Group dynamics by Dean Gotcher

Dean Gotcher

Group dynamics is our desire for approval (affirmation) by others and our fear of being rejected by them in the "consensus" meeting, i.e., our 'willingness' to compromise or to be silent in the midst of unrighteousness, i.e., not reproving, correcting, or rebuking others when they are wrong, in order to initiate and sustain relationship ("build relationship") with them—because we like them, have need of them to get what we want (to fulfill our desires or "felt needs"), and/or because we fear being rejected, labeled, and attacked by them (with the support of "the group"), i.e., accused of being "disrespectful," "judgmental," "self-righteous," "intolerant," "prejudice," "hateful," "negative," "divisive," "maladjusted," a "lower order thinker," "unadaptable to 'change,'" not a "team player," "psychological," "antisocial," an "isolationist," a "dinosaur," a "homophobe," "in denial," etc.,. Group dynamics relies upon the dynamics which lies within all of us, i.e., the conflict or tension (antithesis) between what we publically say we believe and how we really feel or what we really think about it (what we believe) internally, i.e. which includes our natural (carnal) desire for the things, events, or people which/who engender pleasure in us, and our dissatisfactions with or resentment toward the things, events, or people who prevent us from attaining them, that which we talk to ourselves or dialogue within ourselves or daydream about (in private) throughout the day (and night). It is what makes every person of the world (born of the flesh, born into sin) the same, i.e., with themselves (their "self") being the center of the universe, evaluating the world around them according to their feelings of the 'moment,' i.e., in their own eyes (dissatisfied with the way the world "is," i.e., blocking or inhibiting them from getting or doing what they want to do, when they want to do it, in the 'moment,' thinking about or imagining how it "ought" to be, pleasing to them), with their feelings and thoughts (their mind) being constantly occupied with the hope of having a day of pleasure (without pain, including the pain of missing out on pleasure, including the pleasure of being approved by others, i.e., affirmed), focused upon approaching, acquiring, or controlling (and therefore enjoying) the things, events, or people which/who engender pleasure in them, including the pleasure of approval (affirmation), and avoiding, overcoming, 'changing,' or negating the things, events, or people which/who engender pain, including the pain of missing out on pleasure and/or the pain which comes with being rejected by others.

Kurt Lewin's following two statements best sum up the 'change' that takes place in a person when they participate in a facilitated, i.e., "group psychotherapy," i.e., "group dynamics" meeting of 'change.' "The negative valence of a forbidden object which in itself attracts the child thus usually derives from an induced field of force of an adult." "If this field of force loses its psychological existence for the child (e.g., if the adult goes away or loses his authority) the negative valence also disappears." (Kurt Lewin; A Dynamic Theory of Personality) Everyone comes into meetings with restraints in their lives, i.e., having a guilty conscience for doing wrong, inhibiting or blocking them from being themselves, i.e., doing what they want to do, when they want to do it—the result of a threat of judgment, i.e., "Ye shall surely die" if the do wrong (disobey), according to standards, i.e., right and wrong, established by an authority figure. When a person is 'liberated' from the fear of judgment for doing wrong, i.e., "Ye shall not surely die," i.e., allowing him to do (or think) what he, by nature, wants to do (or think), when he wants to do (or think) it—so he can be himself without restraint—the sense of guilty, i.e., having a guilty conscience for doing wrong is negated. Shifting meetings from the preaching of commands and rules to be obeyed as given and the teaching of facts and truth to be accepted as is, by faith, to the dialoguing of opinions to a consensus 'liberates' all participants from "the negative valance," i.e., having a guilty conscience for doing wrong, i.e., for disobeying authority, allowing them to be themselves, "of and for self," i.e., "of and for" man's carnal nature only. Doing it in a group unites them as one, turning them against authority in the process.

