Ken's understanding on what makes humans a jumble of contradictions was insightful as he explained; “we have an unusual situation which doesn’t meet our hopes and expectations and we also have endowed within us a spectrum of emotion which fluctuates depending on our own mood and our interaction with others” which in turn affects our behavior as it creates contradicting thoughts and actions.  
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This weeks enlightening talk included a Vietnam War veteran, Ken Fuschman, who after experiencing darkness was able to gain a different perception concerning the contradictions of human nature. He is a writer and a compassionate individual. Ken is currently teaching classes at the University of Connecticut and is constantly trying to improve himself and expand his horizons through different means; for example reading, writing, creating presentations that make others think so as to create dialogue and more.

 
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 “We want so much communion and connection to others”
 
Some writers say humans have an intrinsic need to be predisposed to attach to others. Ken explains that if we have a chance to attach to someone then we will; whether that person is caring or is abusive is up to chance. Ken also mentions “our attachment is a way to survive” and that we come in to the world being attached to our care givers so we are in trouble if we don’t have that attachment.

The Journal of Psychological Science carried out studies and stated "one implication of our research is that to the extent that parenthood is associated with happiness, children may benefit as well."


This supports Ken's understanding as he states that our wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of others; one type of relationship which is deep for a person is the one you have with the people who raised you.
 
The journal also states, "happiness is a central life goal for people around the world and has been associated with numerous positive outcomes for work, relationships, and health".

Ken mentions that a human’s wellbeing also depends on how we come to terms with ourselves and how we create an agenda for ourselves to become self-actualized. It could be said that self actualization is the way to happiness.
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“We are torn between being self actualized and a discontented species”

Ken goes on to explain that a person can be self actualized and content but a lot of our creativity, our thought processes, is connected to issues that perplexes us leaving us in turmoil. However, we can be at peace if we can absorb the turmoil by accepting ourselves. Unfortunately, the ability to be at peace is sometimes difficult for a person as they are unable to absorb the turmoil and accept themselves.  

Ken’s journey to accepting himself was a difficult one as he experienced the darker side of human behavior during the early 1970’s as a Vietnam War veteran, causing him to experience trauma. After coming in contact with the destructive side of human behavior he began to feel tense and despondent. The research and studies on war trauma had not been fully conducted and it wasn’t until the 1980 when the American Psychiatric Association fully addressed the trauma, now known as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He began to slowly recover with the help of two of his friends in the beginning and later began to study. However, due to his issues of trauma not being fully resolved the feeling of depression returned during the time of the second Iraqi war. He tried to absorb the turmoil and start the healing process through writing about trauma and investigated more on others who had suffered from trauma.

Much later on Ken’s Vietnam unit had a reunion and he was able to become closer to self actualization after sharing their experiences on how they all found it difficult to adjust to life after the Vietnam War.
One of the men in the unit had nightmares for 20-30 years and had never gone to the Vietnam memorial and so the unit as one went to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and let out their emotions; this was a healing process for all of them. The unit was able to gain a sense of belonging, security and validation through connecting. After sharing their experiences and realizing even men who had seen less violence had suffered PTSD made Ken realize that PTSD was something that had affected everyone and this allowed him to move on.


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“After decades I had gotten through my PTSD and felt I could move on to other things and it wasn’t long after that I thought to teach a course on the nature of being human”

Ken feels two things contributed to recovering from PTSD; it was his writing and the realization that PTSD had affected his entire unit. “It was a source of creativity and investigation and gave me a chance to find answers to deep dilemmas”. The connection with the unit helped him embrace a part of himself and reflect on the fact that he had absorbed some of the destructiveness during the war causing him to act out when he returned.

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Humans can be psychologically destructive.

The destructiveness in a human can be problematic however it is another way for humans to connect. Trust is important in relationship. Ken mentions trust is created when you are able to show your less pleasant side to another human and when the less benevolent side of you is accepted you are then free to be more yourself; this is then reciprocated by your partner or friends causing the bond between you to become stronger. Being accepted by others is a way to be content according to Maslow’s hierarchy of need and brings a person closer to reaching self actualization.

