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When the Failed State Finds You
Where We Are & How to Stop the Decline
In September, I participated in the Aegis Trust/Kigali Genocide Memorial’s powerful Hate to Humanity webcast. (Still available here. Your purchase supports the Aegis Trust’s work to prevent genocide around the world).
I previously wrote about the webcast and focused on the pathway to peace highlighted during the third webcast in the series. Those 10 steps to peace were shared within the context of the parallel steps to violence that, ultimately, lead to a failed state. I noted how the United States is rapidly descending down this violent staircase approaching the status of “failed state,” something many around the world would have thought impossible not that long ago. Yet, here we are. Steadily moving down the ladder.
Ervin Staub, a Holocaust Survivor and professor emeritus in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, identified this slippery slope.
10 Steps to Violence
- Poor Living Conditions — A large majority of the population is living in challenging situations. These can be economical, political or social. Increased debt, high cost of living, low wages fall into this category.
- Seeking in-group protection — In response to social and economic challenges, individuals are drawn to tight…
