Origins of American Bellicosity

[Icebreaker]

Americans are a “self-selected” group. By that I mean that the people that came here (Irish, English, Scots-Irish, German….) were a little bit different then their countrymen. To l eave home and cross an ocean to a continent unexplored and full of dangers requires a certain mindset (or level of mental illness).

Let me give a specific example. It has been proven that a higher percentage of the American population suffers from hyperactivity then other countries. Psychologists believe that originally the genetic pre-disposition for hyperactivity was fairly evenly spread throughout the human race. But think about it – you have two bothers living somewhere in Europe. One is hyperactive and one is not - which is more likely to immigrate to the New World. The hyperactive one would more likely move to America. Here he is more likely to meet a woman who is hyperactive and to pass down that trait to his children.

Who would be more likely to leave England, Ireland or Germany a mild mellow guy he gets a long with people, or the kind of guy who could get into a fight a church? The wild and wooly frontier would appeal more to him then to the more socialized fellow. Over time both “nature” and “nurture” brought out the more aggressive nature in people.

This is not to say anything bad. Aggression is a survival positive characteristic in many situations (if not carried to extreme). Also, I realize that many people who came here to America did not do so willingly (Africans brought as slaves, the Irish whose only other choice was starve).

[Dayuhan]

Let me give a specific example. It has been proven that a higher percentage of the American population suffers from hyperactivity then other countries.

I'd be very curious to see the data and the points of origin of the data on this one... I think it's pretty generally recognized that the US medical community is much quicker to diagnose mental "disorders" or the like than those of many countries. Is this a difference in actual incidence or a difference of diagnostic criteria?

I recall some discussions of ADD/ADHD in an International School setting... among the Western parents these are common household terms; among the Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean parents there was mystification: they had never even heard of them. Is this a genetic difference or a difference between the emphasis different cultures place on training in self-control and discipline in the home? It wouldn't surprise me to discover that many who are diagnosed as hyperactive in the US might in another culture simply be considered a bit difficult.

[goesh]

"I recall some discussions of ADD/ADHD in an International School setting... among the Western parents these are common household terms; among the Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean parents there was mystification: they had never even heard of them. Is this a genetic difference or a difference between the emphasis different cultures place on training in self-control and discipline in the home? It wouldn't surprise me to discover that many who are diagnosed as hyperactive in the US might in another culture simply be considered a bit difficult.[/QUOTE]" (Dayuhan)

IMO it is primarily cultural and I suspect our diet predisposes some towards the ADD/ADHD diagnosis' but added is the 'push' from the drug cartels to market and sell their products. Add to the mix harried physicians and psychiatrists being pushed by parents for another quick fix in their fast lane lives and it's about gotten out of hand - they dispense medication in most schools these days. Omega 3 fats and exercise can remedy much of it.