Managing Change according to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

We are in the Anger and Denial stages as a dying empire refusing to accept the inevitable cycles of history and the temporality of every aspect of our existence.

Holistic: “seeing something as a whole rather than just focusing on its individual parts. It's about seeing the big picture and how all the pieces interact.”

Decades ago world famous Swiss Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identified her 5 stages of grief. It is a holistic concept applicable to many different situations. It can apply when there is a sudden death in the family, when we are told we have terminal cancer or any number of other human tragedies where human life is lost.

The literature on Kubler-Ross points out that not all people go through the cycles of change in the same way or in the same order. In this instance I contend Depression comes before Bargaining, as Depression comes with the recognition and acknowledgement of the problems/grief and Bargaining is to work through to Acceptance.

There are also those who contend there are actually seven stages, where Shock is the first stage and Testing is the second-last stage. These are valid as the nature and devastation of the Shock will influence reaction and recovery. Testing, tests the validity and effectiveness of the Bargaining.

Collectively, we are seeing in these times tremendous tragedy and loss of life and we all react to them in varying degrees. Depending on our individual natures some are affected more than others. Some are affected more than others depending on how close to home tragedy strikes. Genocides and hurricanes are mass tragedies where the grief and suffering ripples in many directions and in many intensities. Where genocides are criminal acts of man repeatedly committed through history, hurricanes are acts of nature beyond our control but we are also learning our actions can make them worse.

As so-called human progress moves through time to where we flatter ourselves as being sane social post-modern societies built on deeply rooted humanist traditions, but the savagery of man only occurs with greater frequency and in staggering numbers. We suffer the greatest failure of all. There is the tantraumatic beast within some of us lashing out at the world willing to do complete destruction up to and including sociocide.

We are at a pivotal point in world history where the margin for error is nearing zero—just as the nuclear clock is the closest it has ever been to midnight. The instruments by which we act and govern ourselves must be greatly improved and refortified to secure the present and future.

If Kubler-Ross were alive today we can only speculate on what diagnosis she would make on the the revanchist West warmongers. The history of Man both collectively and individually is in essence the study of human psychology, as is the study of great literature.

Where mankind is a technological and innovative industrious genius we are totally retarded when it comes to upgrading and maintaining our systems of governance. As humanist and democratic systems are established they are just as quickly washed away by the expediences of war, greed, megalomania, and pure criminality— essentially the history of the West over the last hundred years.

Where we can apply psychiatric concepts to individuals we can also apply them to mass movements, cabals, cults, governments and war mongers as they are collectives of human behavior — just as empires have risen and fallen cyclically throughout history as the tyrants ruling them are fully loaded with human fallabilities.

It is irrefutable that psychopaths, sociopaths and narcissists are drawn to politics like bees to honey. Though they are few in number but they can be the apples that rot the whole barrel. We have a stunning history of powerful leaders world wide suffering psychological dysfunction and the death and destruction they wrought.

Psychologists are already recommending psychological screening for those aspiring to high office. In the public sector a person can be screened rigorously in any number of ways depending on the employer and the nature of the position, where as the present credentialing of politicians is no more than lackadaisical cronyism. In politics serving the public interest has become a fattening of one’s wallet and endless prevarications devoid of any real leadership.

Applying Kubler-Ross to the crisis of today.

We are in the Anger and Denial stages as a dying empire refuses to accept the inevitable cycles of history and the temporality of every aspect of our existence. As time moves on so must we constantly adapt and respond to new challenges, embracing these challenges holistically without fear or favor.

The West instead of facing the challenges of our times holistically and realistically has retreated into a set of ruinous ideologies accelerating our downfall. We have shunned progressive ideologies ( democracy, socialism, humanism) in favor of terminal ideologies ( war, predatory capitalism, fascism, militarism, neoliberalism).

We are the ideologies we live by! Kubler-Ross has provided us with an important diagnostic tool. It behooves us to develop diagnostic tools for the detection of ruinous terminal ideologies that rip through our societies crushing them out of existence. Ruinous ideologies are institutionalized in organizations such as NATO, the WEF and the unfettered corporatism that enslaves governments.

It is worth noting China practices “hybrid capitalism” where some corporations are owned by the government while others are private, all in service to the national interest.

The world has never been more divided that it is is now and dangerously so. As the East is moving forward building better futures with BRICS and defining a better world the West is indulging in its pitiful intransigence. The open question now is how far is the West going to fall before it reaches the Depression stage where it is willing to face the true nature of its crisis and all of the manifestations of it? The longer it rejects this critical stage, the more the decline accelerates with all the ensuing chaos, to where the degeneracy is beyond redemption.

Sabotaging Democracy as process and holistic thinking

Our societies in the West are programed to fail. Democracy is a process that inherently promotes holistic thinking through accountability, consensus and scrutiny. Where these are absent (as they are now in the West) chaos and nihilism prevail. Governments of the West have become agents of chaos as they lie, cheat, steal and commit one hypocrisy after another.

They prevaricate and propagandize to block any holistic thinking leading to solutions and stable harmonious societies. They initiate anti-social ideologies to consolidate their power and serve their megalomania.

Holistic thinking and processes are the high road to objective truths and establishing the benchmarks of our existence.

The leaders of the West are cowardly defeatists attempting to sell terminal ideologies much like selling terminal cancer and using bioweapons to induce global pandemics.

Not only are they incapable of courageously addressing the problems, they cannot define them. Where they might recognize the problem, to act is self-incrimination, breaking with the pack, and political ostracization. This is why reform will only come when new and competent leaders and legislators are recruited. Presently they are victims of their own failed machinations, in anger and despair. They have lost control of their criminal agenda, and see the erosion of their loss of wealth, power and privilege.

The absolute measure of great societies is to rebuild, renew and adapt as necessary.  Anything less relegates them to the dust bin of history. China for instance is by far the oldest civilization at 4000 years.  India and Egypt occupy second and third places. Maybe its time the impertinent West shows some respect for much older more mature societies. The pathetic measures of our “success” are endless wars, militarism genocides,  predatory capitalism, ruinous ideologies and unrepentant boorish behaviors.

It is little wonder the West is in chaos as the depots in all their anger and evilness lash out at a world they can no longer control and plunder, and we are hostage to their criminality.

As it is now the dummkopfs of the intransigent West are mindlessly sabotaging our future.

Is a new world order possible? What do you think?

“Love makes the world go around but money greases the axle”— W. Somerset Maugham. Please go paid where you can.

The despots golden dozen