The significant thing about (and the power of) dialogue (a "group think," "group dynamic" thing), i.e., the sharing of your opinion with others, i.e., the sharing of your feelings and thought with others (in the 'moment,' in the given situation) regarding the things you desire to have, events you desire to participate in, and/or people you desire to relate with (that is, have approval from), i.e., which or who you get pleasure (dopamine emancipation) from in the 'moment' and want to (hope to) get more pleasure from in the future, as well as regarding your dissatisfaction, disagreement, and/or resentment toward those in authority over you, especially regarding their commands, rules, facts, and truth which get in the way of the things you want to have, events you want to participate in, and/or people you want to relate with, i.e., your dissatisfaction with, disagreement with, and/or resentment toward established standards (feelings and thoughts which you normally have to keep secret, i.e., which you have to keep to yourself in order to continue receiving approval and support from those in authority—who would disagree with you, reproving, correcting, or rebuking you for thinking them aloud, i.e., for voicing them) is that once the dialoging of your opinion is done with others, done in order to initiate and sustain a consensus with them (a "feeling" of "oneness" with them, based upon your and their loving of pleasure and the hating of restraint, i.e., that which is "of and for" the flesh and the world), i.e., once you 'discover' "common ground" with deviants, i.e., with those who agree with your "felt" needs, i.e., your desires of the 'moment" as well as your dissatisfaction with, your disagreement with, and/or your resentment (hatred) toward authority and their commands, rules, facts, and truth which inhibit or block you from actualizing your desires (your "felt needs") of the 'moment,' and initiate relationship with them, once the divulging of your "self interest" with others for the sake of "building relationship" with them becomes a part of the classroom experience, i.e., becomes the focus of education, once "self interest" (the law of the flesh) and "relationship with others" (the world), i.e., theory and practice become one and the same (at-one-with one another in consensus), anything of authority and restraint, including the Ten Commandments on the schoolhouse wall, the Word of God in the textbooks, prayer in the name to the Lord Jesus Christ (to His Heavenly Father, through Him, Our Heavenly Father), and the paddle (physical or corporal punishment) for doing wrong or bad grades (mental punishment) for being wrong, i.e., freedom of religion, freedom of the conscience, and freedom of speech, i.e., freedom to preach and teach the truth ("private convictions") in the public arena, all of which come from authority external to (above) you, i.e., restraining your "self interests" of the 'moment,' has to be removed from the classroom, the public-private-home school (since even private and home schools become public in their use of the process), and all its activities, thus in effect (since education is all about shaping the way the next generation of citizen are to think and act) making the agenda and outcome of all public policies and activities, whether they be community, city, county, state, or national, freedom from religion, freedom from the conscience, and freedom from speech, negating the citizens right to preach and teach the truth in the public arena (including in the classroom), thus directly affecting the home, i.e., the parent's authority over their children, and the "church," i.e., God's authority over man (at least in the child's/man's/the publics thoughts and actions).

By starting with the child's "feelings," i.e., with his "self interest," i.e., making his "feelings" of the 'moment' the focus of attention (as Satan did with the woman in the Garden in Eden, Genesis 3:1-6), the child's opinion (love of pleasure and hate of restraint) is 'liberated' out from under the father's authority, i.e., out from under his father's preaching and teaching of commands and rules to be obeyed and facts and truth to be accepted as is (by faith) along with his use of chastening for doing or being wrong (Hebrews 12:5-11), thus negating the voice of the father in the child, i.e., negating the "guilty conscience" (the fear of judgment) for doing wrong in the child's feelings, thoughts, and actions as well as in his relationship with others (Romans 7:14-25), making the child's carnal nature (his desires of the 'moment' and his resentment toward restraint, i.e., his dissatisfaction with the way his world "is," thinking about how it "ought" to be, i.e., that way of feeling, thinking, and acting which he has in common with all the children of the world) good and the father's authority (with his commands, rules, facts, and truth, i.e., that way of feeling, thinking, and acting which divides children from their own nature, other children, and the world) evil, making the approaching of pleasure (and the avoiding of pain, i.e., the pain of rejection) the 'drive' of life instead of doing right and not wrong (living according to the father's standards) and "the building of 'human relationship,'" i.e., the augmentation of pleasure (affirmation) and the attenuation of pain (alienation) the 'purpose' of life instead of doing the father's will. Thus, through the use of dialogue, "the group," i.e., the "community," i.e., society, i.e., humanity, that which is supportive of the child's carnal nature, i.e., that which is of the world only becomes the child's only source of identity. From here on, the child's "feelings" of pleasure (including the "feeling" of pleasure which come from "group approval") 'justifies' not only his "feeling" of hate but also his acts of rage toward authority and restraint (done in order to not only protect the "feeling" of pleasure which comes from relating with things and events which engender pleasure but also done in order to protect the "feeling" of pleasure which comes from having relationship with "the group," i.e., the "feeling" of pleasure which comes from "group approval," preventing them from being taken away).

