From time to time, everyone feels a little sad. However, some people feel sad more frequently because life did not turn out the way they expected, even after putting in the hard work, or because they are trapped in abusive and/or dangerous situations. We have all experienced times when our focus is on what we lack rather than on our blessings. The important thing to remember is, even though your circumstances are not as rosy as you would like them to be, thank God for all the little blessings in your life. Thank God that you have a home to live in, for waking up this morning, or for having food to eat. The more we are thankful for all the small things in life, the more gratitude we have, and that may create the energy we need to attract larger blessings. Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love. Human needs arrange themselves in hierarchies of prepotency. That is to say, the appearance of one need usually rests on the prior satisfaction of another, more pre-potent need. Man is a perpetually wanting animal. Also, no need or drive can be treated as if it were isolated or discrete; every drive is related to the state of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of other drives. It is far easier to perceive and to criticize the aspects of your life. However, a grateful heart comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. When you focus on gratitude, you do not have a spirit of conceit, entitlement, or egotism; you have a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your life. #RandolphHarris 1 of 29
Of all the judgments that we pass in life, none is as important as the one we pass on ourselves, for that judgment touches the very center of our existence. We stand amid an almost infinite network of relationships: to other people, social media, to things, to our families and friends, and to the world. And yet, sometimes when we are alone with ourselves, we are aware that the most intimate and powerful of all relationships, and the one we can never escape is the relationship to ourselves. No significant aspect of our thinking, motivation, feelings, or behavior is unaffected by our self-evaluation. We are organisms who are not only conscious but self-conscious. Dr. Freud originally stated that the sources of human self-esteem are: the residue of childish narcissism, id est, the child’s natural self-love; such infantile omnipotence as is corroborated by experience giving the child the feeling that he fulfills his own ego ideal; gratification of object libido, id est, the love for others. However, if a healthy residue of infantile narcissism is to survive, the maternal environment must create and sustain it with a love which assures the child that it is good to be alive in the social coordinates in which he happens to find himself. “Natural” narcissism, which is said to fight so valiantly against the inroads of a frustrating environment, is, in fact, verified by the sensual enrichment and the encouragement of skills provided by this same environment. Widespread severe impoverishment of infantile narcissism, on the other hand, must be considered a breakdown of that collective synthesis which gives every newborn baby and his motherly surroundings a superindividual status as a trust of the community. And in the later absorption of this narcissism into more mature self-esteem, it is again of decisive importance whether or not the adolescent can expect an opportunity to employ what he has learned in childhood and to acquire thereby a feeling of continued communal meaning. #RandolphHarris 2 of 29
If experience is to corroborate a sound part of the infantile sense of omnipotence, then child-training methods must not only foster sensual health and progressive mastery, but also offer tangible social recognition as the fruits of health and mastery. For unlike the childish sense of omnipotence which is fed by make-believe and adult deception, the self-esteem which contributes to a sense of identity is based on the rudiments of skills and social techniques which assure a gradual coincidence of play and skillful performance, of ego ideal and social role, and thereby promise a tangible future. If “object libido” is to be satisfied, then genital love and orgastic potency must be assured in a cultural style of economic safety and emotional security, for only such a synthesis gives unified meaning to the full functional cycle of genitality, which includes conception, childbearing, and child rearing. Infatuation may gather incestuous childhood loves in a present “object’; genital activity may help two individuals to use one another as anchors against regression; but mutual genital love faces toward the future and the community. It works toward a division of labor in that life task which only two of the opposite gender can fulfill together: the synthesis of production, procreation, and re-creation in the primary social unit of some family system. If the ego identity of lovers and mates is complementary in some essentials, it can be fused in marriage to the benefit of the offspring’s ego development. From the point of view of such joint identities, the “incestuous” attachment to parent images cannot be considered as necessarily pathogenic, as writers in psychopathology seem to infer. #RandolphHarris 3 of
On the contrary, such a choice is part of an ethnic mechanism in that it creates a continuity between the family one grew up in and the family one establishes. It thus perpetuates tradition, id est, the sum of all that had been learned by preceding generations, in a social analogy to the preservation of the gains of evolution in the mating within the species. Neurotic fixation on parents, however, and rigid inner defenses against incestuous wishes signify the failure, not the nature, of the affinity of generations. However, as has been pointed out, many of the mechanisms of adjustment which once made for psychosocial evolution, tribal integration, and national or class coherence are at loose ends in a world of universally expanding identities. Education for an ego identity which receives strength from changing historical conditions demands a conscious acceptance of historical heterogeneity on the parts of adults, combined with an enlightened effort to provide human childhood everywhere with a new fund of meaningful continuity. If they avoid such stereotypes as “the patient had a domineering mother,” stereotypes which have historical determinants and themselves acquire habitual connotations, clinical histories help in research. Psychoanalytic thinking could well contribute to new methods of studying not only children, but also the spontaneous ways in which segments of modern society strive under vastly changing technological conditions to make a workable continuity out of child training and historical development. For whoever wants to cure or guide must understand, conceptualize, and use spontaneous trends of identity formation. #RandolphHarris 3 of 29
The concepts of honoring the self and self-esteem are intimately related is obvious almost from the words themselves. An optimistic self-esteem depends, and in many ways is affected by the nature of our self-appraisal. Virtually all psychologists recognize that there is some connection between the degree of a person’s self-esteem and the degree of his or her overall mental well-being, just as there is some connection between the condition of a person’s self-esteem and his or her behavior in work and human relationships. In studying this subject, there should be an observation point equidistant from the id, the ego, and the superego—so that one may be aware of their functional interdependence and so that as one observes a change in one of these sections of the mind, he may not lose sight of related changes in others. What is here conceptualized as a compartmentalization of inner man reflects vast processes in which man is involved at all times. We may reformulate the ego’s task (and, maybe, the ego) by recognizing it as one of three indispensable and ceaseless processes by which man’s existence becomes and remains continuous in time and organized in form. The first of these is the biological process, by which an organism comes to be a hierarchic organization of organ systems living out its life cycle. The second is the social process, by which organisms come to be organized in groups which are geographically, historically, and culturally defined. What may be called the ego process is the organizational principle by which the individual maintains himself as a coherent personality with a sameness and continuity both in his self-experience and in his actuality for others. #RandolphHarris 4 of 29
