Mind Matters: ‘Super Sad True Love Story’ time

Posted by Dr. Kayta Gajdos on November 11, 2015

Everywhere I turn, I see “Super Sad True Love Story” as our reality. “Super Sad True Love Story” is an apocalyptic novel written by Gary Shteyngart about how our country had become in essence a caste system of rich and poor: visible chasms created to mark high net worth individuals from the lowly peons of poverty. The minority wealthy kept them at bay.

The novel, long before Occupy Wall Street occurred, harbingered its coming. While the poor were walled off in an occupy zone of tents, the affluent could walk down the street while something akin to telephone poles tabulated their wealth, announcing to the world their status as high net worth individuals.

Standing in line to board flights to and from Greece recently was surreal. No longer fiction, now fact is the stark reality of labeling and treating people according to their “net worth:” the airline personnel board you accordingly. First class first, of course. Then, it’s all about what kind of credit card you have. Are you “Admiral” or “Platinum?” Are you a high net worth individual—or not? We stand like sheep waiting for the prod.

Ironically, chances are, if you can board a plane at all, you don’t consider yourself, in the realms of life, as among the poor. However, the airlines affluent animal call does prompt me to reflect how we, in the U.S., are becoming more marked as haves and have nots.

When CEO’s make four hundred times more money than their employees, that is out and out greed—criminal actually! Meanwhile, wages—not just the minimum wage—are stagnant and have been for years. The income gap—inequality in the U.S.—is rising.

The repercussions of this inequality is staggering. The American Psychological Association president, Barry S. Anton, Ph.D., recently addressed this, saying, “the divide between the wealthy and the poor has never been greater—and this inequality has significant negative implications for our society … . As income inequality increases, we also see decreases in physical healthy, life expectancy, social trust, economic growth, and social mobility.”

Here’s a compelling corollary to income inequality: as a person’s wealth increases, compassion and concern for others declines while entitlement and self-aborption rises. Researcher Paul Piff, Ph.D. found that the poor were “more likely to share their resources with strangers than are wealthier individuals.” And Barry Anton questions, “When privilege and self-interest trump basic human values, what does this reveal about our society?”

This is a question deserving our attention no matter our “net worth.”

For more on this see:
Sendhil Mullainathan, harvardmagazine.com/2015/05/the-science-of-scarcity
Paul Piff, paulpiff.wix.com
Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century

* Kayta Curzie Gajdos holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is in private practice in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com or 610-388-2888. Past columns are posted to www.drgajdos.com. See book.quietwisdom-loudtimes.com for information about her book, “Quiet Wisdom in Loud Times: The Rise of the Wounded Feminine.”

The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of Chadds Ford Live. We welcome opposing viewpoints. Readers may comment in the comments section or they may submit a Letter to the Editor to: editor@chaddsfordlive.com

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.