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State & Prevention
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Through facts, experiences, historical flashbacks, objective data and associations, solutions are presented, analyzed and proposed in accordance with Nicolas l’ Ange’s comprehension, opinions, aspects, practical implementation, and philosophical perception and view.
κρατώ (keep) < Αρχαία Ελληνική (Ancient Hellenic): κρατέω-ῶ (keep) < κράτος (state)
The organized political entity that holds the monopoly of use of legitimate power in a delimited and defined geographical area constitutes the state. The state is the power that provides or submits the whole of society to a structured and specific set of organizations that have the authority to create, apply and enforce rules/laws by an elected or non-elected government with recognized sovereignty.
These rules/laws must serve the fair, equitable and proper governance of the whole of society –with no exception– that resides within the specific geographical boundaries.
The state is a human social creation.
It was born, it evolved, it continues to evolve and theoretically, it will pass into the stage of decline or even final disappearance, together with social/class inequalities…
Its characteristics are shaped according to the conjunctural and personal interest of the rulers and to what social system prevails in each historical period. As a social institution, it is subject to constant changes…
In the period of antiquity and the existence of the slave-owning social system, the state was organized within the city/state frame or an empire. Later, when human society passed into the feudal system, we have the state organized within small feudal kingdoms. The emergence of early capitalism (12th century AD), gradually leads to crisis the feudal system, the mode of production and consequently the state organization of this system. The feuds as a form of state organization are weakened, in favor of the central power that is now expressed by the king/monarch. The crisis and the decline of feudalism (16th century AD) gradually transfer us to the emerging capitalist system and we observe the state organization gradually acquiring its current characteristics. The characteristics of the nation/state that befit the state organization in the era of the hegemony of capitalism and the class capitalist society.
Since the state as a form of social organization did not exist before, the chronological equation of evolution of the human species is as follows:
man/family ⇔ race (organized in small groups or in larger communities without a state entity) ⇔ primitive rural society ⇔ production of goods ⇔ surplus of goods ⇔ creation of methods of objectively equal exchange of goods ⇔ trade ⇔ economy ⇔ transaction ⇔ money ⇔ interest ⇔ social classes (producers of wealth and individuals of interest; those who in various ways or forms of violence reap the surplus produced) ⇔ class injustices and discrimination/class struggle
Given that Hellenic Mythology is full of “metaphorical concepts”, messages, meanings, symbolisms, correlations, we will correlate all these data, which will enable us to understand what the state essentially and truly is.
State (Κράτος), according to Hellenic Mythology, was the personification of any form of brute power (wherever it comes from).
We distinguish 3 versions (as a reference):
1. In Hesiod’s work “Theogony”, Violence/«Βία», Zeal/“Ζήλος”, State/“Κράτος” and the goddess Nike/“θεά Νίκη” are mentioned as children of Titan Pallas/“Τιτάνας Πάλλαντας” and Oceanic Styx/“Ωκεανίδα Στυξ” (their names indicate status).
2. In Aeschylus’s tragedy “Prometheus Bound”, the two brothers (Violence/“Βία”, State/“Κράτος”) are presented as faithful executors and servants of the god Zeus, to help the god Hephaestus to tie Prometheus to the rocks (Caucasus).
The spectator is informed, by his words, that Prometheus is being punished because he stole and handed over the fire to the people.
State/“Κράτος” says: “ἐλεύθερος γὰρ οὔτις ἐστὶ πλὴν Διός” (no one is free, except Zeus). Without praising Zeus, he says that Zeus is more “cunning” than Prometheus, and that: “ἅπας δὲ τραχὺς ὅστις ἂν νέον κρατῇ” (every new master is hard-hearted).
We observe the following here:
a. State/“Κράτος” simply accepts the commands of (superior, God) Zeus and there is no contrary thought!
b. State/“Κράτος” believes that the reason of the law of (superior, God) Zeus is the only possible justice!
c. State/“Κράτος” appears without emotions and is unable to feel friendship or pity. He does not have his own value system, except for what has been assigned to it by (superior, god) Zeus.
3. The third version alleges that State/“Κράτος” is the child of the god Zeus and an anonymous mortal woman.
In Hellenic Mythology the god Zeus is presented with human passions and weaknesses in his relations with people and especially with women, while in Christianity the Divine intervention regarding the birth of the Godman is pure and clear (the balance is very delicate, the approach is different, as well as the explanation or meaning that one can give depending on the case).