While these processes have yielded to study by different disciplines, alternately concentrating on the biological, the social, or the psychological, it must be obvious that the “physiology” of living, id est, the unbroken interaction of all parts, is governed by a relativity which makes each process dependent on the other. This means that any changes observed in one will cause and again be influenced by changes in the other. True, each of these processes has its own warning signals: pain, anxiety, and panic. They warn of the danger of organic dysfunction, of impairment, of ego mastery, and of loss of group identity; but each signal announces a threat to all. In psychopathology, we observe and study the apparent autonomy of one of these processes as it receives undue accentuation because of the loss of mutual regulation and general balance. Thus, psychoanalysis first studied, as if it could be isolated, man’s enslavement by the id, id est, by the excessive demands on ego and society of frustrated organisms upset above all in their instinctuality. Next, the focus of study shifted to man’s enslavement by seemingly autonomous ego (and superego) strivings—defensive mechanisms which, in order to “contain” an upset libido economy, impoverish the ego’s power of experiencing and planning. Perhaps, psychoanalysis will complete its basic studies of neurosis by investigating more explicitly man’s enslavement by historical conditions which claim autonomy by precedent and exploit archaic mechanisms within him, to deny him physical vitality and ego strength. #RandolphHarris 5 of 29
The goal of psychoanalytic treatment itself has been defined as a simultaneous increase in the mobility of the id (that is, in the adaptability of our instinctual drives to opportunities for satisfaction as well as to necessary delays and frustrations), in the tolerance of the superego (which will condemn special acts but not the whole doer), and in the synthesizing power of the ego. The analysis of the ego includes the individual’s ego identity in relation to the historical changes which dominated his childhood, his adolescent crisis, and his mature adjustment. For the individual’s mastery over his neurosis begins where he is put in a position to accept the historical necessity which made him what he is. The individual feels free when he can choose to identify with his own ego which must be done. Only thus can he derive ego strength (for his generation and the next) from the coincidence of his one and only life cycle with a particular segment of human history. High self-esteem can best be understood as the integrated sum of self-confidence and self-respect. Self-confidence is consciousness evaluating the efficacy of its own operations when applied to the task of understanding and dealing with reality. Am I competent to know? Am I competent to choose? To chart the course of my life? To satisfy my needs? Self-respect is the feeling of personal worth. Is it appropriate that I should be happy? That others should find me lovable? That I should be treated with respect? That my needs and wants matter to those who are close to me? #RandolphHarris 6 of 29
Self-esteem is an evaluation of my mind, my consciousness, and, in a profound sense, my person, It is not an evaluation of particular success or failures, nor is it an evaluation of particular knowledge or skills. Thus, I can be very confident of myself at the fundamental level and yet be uncertain of my abilities in specific social situations. And, conversely, I can outwardly revel in my social savoir-faire, yet inwardly be self-doubting and insecure. Further, I can be universally loved and yet not love myself. I can be universally admired and yet not admire myself. I can be widely regarded as brilliant and yet think myself intellectually inadequate. I can be a high achiever and yet feel like a failure, because I have not lived up to my own standards. Living up to my own standards can enhance or diminish self-esteem. The ability to perceive the world accurately is a relatively difficult achievement. The probability is high that persons will perceive the world autistically unless they take active steps to “reality-test” their perceptions. Autistic perception is animistic and “physiognomic.” The young child, the regressed psychotic, and, to some extent, primitive people all manifest such “primitive” perception. Primitive perception is characterized by the tendency for the individual to personalize animals, trees, water, and nature—assuming they have motives, feelings, and wishes just as the perceiver has. The defense mechanism of projection is a special case of primitive perception. Projection is the name given to the tendency to assume that another person has motives, feelings, wishes, values, or, more generally, traits that the individual has. #RandolphHarris 7 of 29
If persons assume that someone else is similar to themselves, the term assimilative projection is used to describe such an assumption. Projection as such is not a defense mechanism; rather, it might be called misperception of another person. Or it may be regarded as a sort of logical fallacy—the act of formulating beliefs about another person’s motives and feelings without adequate evidence. Thus, I may notice that some man resembles me in age, gender, and educational level, and so I assume he is responding to some situation in a manner identical with my own. Both of us look at an attractive woman; I notice I am pleasantly affected by the woman, and I assume that the other person is similarly affected. Further questioning of the other person may prove my assumption is wrong; my assumption itself illustrates assimilative projection. Suppose I have repressed interest in attractive women; to admit such interest would threaten my self-structure. I may assume the other fellow is very interested in the attractive woman, but I would myself vehemently deny any such interest. I would be displaying disowning projection. This unwarranted assumption about the other person’s motives would be a defense mechanism. I would be protecting my self-concept by repressing certain feelings in myself and assuming without warrant that other people, not I, are motivated by such unacceptable drives. The evidence that prompts the observer to suspect disowning projection is to be found in the beliefs that a person holds concerning his or her own motivation and that of others. #RandolphHarris 8 of 29