“There is a deep satisfaction in watching others discover themselves.” 

However, humans can be self destructive when they are absorbing turmoil and trying to make sense of their life as they can defend themselves against unpleasant impulses by denying they possess certain traits and attributing them to others; this is called psychological projection (Sigmund Freud). This prevents a person from becoming self actualized as they are not accepting themselves for who they are.  

Humans can also be physically destructive. The level of destruction seems to differ depending on their culture. America and Britain have a very different mentality when it comes to lethal weapons.  
 
- Since 2006 there were 180 cases of mass killing due to guns in the U.S. and mass killing have occurred across the U.S. at the rate of about once every two weeks since 2006. (USA Today)
- In Britain it has been reported; “firearms offenses have fallen by more than 40 percent in less than a decade, because of improved police intelligence”. (The independence)
 
Ken discusses the destructive side in Americans but also explains how they are a compassionate group of people too. This can be clearly seen by the fact that after the shootings there are television specials, empathy increases in the public, public tries to reach out through offering support to victims families and debate on gun control increases.

Ken also mentions that a majority of Americans have guns as they feel others are the enemy and they need to protect themselves; they see the police as oppressing rather than a means of protection which is different to the culture in Britain where fewer police carry guns and other means are used to carry out their jobs. Ken states people carrying fewer fire arms is beneficial to the country as “the more lethal the weapon around the more chance of killing” which is proven by the statistics presented above.

“On one hand we are ignorant and on the other we are compassionate”
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“We are creative creatures”

Our creativity is our defining feature and the way in which people transform their ideas to develop better ways to living is discussed in the call. For example Ken mentions the way we conserve food, social organizing, protection and more.   

One way Britain used their creativity to reduce the victim count due to shootings was through “improved intelligence-led operations, poor quality guns and munitions, better community links to divert gang activity, and improved surgery for gunshot victims have all contributed to reduced deaths from gun violence, according to experts and police”. (The Independent)

“It is a double edged sword; constructive and destructive”

Other writers support Ken's view such as Elizabeth Kolbert who’s written a book called Sixth Extinction. An ecologist Paul Ehrlich explains the book well when he states; "In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it perches". Examples of human’s destructive behavior are oil spills, the creation of nuclear weapon, aerosols.    
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Ken discussed how “some people have a vision”.

For example; Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. 
 
Martin Luther King had a vision and a set of beliefs. MLK used his creativity by having children demonstrate the inequality that a majority of people were facing to the public. Hoping that on seeing this, the country would rise and support him in extending the civil rights act. MLK was a strategist and he compromised his beliefs to achieve freedom and equality for his people.
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Ken’s compassionate nature was something he already possessed at a young age as he states he had a “capacity to identify with other who had problems and he would accept them for themselves”.

Ken explains that having a compassionate nature is helpful as it helps to connect with others. Although, there are some people who after reaching a creative peak and identifying themselves, they begin to concentrate more on themselves which Ken states is another destructive behavior as “our well being is connected to the well being of others; going beyond our family”.  
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Psychologists state humans are the only species who identify with their social group whereas other species identify with their kin. To identify with others, “one must start with cooperation that can extend to empathy which extends to caring then love” leading to a wider circle of people socializing and communicating which creates a continued dialogue allowing people to grow physically and emotionally.

Ken mentions that unfortunately “everyone under the sun has an Us versus Them” mentality which could prevent wide socializing circles. Michael Tomasello solution to this mentality is to find an opponent that threatens you and that will join a group of people together. This seems to be the case in America where there is an exaggerated enmity between Yankees and Red Sox fan.

Ken’s inspiration came from his mother, Martin Heidegger, Sigmund Freud and two poets; all who were people “struggling coming to terms with themselves”. His way to move forward in life is to look at his inner turmoil and find ways to come out of it with a creative vision. For example, Ken found that in finding ways to empathies with others he was able to empathies more with himself.
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Overall, the Awakin Call was an enlightening discussion on the contradictions of human nature and helped understand how we are a kind and killing species known to be destructive and compassionate. We were also able to gain insight on how to reach self actualization and what can prevent people from reaching this stage is ourselves.