Joyful Militancy

Chapter 1: Empire, Militancy, and Joy from Joyful Militancy has really helped me to think critically about my struggles with depression and inability to adequately deal with negative emotions. I have always thought about depression as a product of the environment in which you are living in (which is why I did not want to become dependant on taking medication). My therapist stated that college students have some of the highest rates of depression.  There is also currently an epidemic of farmer suicides due to the horrible conditions in which they are living in because of capitalism and environmental degradation that does not allow for crops to grow and provide them with enough money to have an adequate life. I know that I am not a psychologist therefore I do not have a complete understanding of what causes depression and suicide but I do want to bring to attention a different way of thinking about depression based on some of the information that was provided in this chapter and some of my exprenices.

A quote that really helped me with my thought process about happiness and negative emotions is “unhappiness is pathologized along with so-called “negative” emotions like rage, despair, resentment, and fear when they get in the way of promised forms of happiness” (58). This way of viewing negative emotions has not allowed for humans to adequately deal with negative emotions and therefore they just continue to repress them instead of acknowledging them the very moment that they start to feel them. This can be seen when people are asked about their day, they will generally say that it was good knowing that that was in fact a lie.

One of the arguments presented in the book was the idea of happiness as a construct created by the Empire in order to subdue the population into complacency. Happiness was only created in order to be a goal for people to go after which can be accomplished through the accumulation of capital or through the rejection of upward mobility. It does not matter what choice you pick both of them were created by the Empire. This creates the perfect environment for consumerism to thrive. The market is now in control of our happiness because they are not selling products per say they are more interested in selling the idea of happiness. This can be done through products or through experiences like vacations. Therefore instead of viewing happiness as a temporary emotion it is a goal to go after and once you reach that goal happiness will be a constant.

Another important quote to bring up is “Unhappiness, outrage, and grief are then perceived as individual disorders, to be dealt with through pharmaceuticals, self-help, therapy, and other atomizing responses” (58). There are some mental disorders that are genetically inherited and/or there is concret scientific evidence for the cause of them but depression seems to be the exception. Through the idea of happiness that is presented in this reading it would make sense to have certain populations with higher rates of depression if they are in a place where they are not able to achieve the happiness that is constructed by the Empire. If they do seek out  help like “pharmaceuticals, self-help, therapy” this will not change the conditions in which they are living in therefore they help that is given to them will not change their state of depression. Although they can be statistically accounted for it does not mean that this is not a product for their environment and their acceptance of the culture. But even if you reject the culture in which you are living in does this allow you to have a healthier way of dealing with negative emotions?