A few months ago I was listening to a radio program where an anthropologist was interviewed about a West African village where children were killed on a regular basis. These kids were believed to be inhabited by evil spirits. One had been born with a withered arm. Another was a child whose mother died during delivery, which to the villagers was a clear indication of the evil in the child. No one in the village felt these murders were wrong.
This story reminded me of the kind of thinking that was prevalent in the history mental illness. Faced with the kind of bizarre behaviour that was regularly seen in those suffering from schizophrenia or other psychotic processes, it was natural to assume that it was the result of demonic possession. The first recognized “treatment” of schizophrenia involved the use of a hammer to crack open the skulls of sufferers in order to release the evil spirits inhabiting the mind. Very few ever survived their treatment.
It is easy to look back and criticize these concepts and treatments as barbaric but they are perfectly reasonable, given the beliefs on which they were based.
Belief systems give us sense of order in our worlds – a feeling of control over unwanted events. While this can be very positive indeed, problems will almost always arise when beliefs interact with the infinite variety of human circumstances. In one context a belief can comfort while in another it can cause personal suffering or interpersonal conflict.
My May 12 column was inspired by two books written by Loung Ung, “First They Killed My Father” and “Lucky Child.” Loung survived the Cambodian holocaust. I chose a minor belief from her story to illustrate my point. However, that entire sad episode in world history was driven by (well-intentioned?) beliefs gone bad, from Pol Pot’s desire to create an agrarian utopia – a world where everyone was equal – to the Buddhist beliefs about destiny and fate that helped fuel the acceptance of events as being beyond an individual’s control. Indeed, I myself have often argued that acceptance is the key to treating many anxiety and affective disorders, but that doesn’t make it the best option in all contexts.
The power of beliefs
(Source: La puissance des croyances. Journal Métro, May 12, 2009)
The process of belief and its impact on us can be powerful indeed.
One of my heroes is Loung Ung, who wrote two books about her ordeal during the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia and her subsequent life in North America. Amid the many harrowing experiences she recounts is a seemingly trivial incident involving a bout with conjunctivitis. I think it is a simple yet moving illustration of how our beliefs affect our emotions.
One of the beliefs in her society was that conjunctivitis was caused by having looked at something you were not supposed to – a sort of punishment for the sin of not respecting the privacy of others. She searched her mind for what she did wrong and tried to hide her infection from others. Her mother accused her of having watched two dogs mating. She herself believed that it was from having looked at dead bodies.
Compounding the tragedy
Of all the wretched horrors Loung had to endure, this trivial incident struck me as most pathetic. When my kids were six or seven years old, they were riding bikes, playing Marco Polo in the pool, and learning to hit a baseball. Loung was pushing dead bodies away from her water supply and watching her sister starve to death. As if all that wasn’t enough, her beliefs added insult to tragedy.
Harmful beliefs
There are millions of similar stories in the world. Human beings always seek answers in order to prevent harm and to gain a sense of control over their environments. Beliefs can comfort us, especially when faced with tragedy. In our desire to have these answers we sometimes come up with ideas that sound plausible. Unfortunately these beliefs can sometimes lead to further harm.
The belief that sex with a virgin can cure a man of AIDS has led to enslavement and forced prostitution of countless little girls around the world. The belief that a physical deformity is a sign of the devil has led to the murder of babies in some African villages. And the belief that they are ridding the world of evil has led some people to fly airplanes into New York City skyscrapers.
We could all benefit from being a little less sure of ourselves. Beliefs can push us to greatness and contribute to a better world. But they can also push us to commit unspeakable horrors. A critical mind is the best way to ensure that the former outcome prevails over the latter.
Tagged as Belief systems, Cambodia, Loung Ung.
Posted in Human nature, Life.
Posted on 03 Jun 2009
