Guest column: Society needs a deeper examination of the soul, not just our psyche
Not only do our hearts deeply hurt for the victims and their families in Uvalde, Texas, but our minds reel in disgust trying to make sense of a senseless act.
So, what is going on? Where are we heading as a culture? Why is there an alarming disregard for human life? The attack on 9/11 that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City taught us this — some people do not love us. The war in Ukraine has taught us that one nation does not love another nation.
And these horrendous school shootings have taught us that even in America, we do not love each other enough.
Sure, all the experts in mental health are partially correct as they analyze the psyche of an 18-year-old man that would do such a horrifying thing, killing nearly 20 children and some teachers.
However, the word “psychology” actually comes from two Greek words meaning “a study of the soul.” Not simply a study of the physical brain, but a far deeper study of the mind and soul.
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Are we a culture that has lost our mind, or our soul? All social service agencies, (including churches) understand the importance of dealing with that part of us that cannot be located by a microscope, or studied sufficiently by qualitative or quantitative methodologies.
Famous experts such as Rollo May, Carl Jung and Viktor Frankl addressed the issue of the soul. That discussion goes far deeper than simply discussing what medication might have prevented these evil people from committing these dreadful acts. Yes, I said “evil.”
Quite frankly, I have heard from more than a few teachers that the anxiety level in our schools is far higher than it has ever been previously. Especially among children who have lost a year or two of socialization; of learning how to share; of learning how to love; of learning how to treat one another properly. Perhaps these losses are a result of COVID and the social separation thereof, but it may be more than that.
This is no small matter. It is up to parents primarily but let me pause here. Did you ever notice how much blame “dysfunctional families” get these days? They’ve become a dumping ground for nearly all the ills of society. Yet the term is an elusive nomenclature and difficult to define.
When asked, “What causes a dysfunctional family,” most respond by citing the divorce rate as a classic example. But this myopic response is too short-sighted to fully explain why some of the finest students in our schools come from divorced parents, and while some of our worst students come from “functional” families, where mom and dad are still together.
Now, please don’t run out and get a divorce thinking that your children will be better off, because divorce does have negative ramifications.
Hence, our families, schools and churches must pay attention to what anxiety does to the soul — what it does to the ability to share, play safely and love one another. There is nothing “soft” about this. This is a hard aspiration, to alter the soul of a nation by altering the souls of our young people.
This summer is a golden opportunity to focus sincerely, deliberately and intentionally on our children’s ability to grow a healthy psyche — a healthy soul — capable of loving oneself and (in turn) loving others.
Our summer camps, vacation Bible schools, city parks and community centers should work double time in totally revamping their programs, designing innovative ways of reaching deep into our children’s ability (or their inability) to be civil and loving.
Jon Heymann is the former executive director of Elevate Jacksonville.
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Guest column: Society needs deeper examination of soul and psyche
