after a couple of years.

a) We conclude that some people wish to believe the leaders, laws, and system protect them, another sacred belief. Like the USGovt is there to serve, the bankers to invest, the laws unswerving, the military to defend the people and nation rather than the elite and the corporate giants. To me, this is utter nonsense as evidence blows it away to the contrary.

b) We conclude that some people have over-arching belief systems for their lives that are sacrosanct and not challenged. Like how good prevails over evil, how solutions are pursued, how the United States always prevails, how the system will correct itself. To me, this is utter nonsense as evidence blows it away to the contrary.

c) We conclude that some people are so frightened by certain threats, that they wish to ignore them in order to avoid a deeply rooted sense of insecurity. They might choose to minimize the threats, since horrifying. They stick with illusions in a dream world. To me, this is sticking one's head in the sand while exposing one hind quarters to the full impact of the impact that has become utterly obvious.

d) We conclude that some people are successful in their work, and deeply invested in the current system, that they do not wish to alter the system in which they succeed. However, doing so has already resulted in significant loss of business even for the successful and diligent. To me, this is sticking one's head in the sand while exposing one hind quarters to the full impact of the impact that has become utterly obvious.

e) We conclude that people come from different eras within the national history, the older folks with more trust in the system to rebound like after the Great Depression and World War II, the military veterans replete with loyalty rooted in trust, the Vietnam Boomer generation absent trust entirely, the youth mostly disillusioned about the future and struggling for a path to a job. To me, the stratified divisions of society will always be present, and always exert hugely different conditioning factors. The Jackass passed through the Vietnam Era and saw the betrayals to my generation. To me, after a few years of holding firm from a conditioned response, the position of loyalty to the system seems untenable.

These justifications and phenomena are not comprehensive or exhaustive. They are a work in progress, which go together with the Stockholm Syndrome and the Warsaw Effect. These two forces address the emotional integration between victim and assailant, and the denial of threat while trapped within contained walls. Such defense mechanisms are not new to the human species, but they are finally more commonly discussed and studied. However, integrate the five described items and something more perverse emerges. What appears is defense mechanisms for a nation undergoing systemic failure, along with delusional defeated masses not coping too well during the collapse. Too many people have succumbed to the pressures, and remain hidden in their little anal caves.

Apr 21, 2014