One suspects disowning projection if the motives imputed to others are derogatory and immoral; such motives are vigorously denied in the self, and there is not much evidence to support the belief that the other person has the motives imputed to him or her, and the person himself or herself gives evidence of these imputed motives, but at an unconscious level. Not only can a person disown and project unsavory aspects of the real self; the person can also repress and project positive potentialities. Where this occurs, the person perceives the self as imperfect, weak, and base, whereas the object of the projection is perceived as perfect, strong, and ideal. Authoritarian characters often appear to do this. Many a romantic lover, too, has seen himself as worthless and evil and has projected his own moral potential onto his beloved, perceiving her as the embodiment of all that is clean, wonderful, and morally perfect. He may become disillusioned in the face of reality. The main types of protest are anger and weeping. These are highly regarded by the majority of group therapists as “expressing real feelings,” while laughter is for some reason not so highly thought of, and is sometimes lightly dismissed as not expressing a “real feeling.” Since about ninety percent of anger is a “racket” encouraged by the Parent, the real question is “What good does it do to get angry?” It seldom accomplishes anything that cannot be done better without it, and the price is hardly worth paying: four to six hours of disturbed metabolism, and possibly several hours of insomnia. #RandolphHarris 9 of 29
The crucial point in the after-burn of anger occurs when Jeder stops saying to himself or his friends: “I should have…” (using the past tense) and switches into “I would like to…” (using the present tense). This staircase anger is nearly always misguided. The rule for staircase anger is the same as the rule for staircase wit. “If you did not say it on the spot, do not go back to say it afterward, as young intuition was probably right in the first place.” The best policy is to wait until the next occasion, and then if you are really ready to do better, you will. The phase of the present tense (“I would like to…”) is usually short lived, and the future tense soon takes over: “Next time, I will…” This signifies a shift from Child to Adult. I am firmly convinced (without any chemical evidence) that the shift from past to future coincides with a shift in metabolic chemistry, and is merely a slight change in some small radical of some complex hormonal substance—a simple process of reduction or oxidation. This is another assault on the illusion of autonomy. As the person shifts from past to future in his indignation, he thinks “I am calming down,” or someone says: “Now you are being more sensible.” However, in fact, he is neither “calming” nor “being” and is simply reacting to a trivial chemical change. Nearly all anger is part of a game of “Now I’ve Got You, You Son of a B*tch” (NIGYSOB). (“Thank you for giving me an excuse to get angry.”) Jeder is in fact, pleased at being wronged, since he has been carrying around a bag of anger since early childhood, and it is a relief to vent some of it legitimately. (“Who would not get angry under such conditions?”) The question here is whether abreaction is beneficial. Dr. Freud, long ago, said it did not do the job. Nowadays, however, for most group therapists, it is the mark of a “good” group meeting, and leads to lively staff conferences. Everybody is delighted and exhilarated, and relieved when a patient “expresses anger.” #RandolphHarris 10 of 29
Therapists who encourage patients to express anger, or even demand it from them, feel very supercilious toward their less trippy colleagues, and have no hesitation in saying so. The reductio ad absurdum of this attitude is in the following statement by an imaginary patient: “I took public transportation toward my occupational area and resolved that today I would really communicate with authority figures by expressing real feelings. So I screamed at my boss and threw my laptop through the window. He was very happy, and said ‘I’m glad that we’re finally communicating and that you’re freely expressing your hostility. That’s the kind of employee we like to have around here. I note that you have liquidated a fellow employee who happened to be standing under the window, but I hope this will not arouse hampering guilt feelings in you that will interfere with our interpersonal interaction.’” This distinction between racket anger and genuine anger is often easy to make. After NIGYSOB anger the patient may smile, whereas genuine anger is usually followed in the group by weeping. In any case, the patients should understand that they are not permitted to throw things, or assault or strike each other in the group. Any attempt to do so should be physically restrained, and, except in special cases, a patient who does either of these things should be dropped from the group. There are, however, some therapists who contract to let patients express their anger physically, and have proper facilities and personnel for handling the possible complications. #RandolphHarris 11 of 29
Weeping is also a racket in most cases, or may even be a dramatic put-on. The response of the other group members is the best way to judge this. If they feel annoyed or overly sympathetic, the tears are probably spurious. Genuine weeping usually results in a respectful silence and genuine responses of Aristotelian tragic pity. Naturally, the course of our life is in part determined by factors outside our influence. However, we can have a sense of direction. We can know what we want to make out of our life. We can have ideals, toward the approximation of which we strive and based on which we make moral decisions. This sense of direction is conspicuously absent in many neurotics, whose directive powers are weakened in direct proportion to the degree of alienation from self. These people shift without plan or purpose, wherever their fancy takes them. Futile daydreaming may take the place of directed activities; sheer opportunism, the place of honest strivings; cynicism may choke off ideals. Indecision may reach such an extent as to prohibit any purposeful functioning. Even more widespread and more difficult to recognize are the hidden disturbances of this sort. A person may appear well organized, in fact streamlined, because he is driven toward such neurotic goals as perfection or triumph. The directive control is, in such cases, taken over by compulsive standards. The artificiality of the directives which then develop may show only when he finds himself caught between contradictory shoulds. #RandolphHarris 12 of 29
The anxiety which will arise in such situations is great because he has no other directives to follow. His real self is, as it were, confined in an oubliette; he cannot consult with it, and for this reason, he is a helpless prey to contradictory pulls. This is true for other neurotic conflicts as well. The degree of helplessness toward them and the fear of facing them not only point to the magnitude of the conflicts but even more to his alienation from self. Lack of inner direction also may not appear as such because a person’s life has moved in traditional channels and has made it possible to evade personal plans and decisions. Procrastination may veil indecision. If a decision which they alone can make has to be made, only then may people become aware of their indecision. Such a situation may then be an ordeal of the worst order. However, even so, they usually do not recognize the general nature of the disturbance and ascribe it to the difficulty of the particular decision to be made. Finally, an insufficient sense of direction may be hidden behind an attitude of compliance. People then do what they think others expect them to do; they are what they think others desire them to be. And they may develop considerable astuteness about what others need or expect. Usually, they will, in a secondary way, glorify this skill as sensitivity or considerateness. When they become aware of the compulsive character of such “compliance,” and try to analyze it, they will focus usually on factors pertaining to personal relations, such as a need to please or to ward off the hostility of others. #RandolphHarris 13 of 29
