“It’s no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society” -Jiddu Krisnamurti
Mental Environment refers to the sum of all societal influences upon mental health, and is most often used in a context critical of the mental environment in industrialized societies. It is argued that just as industrial societies produce physical toxins and pollutants which harm humans physical health, they also produce psychological toxins (e.g. television, excessive noise, violent marketing tactics) that cause psychological damage.
“They who have put out the people’s eyes, reproach them of their blindness.” - John Milton
One way to think about mental health is by looking at how effectively and successfully a person functions. Feeling capable and competent; being able to handle normal levels of stress, maintain satisfying relationships, and lead an independent life; and being able to “bounce back,” or recover from difficult situations, are all signs of mental health. The generally accepted definition of health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, used by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1948.
“(They) Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV,
And you think you’re so clever and classless and free,
But you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see,
A working class hero is something to be.”
-John Lennon ‘Working Class Hero’
Most may find it hard to believe, but their minds are considered enemy territory by their own government. In fact, in order for a government to manufacture consent for it’s policies it will often wage a campaign of psychological warfare against its own citizens. Despite election year rhetoric and hand-wringing about the decline in voter turn- out, the last thing our political leaders actually want is an informed, active and engaged electorate. That would be a “crisis of democracy” as it has been called before.
Corporations spend billions of dollars annually running advertising, public relations or lobbying campaigns. Corporations want to maintain their position of power and influence unchecked by public accountability. Their main goal and purpose is to maximize profit while “externalizing” its costs to the public’s expense. Of course, all Corporations want to sell you something. Corporations want you to like them and identify with them as if they were just another person – like a good neighbour or a member of your own a family. Of course, Corporations are neither.
“Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.” -Edward Bernays (Inventor of “Public Relations”)
