“The burdens we carry today result from generations of living in city-states, where people either must submit to oppression, become oppressive themselves, or become complicit with oppression to survive.”
In my learning journey, I’ve been surprised to discover that everyone I meet—not just those with Big T trauma, histories of oppression, or who meet the criteria for a mental health diagnosis—carries enormous burdens of trauma and neglect.
This includes those who care for others—medical, mental health, and social work professionals, teachers, religious leaders, politicians, parents of young children, and partners in close relationships. It also includes those who don’t see themselves as carrying burdens but have family members who suffer greatly. In my healing journey, I’ve been astonished by the extent of burdens I have discovered within myself.
The perpetual conflict, contempt, and cynicism I observe within individuals, couples, and families mirror the hyper-polarization and divisions within our society. Terms like “white supremacy” and “patriarchal, capitalistic culture” have become normalized on the left. Meanwhile, “woke” and “liberal” have become terms of scorn on the right.
But what is at the root of these polarizing dynamics? Have they always existed? How do we raise consciousness about what maintains suffering and divides us as families and communities—without creating another narrative that can be turned into a weapon?
James C. Scott, a prominent American political scientist and anthropologist who passed away last year, was intrigued by the unwritten histories of those outside the ruling classes. Scott noted that hierarchies granting power and privilege to insiders while oppressing outsiders through methods like slavery and genocide have existed since the rise of city-states in Mesopotamia around six thousand years ago.
Compared to hunter-gatherer societies, cities were vulnerable to disease, crop failures, and the depletion of natural resources. To endure, they relied on taxation, strict enforcement measures, continuous technological advancements, and the domestication of people as producers for the state.
As city-states competed for dominance and resources, they grew increasingly powerful. Northern Europeans triumphed over other city-states around 1500 CE for various reasons. They became so powerful that their culture now prevails across much of the globe.
On an evolutionary time scale, it’s only been a moment since hunter-gatherers lived in harmonious relationships with small groups of trusted others and the land. Increasingly, I suspect the burdens we carry today result from generations of living in city-states, where people either must submit to oppression, become oppressive themselves, or become complicit with the oppressors to survive.
While the oppressed carry many layers of psychological burdens, so do those who are granted, achieve, or are complicit with positions higher in the hierarchy and who have power over others. When individuals today become aware of the extent of their burdens and view them through a historical lens rather than a personal one, they can more easily redirect their judgment and blame toward awareness, healing, and cooperation.
Scott, J. C. (2017). Against the grain: A deep history of the earliest states. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Photo by Nejdet Duzen on Flickr.