However, they “comply” also in situations in which these factors do not apply, as for instance in the analytic situation. They leave the initiative to the analyst and want to know or to guess what he expects them to tackle. They do so contrary to explicit encouragements on the part of the analyst to follow their own interests. Here, the background of the “compliance” becomes clear. Without being in the least aware of it, they are compelled to leave the direction of their own lives to others instead of taking it in their own hands. They will feel lost when left to their own resources. In dreams, such symbols will appear as being in a boat without a rudder, having lost a compass, being without a guide in a strange and dangerous territory. That the lack of inner directive powers is the essential element in their “compliance” also becomes apparent at a later time, when the struggle for inner autonomy begins. The anxiety occurring during this process has to do with abandoning accustomed assistances without as yet daring to trust themselves. While the impairment or loss of the directive powers may be hidden, there is another insufficiency that is always clearly discernible, at least to the trained observer: the faculty of assuming responsibility for self. The term “responsibility” may connote three different things. I do not, in this context, refer to dependability in the sense of fulfilling obligations of keeping promises, or to the assumption of responsibility for others. Attitudes on these scores vary too much to single out constant characteristics for all neuroses. The neurotic may be utterly reliable, or he may assume too much or too little responsibility in regard to others. #RandolphHarris 14 of 29
Nor do we mean to embark here upon the philosophical intricacies of moral responsibility. The compulsive factors in neuroses are so prevailing that freedom of choice is negligible. For all practical purposes, we take it for granted that in general the patient could not develop otherwise than he did; that in particular he could not help doing, feeling, thinking what he did do, feel, think. This viewpoint, however, is not shared by the patient. His lofty disregard for all that means laws and necessities extends to himself, too. The fact that, everything considered, his development could go only in certain directions is beneath his consideration. Whether some drive or attitude was conscious or unconscious does not matter. However insuperable the odds against which he had to struggle he should have met them with unfailing strength, courage, and equanimity. If he did not do so, it proves that he is no good. Conversely, in self-protection, he may rigidly reject any guilt, declare himself infallible, and put the blame for any difficulties, past or present, on others. Here again, as in other functions, pride has taken over responsibility and hounds him with condemnatory accusations when he fails to do the impossible. This then makes it close to impossible to assume the only responsibility that matters. This is, at bottom, no more but also no less than plain, simple honesty about himself and his life. It operates in three ways: a square recognition of his being as he is, without minimizing or exaggerating; a willingness to bear the consequences of his actions, decisions, et cetera, without trying to “get by” or to put the blame on others; the realization that it is up to him to do something about his difficulties without insisting that others, or fate, or time will solve them. #RandolphHarris 15 of 29
This does not preclude accepting help but, on the contrary, implies getting all the help he possibly can. However, if he himself does not make efforts toward a constructive change, even the best help from outside does not avail. To illustrate with an example which is actually a composite of many similar cases: a young married man constantly spends more money than he can afford, despite regular financial help from his father. He offers to himself and to others plenty of explanations: it is the fault of his parents, who never trained him to deal with money; it is the fault of his father, who gives him too small an allowance. This, in turn, continues because he is too intimidated to ask for more; he needs money because his wife is not economical or because his child needs a today; then there are taxes and doctors’ bills—and is not everybody entitled to a little fun now and then? All these reasons are relevant data for the analyst. They show the patient’s claims and his tendency to feel abused. To the patient, they not only account completely and satisfactorily for his dilemma but, to come directly to the point, he uses them as a magic wand to dispel the simple fact that, for whatever reason, he did spend too much money. This statement of facts, this calling a spade a spade, is often close to impossible for the neurotic caught in the push and pull of pride and self-condemnation. Of course, the consequences do not fail to appear: his bank account is overdrawn; he runs into debt. He is furious at the banker who politely notifies him of the state of his account, and furious at his friends who do not want to lend him money. #RandolphHarris 16 of 29
When the predicament is drastic enough, he presents his father or a friend with the accomplished fact and more or less forces them to come to his rescue. He does not face the simple connection that the difficulties are the consequences of his own undisciplined spending. He makes resolutions concerning the future which cannot possibly carry weight because he is too busy justifying himself and blaming others to mean what he plans. What has not penetrated is the sober realization that the lack of discipline is his problem, that it actually makes his life difficult, and that consequently it is up to him to do something about it. Another illustration of how tenaciously a neurotic can blind himself to the consequences of his problems or his actions: a person harboring an unconscious conviction of his immunity to ordinary cause and effect may have recognized his arrogance and his vindictiveness. However, he simply does not see the consequences of others resenting it. If they turn against him, it is an unexpected blow; he feels abused, and may often be quite astute in pointing out the neurotic factors (in others!) which make them resent his behavior. He discards lightly all the evidence presented. He considers it an attempt by the others involved to try to rationalize away their own guilt or responsibility. These illustrations, though typical, do not begin to cover all the ways of avoiding responsibility for self. However, we see how the neurotic puts responsibility on everybody and everything except himself; how neatly he distinguishes between himself and his neurosis. As a result, his real self becomes increasingly weaker or more remote. If, for instance, he denies that unconscious forces are part of his total personality, they may become a mysterious power which scares him out of his wits. And the weaker his contact with his real self becomes through such unconscious evasions, the more does he become a helpless prey to his unconscious forces and the more and more reason he has in fact to dread them. On the other hand, every step he takes toward assuming responsibility for all of this complex which is himself, makes him visibly stronger. #RandolphHarris 17 of
Diagnosing a mental health problem is similar to identifying the root cause of a fire. It must be meticulous and deliberate, methodically pulling back and sorting the contributing factors. As options are eliminated, the root cause can be revealed. Predetermined views and opinions are a sure way to undermine the investigation. Several years ago, an alarm sounded from a store. Around 1:15 in the afternoon, a passerby noticed smoke coming from the rear of the building and called the fire department. The blaze had started and spread so quickly that the employees of the building were unaware of it until the flames and smoke shot through the building. One employee was slightly injured from the heat and smoke as she escaped the building. The award-winning Sacramento Fire Department quickly surrounded the building. The fire had spread so quickly, engulfing the interior of the building and making entrance to the inside impossible. As water was poured into the building, the flames seemed to subside. Windows had shattered from the intense heat. Suddenly, without warning, the second floor collapsed. The weight of the two floors combined was too much, causing the first floor to collapse into the basement, where over 200 gallons of paint were stored, touching off an explosion and renewing the fire’s intensity for hours. Despite the total destruction, the fire was contained to that one building. The cause of the fire was never determined due to the extensive damage that prevented any investigation. Fire can break out anywhere at any time, and there is never a lack of bravery from the award-winning Sacramento Fire Department, which is an invaluable asset to the community. #RandolphHarris 18 of 29
