Urgent!
“... there is something very wrong with our present civilization, and what is wrong comes from the belief of human beings that no matter what, any danger will be dominated in time. This is what I call Theomania: the idea that we have the power of gods, and that at the moment we wish, by a stroke of magic, we can put everything into its proper place. But it is not so. Humanity is destroying itself because it is attacking the external reality of which it is a part – so, we are unconsciously attacking ourselves.”
Dr. Norberto R. Keppe,
Psychoanalyst, Philosopher & Social Scientist
Stopping the Destruction of the World
Thanks to the work of many dedicated individuals and organizations, light has been shed on a large number of the world’s social and ecological issues. And much has been done to galvanize public opinion and support.
And yet: VERY LITTLE HAS CHANGED...
In fact, the destruction not only continues, but it is doing so at an ever-increasing pace.
Despite all of our worthy efforts, it appears we are not identifying the primary cause of our problems.
This is the sole reason for the existence of STOP.
The Origin of the Destruction in the World: Psycho-Socio-Pathology
The problems of our world – hunger and poverty, war, environmental degradation, human rights violations, the extinction of species, etc. – all result from a deeper psychological sickness inside the human being and our upside down society.
The aim of STOP is to make us conscious of (conscientize) this reality so we can deal with the problems at their source.
The work of STOP is based on the pioneering science of renowned Brazilian psychoanalyst and social scientist, Dr. Norberto Keppe. Over more than 40 years of clinical research, Keppe has uncovered the presence of a fundamental destructive attitude in human beings and society, which he calls Inversion.
Why, to use a few examples, do people take pleasure in smoking, drinking and using drugs, all the while knowing that they are harming or even killing themselves? Why are violent movies and games so popular? Why do people "have fun" risking their lives in extreme sports or high speed driving?
The exploration of Inversion reveals that human beings are actually more attracted toward what is destructive than to what is good and constructive – even though we believe the contrary.
At the societal level, Inversion is evidenced through society’s inverted values and ways of living. For example, the arrogant are respected while kind and humble people are often scorned (“nice guys finish last”), war and violence have become ways of "resolving conflicts," and, insidiously, capital and profit have become paramount, more valued than human lives. In this inverted world, the human being serves money, not the other way around. This generates massive injustice and exploitation of people and nature. At the same time, society forces people to be less "human" by encouraging selfishness, materialism and paranoia.
Keppe’s science shows us that all of this begins deep in our psychological structure. As Keppe writes: "The cycle is centuries old: humans create an increasingly sick society as they are increasingly sickened by it."
THE PATHOLOGY OF POWER
All extremely disturbed individuals try to wield whatever power they can, using any means available to oppress their fellow humans. If they fail to succeed in politics or finance, they move to other areas, such as communications, science, or even the arts. But ultimately, their intention is to be aggressive towards society.
The most dangerous form of Inversion is the one we can see in the structures and the individuals of power. Society must become conscious of this serious problem in order to create mechanisms of defense against it.
From Liberation of the People: The Pathology of Power, by Norberto R. Keppe
THE STOP MANDATE:
Consciousness - The Only Solution
STOP agrees with Dr. Keppe that we must conscientize this human and social inversion, since it is the primary cause of our destruction.
Only by acknowledging and treating the real problem in the first place can we achieve genuine and lasting solutions at all levels - individual, social, environmental and economic. Without this understanding, humankind will merely go on finding more sophisticated ways of destroying itself and the planet.