The extent of such a “blatant” opposition, which is also observed in the Christian religion, shows that State/“Κράτος” came from the union of God and man, and was created, in part or in full, “in his image and likeness”.
Therefore, observing the above and if, metaphorically, State/“Κράτος” as a concept is identified with the word state, then:
1. The state must make a “Titanic” (from Titan Pallas/“Τιτάνας Πάλλαντας”) effort to keep the bridles, to have control, to dominate! It must have “Zeal/Ζήλο” to perform any work necessary for the well-being, proper functioning and protection of society as a whole, to be imposed by “Violence/Βία” if, when and where necessary (within and outside geographical boundaries) and to «Win» (goddess Nike/“θεά Νίκη”) for the common good! (in Hellenic language to win means Νίκη)
2. The state is impersonal in order to apply the Law and to provide equality, but at the same time, it has a very strong will and personality to enforce the law, wherever and whenever necessary.
3. The state, if we take into account the innate need of man for help, communication and support from God, must be the definition of law, equality, balance, the saying of Cleobulus: “All in good measure”, but also ethics! The ingenious presentation of the god Zeus from Hellenic Mythology with human passions and weaknesses is perfectly reflected in today’s reality! The state and the leaders of the hierarchy of the faith of modern people are individuals of interest and completely dependent on their passions and weaknesses! It proves convincingly that the Ancient Hellens saw so far ahead… and had so much knowledge… that only the Greatest Knower and Mystic Jesus Christ could comprehend! Christ “placed” on another… higher level the Ancient Hellenic knowledge and philosophy with “Love one another!” and his attitude towards life! And he was the one who showed us with his full-frontal confrontation with the people state (politicians, but also priests) the downside and the wrong –but prevailing version– of the concept of state!
The first prevention programs for various physical ailments (with gradual expansion to psychological problems) emerged when states appeared and the authorities realized that they would have an economic benefit.
The first interventions were about informing the public about various issues and had meager results. Gradually and always for economic reasons, governments have developed the idea that if we can prevent the occurrence of some problems this will have a very large economic benefit (e.g. in the health system). So, they started doing specific studies to see how they can avoid problems in the whole population.
The initial efforts were aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of addiction and bullying, with the ultimate goal of preventing –supposedly– young people from alcohol, smoking and drugs. Addictions were seen as another problem to be addressed by “experts-specialists”, who were considered the most suitable to formulate and carry out prevention programs. It turned out that in this way, not only did the use of addictive substances not decrease, but on the contrary, the problem increased because information served as advertising to young people (negative advertising).
Modern approaches and trends in the field of treatment and prevention of all kinds of addictions are now finding the correlation of problems that (initially) were considered unrelated.
We notice that the relationship with food, addiction to legal or illegal substances, physical and mental health problems, antisocial manifestations, self-destructive or deviant behaviors are not only related phenomena, but most of the times they have a common cause! This means that the same reasons that lead a young person to alcohol (ignorance, anxiety, insecurity, boredom, low self-esteem, family problems, loneliness, character, pressures from the social environment e.g. school, friends, etc.), they can lead another person to depression, drugs, deviant behavior, and even suicide! It was therefore considered necessary to adopt another vision and strategy for prevention.
Essentially prevention nowadays is a process of educating/preparing people (regardless of age) to manage all the situations they will be called to face in the course of their lives. More specifically, preventive efforts are based –always theoretically– on emotional intelligence programs, where children and young people are trained to know, manage and express their emotions, to better communicate with those around them, to make the right decisions, to face and cope with difficulties, to be determined, to claim, to believe in their capabilities and especially in themselves!
All these programs cannot have a substantial result if there are no legislative regulations and simultaneous interventions in the family, in the education system and consequently in the whole society!
Ensuring the operation of a supportive educational framework for students presupposes the continuous support and reinforcement of teachers in both the subject matter and their pedagogical role by the state. At the same time, it is important to cultivate a climate of trust and cooperation among schoolteachers. The smooth relations in the teachers’ associations, which (usually) are “capped” by petty partisan interests, can contribute substantially to the solution of the problems in a positive and not repressive way, and to improve the daily life of all the educational communities.
In 2020, there are the knowledge, the experiences, the sciences, all the ingredients of success for the implementation of effective prevention at all levels from every state.
But is there a will?
The theoretical and super-advertised “pandemic”… proves the exact opposite and fully confirms the article…!
Prevention is a matter for all of us!