If you see a fire truck stopped in the street without the lights on, be very careful. Sometimes there is an emergency, and you should not pass the fire truck. It might be a good idea to safely turn around and go another way because if you hit someone and they happen to die, you could be charged with manslaughter. Sometimes fire firefighters are getting back into their vehicle, and if you pass the apparatus, you may collide with a firefighter who is on foot. Also, be sure to look at their signals; sometimes emergency vehicles are in motion, albeit slowly, and drivers try to pass them, and this could lead to a dangerous situation. Also, if you are in an intersection when you see an emergency vehicle, continue through the intersection. Drive to the right as soon as it is safe and stop. Obey any direction, order, or signal given by a law enforcement officer or a firefighter. Even if they conflict with existing signs, signals, or laws, follow their orders. When their siren or flashing lights are on, it is against the law to follow within 300 feet of any fire engine, law enforcement vehicle, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle. If you drive to the scene of a fire, collision, or other disaster, you can be arrested. When you do this, you are getting in the way of firefighters, ambulance crews, or other rescue and emergency personnel. The concept of professional courage does not always mean being as tough as nails, either. It also suggests a willingness to listen to other people’s problems, to go to bat for them in a tough situation, and it means knowing just how far they can go. It also means being willing to tell the boss when he or she is wrong. #RandolphHarris 19 of 29
California is the third most expensive state in the nation. In 37 percent of counties, a family of four living on a six-figure income is now considered low-income. The average home price in California is nearly $1,000,000.00 USD, while the average salary is $96,036.00, meaning that most Californians cannot even afford to buy a home. California is having an affordability crisis. A single person making an income above $100,000 is now considered low-income in five counties in California. This distinction now applies to individuals living in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin counties. The maximum percentage of your gross income that you should earmark for a monthly mortgage payment is calculated at 28 percent, and no more than 36 percent of your gross income to all debts, including mortgage. If you take 28 percent of the median household income per home in Sacramento County, homeowners can only afford a mortgage of $2,070.23 per month. And if you take 36 percent of their gross income to all debts, including mortgage, they should be devoting no more than $2,661.72 a month to these debts. The mortgage lenders must be using some kind of sorcery to get buyers into these expensive homes. To afford one of these homes using traditional guidelines, a household would need to gross $11,280.24 per month or $135,362.88 per year, but the median household in Sacramento County is grossing $7,393.67 a month or $88,724.00 annually, and that typically means two to four people in the home are working and contributing to the mortgage. Home prices in Sacramento County are rivaling the Bay Area, and in some cases, homes in the Bay Area are more affordable. Historically, homes in the Bay Area have been more expensive because they have higher-paying jobs, a larger population, and the Bay Area is a tourist destination. Contributing to the housing affordability crisis is Gavin Newsom, who has been lavishing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded resources and cash aid, when state workers should be receiving a 25 percent wage increase instead. #RandolphHarris 20 of 29
n 2025, many people in California saw their bills increase by an estimated $500 a month. This includes items such as food, automobile insurance, homeowners’ insurance, and electricity. In fact, more than 3 million people in California are facing household hardship, and more than 300,000 of them are facing eviction soon. This comes at a time when California is having a shortage of affordable housing. The crisis is caused by nearly half a century-old laws that discourage home sales and encourage higher rents. The incompetence in California is very easy to see. From 2018 to 2023, California received $24 billion, which they used to fund 30 homeless and housing programs. These programs created 100,000 units. That is an average cost of $240,000 per unit. In comparison, Roger Lucas, owner of Grand Castle, LLC, spent $50 million to build The Grand Castle, which is a 522-unit residential apartment community in Grandville, Michigan. The community includes studios, 1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, and even a multi-level penthouse. Rents generally range from $1,000 to $2,500. The community is a 23.6-acre site. It features 750 covered parking spaces, a clubhouse, a resort-style swimming pool, and was built over a period of 12 to 18 months. The average cost was about $95,785.45 per unit, which is $144,214.55 less per unit than California spent. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.5 percent. As people are seeing their bills skyrocket, and minimum wage has increased to $20 an hour, people on Social Security retirement are really bearing the burden with the checks the typically equate to $5-$7 an hour. Furthermore, while Americans are struggling to find and afford housing, Gavin Newsom, Democrat governor of California, signed two bills into law on February 7, 2025, to protect illegal immigrants. Bills SBX 1 1: Budget Act of 2024, and SBX 1 2: Budget Act of 2024, allocates $50 million to protect illegal immigrants from deportation. Governor Gavin Newsom also granted 700,000 illegal immigrants free health care, which costs taxpayers $3 billion annually. At the same time, Newsom cut vital programs for veterans, school children, the disabled, and the homeless. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. #RandolphHarris 21 of 29
Meanwhile, China, where we are sending all our jobs and money, has more than 50 ghost cities, with 65 million vacant homes. Ghost cities are regions where housing has been overdeveloped to the point that these places are uninhabited. If they are all officially counted, California has approximately 4 million homeless people. The highest home prices in the nation, the highest taxes, and the most unfriendly business regulations known to man. Because California is so hostile towards people and businesses, more than 360 companies have fled the state since 2020. Businesses like Chevron, SpaceX, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard are among the names on that list. Also, more than 500,000 people a year are abandoning California because it is too expensive to live in, Gavin Newsom has criminalized homelessness and actually started arresting people without homes, crime is out of control, and they are losing their jobs due to companies relocating. More than 100 companies have announced layoffs in California for 2025. Intel is cutting 15,000 jobs, PayPal is cutting 2,500, and Meta has terminated 4,000 employees. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.1 percent. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. Accordingly, California has more than 3.5 million illegal immigrants. Having the Southern American border open and not having American farmland protected, not producing beef, poultry, fish, fruit, produce, and dairy in America, and without American goods and services being our number one manufactured and selling items, America has created a dangerous and significantly elevated risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health. Some people may believe that these claims are overstated, but by not routinely monitoring Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CEVs) or other security-relevant alerts, such as the end-of-life of machinery is how the Oroville Dam Crisis occurred in 2017. #RandolphHarris 22 of 29
Additionally, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom seems to be uneducated about economics. Newsom has spent $1 billion taxpayer dollars renovating the State Capitol building and $300 million to try to stop proposition 50. Proposition 50 would replace the maps drawn by the state’s independent commission with districts drawn by legislators solely to gain or protect Democratic seats. Newsom only cares about the environment when his policies allow him to raise taxes and restrict freedoms. To further highlight this illustration of incompetence by Governor Gavin Newsom, Mexico has been causing one of America’s worst environmental disasters. Fifty million gallons a day of industrial chemicals, untreated sewage, and trash flow from Tijuana, Mexico, into southern San Diego County daily. This toxic waste has been turning up on Imperial Beach and is causing the miles of white sands to become polluted and the ocean breeze to smell of feces, which has been sickening residents and wildlife and costing San Diego millions in the form of lost tourism and health problems. The problem has been going on for more than a century, and by 2030, Mexico plans to dump one hundred and twenty million gallons of sewage a day into Imperial Beach. Other crises that have occurred due to neglect of critical infrastructure such as the 2025 Palisades fire. Southern California ran out of water because Newsom is totally neglecting the state and the American people. And while the fire departments in California are critically understaffed and underfunded, Governor Newsom vetoed firefighter pay raise. The Palisades fire cost $275 billion, which is money that could have been used to insure the State of California had the resources it needed. Furthermore, when Southern California is located next to an ocean, Newsom should have invested in desalination plants to help with the water shortage in California. The water in the ocean is so plentiful that it is currently eroding land and causing homes to fall into the sea. Desalination has been identified as one technology that will help solve California’s water scarcity problem. Desalination is a cost-effective technology that can transform an abundance of salt water into a reliable supply of potable, fresh water, which is a great way to fight climate change and have enough water for our region’s water requirements. Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, is producing 1,036,000 meters (273,682,192) per day of desalinated water. #RandolphHarris 23 of 29
America needs an approach to eliminate safety vulnerabilities in American cities. There needs to be a road map by the end of 2025, outlining a prioritized approach to eliminate crisis situations in America. There is enough money to send aid to foreign nations, but the American government does not have enough money to care for its infrastructure, provide adequate resources, or end the affordable housing crisis. Nor is there enough money to fund other national critical functions (NCFs). These bad practices of putting America and Americans last are considered exceptionally risky, particularly to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. In 2024, Americans spent $100 billion on Japanese cars. As a result, the American automobile trade deficit with Japan was $39 billion. Additionally, Japan exported 1.4 million cars to the United States of America, but only imported 16,000 American-built automobiles. However, Japan imported approximately 143 thousand motor vehicles from the European Union. This is why President Trump created tariffs. We need to balance the trade deficit that America faces with other nations so we are not taken advantage of and so America can go bank to being a creditor nation, instead of borrowing money for other countries. Each year, President Trump is bringing $400 Billion in Tariff revenue into America and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. With this money, America is paying down debt, and with a portion of it, President Trump plans to send Americans a stimulus check anywhere in the range of $1,000 to $2,000. However, if President Trump’s Tariffs are deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, taxpayers will have to pay back trillions and trillions of dollars. As we literally and /or figuratively see gangs, federal judges, and Governor Gavin Newsom fighting with federal law enforcement and President Trump– states and cities refusing to honor federal laws. Politicians are also showing an utter disregard for the Constitution of the United States of America, and anarchy is becoming increasingly common. #RandolphHarris 24 of 29
Anarchism is a cluster of doctrines and attitudes centered on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary. Derived from the Greek root anarchos, meaning “without authority,” anarchism, anarchist, and anarchy are used to express both approval and disapproval. The anarchist denies man-made laws, regards property as a means of tyranny, and believes that crimes are merely the product of property and authority. However, the anarchist would argue that their denial of constitutions and governments leads not to “no justice” but to the real justice inherent in the free development of human sociality—the natural inclination, when unfettered by laws, to live according to the principles and practice of mutual aid. Anarchism is also a form of treason. Treason, the crime of betraying a nation or a sovereign by acts considered dangerous to security. In English law, treason includes the levying of war against the government and the giving of aid and comfort to the monarch’s enemies. In the United States of America, treason was defined restrictively by the framers of the Constitution. Treason against the United States of America “shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort,” which is something that many politicians are currently guilty of. The American government should know all exploitable vulnerabilities and fix them before the situation becomes a crisis. Failure to take such mitigating actions is dangerous and significantly elevates risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. The American government must understand that significant time and resources must be invested in America. They must also encourage corporations to plan for both mitigating safety vulnerabilities in the short term and eliminating them in the long term. For instance, a company might begin by reaching out to the federal, state, or local government and requesting tax incentives to provide security to dangerous communities, to help the government repair bridges and potholes. #RandolphHarris 25 of 29
Drug cartels have been threatening the health and safety of Native American communities. The trafficking of dangerous and illegal drugs into their territories is leading to a second genocide. The overdose rate for Indigenous people is 42 percent higher than the national average. A recent bust on Montana’s Blackfeet Nation’s Tribal Reservation resulted in the seizure of more than 700,000 fentanyl pills, which was the largest bust in Montana history. Recently, the Blackfeet Nation had to declare a state of emergency after facing 17 overdoses in just one week. There are only 6.8 million Native Americans left in the world, which is 2 percent of the American population. We should be doing more to protect these proud and honorable people; they should not want for anything. People rush and give away resources to illegal immigrants, but totally disregard the Indigenous people of this land, as their race silently fades away into extinction. We must secure our borders and increase federal funding to Native American tribes so we can save this precious population. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom has given billions of taxpayer dollars away to illegal immigrants and protected them from law enforcement, while arresting law-abiding Americans because they cannot afford to pay rent or mortgage, and the homeless shelters are unsafe, overcrowded, and have restrictions on who is allowed inside. He has also totally ignored the cartel problems on American lands. Clean air, water, land, and preserving our heritage are extremely important. We cannot just allow criminals to kill off the people who are native to this land and do nothing about it. Wars have been started over governments that tax citizens without representation. Taxation without representation is what led to the American Revolution. #RandolphHarris 26 of 29
Much like the land crisis in Las Vegas, we could also run out of land to farm and will not be able to grow or cultivate our own food. We can protect American farmland and support American farmers by buying American made beef, poultry, dairy, and produce. Also, country of origin labeling is very important so Americans can know where their food is coming from and can support American farmers and ranchers. As money flows, it influences further investment. Save the land that sustains us by protecting American farmland. Once the land is built on, we lose it forever. And in the future, there may be food wars. Also, to ensure that we have farmland and buildable land for future use, we need to start limiting the number of people allowed to immigrate to America. Perhaps with the immigrants we do allow into America, there needs to be a diversity program to make sure we have a population that equally represents all races of people. If Americans continue to spend money on American products, then more need to be made to keep up the inventory. When investors notice these goods are selling, it gives them the confidence to pour more money into that local business. It shows that people want these goods made in America and pressures investors to keep these goods and services in America. The jobs stay here, the business stays in America, wages naturally increase, and more money is invested to keep up with demand. This reduces the burden on the taxpayer. When you support American businesses, that money stays in our economy and can help to reduce the national debt. The government creates debt by borrowing from businesses in the private sector or from foreign countries. It also increases the national debt by spending more than it gains in tax revenue in a fiscal year. #RandolphHarris 27 of 29
When people shop locally, more tax money stays in the economy and goes to the government. This way, it keeps more money in our national economy and keeps more jobs located in America which also sends more taxes to the government, which can again help to reduce the national debt. When you buy foreign goods, these companies usually have lighter tax loads or exemptions, meaning less money for the national debt, plus you are helping to strengthen these foreign nations by sending more money overseas. Buying American-made products is also better for the environment and helps to reduce the carbon footprint because these products do not have to travel nearly as far. Furthermore, American companies and manufacturers are held to much higher standards on pollution. American companies must be more careful about air, land, and water pollution and have proper ways to dispose of waste. Under President Trump’s administration, he has make America a priority. President Trump has closed the southern border, illegal crossings have fallen to an all time low, and are 90 percent lower than under the previous administration. Since President Trump’s crack down on crime, violent crimes in Washington D.C. have dropped by approximately 80 percent. He has stopped thousands of pounds of drugs from entering America and killing citizens. And since President Trump took office, investments in America have increased by trillions of dollars in U.S.A. manufacturing, production, and innovation. As you can see, President Donald Trump and his pledge to “Make America Great Again” is exactly what America needs to save the country and the American people. And yes, diversity is important, so you can see why it is also important to preserve blonde hair and blue eyes, as the people with these characteristics are becoming a minority in America. #RandolphHarris 28 of 29
We must think before we can understand the soul’s existence; we must understand before we can realize it. The earliest beginnings of thought, as apart from instinct, when it was itself still but a lurking tendency, belong far back in primeval time. The human intellect as we find it today, so rich and developed an instrument for the consciousness of the ego, did not arrive at this fullness without a series of graduated stages. We have had plenty of scientific thinking, business thinking, and political thinking long enough, but we have had very little inspired thinking. That is the world’s need. The intellect is cradled in selfishness but runs the evolutionary track into reason, where it will one day finish at the winning-post of selflessness. As a reminder, parents, please teach your children to love America and be patriotic citizens, and to buy goods and services made in America. It is also important to respect law and order and treat your elders with respect. It is inborn in the human mind to wish to know. If this begins with the endless surface questions of a child’s curiosity, if it continues into deeper questions of a scientist’s probing investigation, it cannot and does not stop there. For the higher part of the mind will eventually come into unfoldment, that union of abstract reflective thought with mystical intuition, which is true intelligence, which needs and sees a view of the whole of things. And so, the knowing faculty enters the realm of philosophy. Therefore, remember to take your education seriously so that you will be successful in life and make your family proud. Also, to make sure they have all the resources required, please donate to the Sacramento Fire Department to help improve our national security. “Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand between their loved home and the war’s desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’ And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” #RandolphHarris 29 of 29
According to locals, over a century ago, the land that houses The Winchester Mansion had been vacant forever. Then, sometime in the early afternoon of Saturday, March 13, 1886, Sheriff Angel Camilio began getting reports that a massive castle made of wood had suddenly appeared. Gables rose, towers peaked into the sky as the mansion mushroomed into a labyrinth overnight. The house’s sudden manifestation had been both disconcerting and fascinating to the community. Some felt dark curses flowing from the estate, and things moving around in the darkness. Others saw a fairytale castle glimmering in the spring sunlight. Perhaps this is why there are no records of construction, no blueprints, and no permits filed with the county. And then one day, a hearse came tearing through the gates, and in that hearse was a coffin, some believed it contained Mrs. Winchester.
According to legend, when Sarah Lockwood Pardee (Winchester) married William Wirt Winchester in 1862, she enjoyed a life of extravagant luxury. William Winchester, President of the Winchester repeating rifle, became a very wealthy man through the sale of his guns, and the couple were among the elite New England society. She also told Mrs. Winchester they would kill her too, unless she moved out West and built a great house for the spirits. In addition, Mrs. Winchester was told construction on the house must never end in order to appease the spirits and keep her alive, perhaps even give her eternal life. Mrs. Winchester followed the medium’s suggestions, and in 1886, she moved to the Santa Clara valley just outside San Jose, where she bought an 18-room farmhouse and property to build her mansion. At its peak, the Mansion once stood 9-stories tall and had as many as 600-rooms. Today, the stately mansion is 4-storys, and over 100,000 square feet.
Experience an unforgettable journey back to the time of kings and queens with this entry ticket for The Winchester Mansion in Santa Clara, California, which was the residence of Heiress Sarah L. Winchester. Come and see what secrets this so-called, “Winchester Mystery House” may hold. Take advantage of this fascinating experience. After the tour, there will be time to enjoy the mansion’s splendor at your own pace. You might even discover secret passages that lead to hidden chambers within the mansion. These chambers served as safe places for valuables, precious documents, and as private sanctuaries for Mrs. Winchester, and allowed her to move stealthily throughout her home. At one time, there were even secret tunnels that extended beyond the mansion, leading to nearby Victorian houses that were also on the property, and other structures, creating a network of escape routes or hidden pathways.
Please come and enjoy a delicious meal at Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, which once spanned 740 acres, all the way down to Stevens Creek Boulevard; wander through the miles of hallways in the world’s most mysterious mansion.
For further information about tours, including group tours, weddings, school events, birthday party packages, facility rentals, and special events please visit the website: https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Please visit the online giftshop, and purchase a gift for friends and relatives as well as a special memento of The Winchester Mystery House. A variety of souvenirs and gifts are available for purchase. https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/
Harris Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric has been in business for 30 years. How many businesses can say that? We take pride in everything we do – no matter how big or small the service call might be. We’re here to help your home be as safe and comfortable as possible for you and your family. We take that responsibility very seriously as a company.
Harris will ensure you have the information you need to decide what to do next, whatever your home is facing. We’ll perform a diagnosis and detail what issues are present before starting any work. This gives you a personalized quote and service plan specific to your home’s needs, not some random quote based on the best guess. The only way we can do our best work is to make sure we handle the issues at hand. https://www.callharrisnow.com/about-us/
With its top ranking in Consumer Reports’ Auto Brand Report Card and consistent market share growth, BMW, The Ultimate Driving Experience, has demonstrated its ability to produce high-performing, reliable vehicles that meet consumer demands. BMW stands out due to its focus on driving dynamics and engineering excellence. While other luxury brands prioritize comfort and opulence, BMW is known for creating cars that are fun to drive and offer a unique connection between the driver and the machine. This is why BMW is known as The Ultimate Driving Machine. https://www.brianharrisbmw.com/
Randolph Harris San Francisco Taxation & Mergers
Building strong and lasting client relationships is crucial for a successful legal career. Many lawyers mistakenly believe that mastering legal skills alone ensures success, but law is fundamentally a service industry—our job is to solve problems through the time we sell. To build long-term relationships, attorneys must focus on three core elements: knowing their clients, understanding how their legal issues fit into a larger context, and consistently delivering exceptional service.
Randy advises clients with regard to business transition, taxable and tax-deferred mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring, integrated tax planning, federal and state tax controversy resolution, and real estate transactions. Trust is the cornerstone of any client relationship. Ultimately, my clients feel they are in capable hands with someone who genuinely understands their problems and goals. https://www.jmbm.com/l-randolph-harris.html
Park Haven
Rancho Cordova, CA | low $500s
Now Selling!
Welcome to Cresleigh Park Haven, the newest home community in Rancho Cordova.
Nestled in the heart of Rancho Cordova, Park Haven is a thoughtfully planned neighborhood of 71 homes designed for comfort, convenience, and connection. Adjacent to Exploration Park, it offers the perfect blend of modern living and outdoor adventure right at your doorstep.
Choose from five floor plans ranging from 1,342 to 2,547 square feet, with options for 3 to 5 bedrooms, flexible spaces, and open layouts tailored to today’s lifestyles. Whether you are a first-time buyer, a growing family, or looking to simplify without giving up style, there is a home here for you.
Select Park Haven homes include free solar ownership, built in savings from day one. Enjoy the benefits of 100 percent owned solar at no extra cost, providing lasting energy efficiency, lower monthly expenses, and the confidence of full ownership.
With maintenance friendly yards, nearby shopping and dining, and access to top rated schools, Park Haven is more than just a place to live. It is a place to thrive.
All within a community rich in resort-style amenities and within the highly regarded Elk Grove School District.
Home sweet home. A Cresleigh Home is the place to find happiness. The light is what guides you here; the warmth is what keeps you here. https://cresleigh.com/park-haven/move-in-ready-homesite-22/
Randolph Harris II International 