Karl Marx wrote"It is not individualism [where the individual is subject to principles established by an authority above him] that fulfills the individual, on the contrary it destroys him. Society [where the individual must be 'willing' to compromise or "set aside for the 'moment'" pre-established principles, i.e. where he must be readily adaptable to 'change' in order to initiate and sustain "human relationship," i.e., "group" or "community" identity] is the necessary framework through which freedom ['liberation' from the father's/Father's authority] and individuality ['liberation' of the child's/man's carnal nature, so that the child/man can be as he perceives he is, of the world only] are made realities." (Karl Marx in John Lewis, The Life and Teachings of Karl Marx) "In order to effect rapid change, [one] must mount a vigorous attack on the family lest the traditions of present generations be preserved. It is necessary, in other words, artificially to create an experiential chasm between parents and children—to insulate the children in order that they can more easily be indoctrinated with new ideas." (Warren Bennis, The Temporary Society) The purpose of education is therefore to "develop persons [a new or the next generation of citizens] who see non-influencability of private convictions [the father's/Father's principles and authority] in joint deliberations [in a consensus meeting] as a vice rather than a virtue." (Kenneth Benne, Human Relations in Curriculum Change) "Bypassing the traditional channels of top-down decision making, our objective centers upon transform public opinion into an effective instrument of global politics." "Individual values must be measured by their contribution to common interests and ultimately to world interests.... transforming public consensus into one favorable to the emergence of a stable and humanistic world order." "Consensus is both a personal and a political step. It is a precondition of all future steps." (Ervin Laszlo, A Strategy for the Future: The Systems Approach to World Order)

As long as you keep your feelings and thoughts (of pleasure and resentment) to yourself, i.e., private, they remain between you and God, resulting in "private convictions" or a "guilty conscience" for doing or thinking wrong, with you remaining as an individual under an authority above you. But when you make your feelings and thoughts public, i.e., when through dialogue you make them known to others, they can be used against you, not only turning you against what you believe (your "private convictions"), but turning you against belief itself (negating the "guilty conscience" for doing wrong), with you becoming an individual subject to your feelings and the feelings of others in the 'moment,' i.e., subject to "the group" and the world around you instead. As the Marxist Theodor Adorno wrote: "The individual may have 'secret' thoughts which he will under no circumstances reveal to anyone else if he can help it. To gain access is particularly important, for here may lie the individual's potential." (Theodor Adorno, The Authoritarian Personality) As one training manual for 'change' stated it: "We must develop persons who see non-influencability of private convictions in joint deliberations as a vice rather than a virtue." (Kenneth Benne, Human Relations in Curriculum Change) This is the objective of those facilitating 'change' in your child in the "group grade" classroom, facilitating 'change' in your spouse in the "team building" workplace, facilitating 'change' in your representative in the "consensus building" meeting, facilitating 'change' in your minister in the "ministers alliance," etc..

Psychoanalysis is based upon the concept of the child dialoguing within himself, wishing for 'change,' i.e., wishing that his father were dead so that he could have his mother's total attention, as carnal man wishes that God were dead so that he could do as he wills without having a "guilty conscience." Its total 'purpose' is to "liberate' dialogue, thereby not only 'liberating' the child from the father's authority but also 'liberating' man from God's. "Freud noted that patricide [the children killing (and devouring) their father] and incest [the children carrying out their carnal impulses and urges of the 'moment,' i.e., have sensual (sexual) relationship with the mother without a sense of guilt] are part of man's deepest nature." (Irvin Yalom, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy) Psychotherapy merges Sigmund Freud (the individual) and Karl Marx ("the group").

It is why the citizens religious principles and standards (which restrain government from inhibiting, blocking, or usurping their God given right of religion, conscience, and speech), when brought into the consensus (group dynamic) process, are missing in the outcome, with public policy being established upon, and thereafter promoting and supporting humanistic principles and standards (unrighteousness and abomination) instead. For example: town councils are hearing "the peoples" petitions only to then dialogue amongst themselves to a consensus, resulting in socialist-humanist-environmentalist-globalist policies superseding local control, negating representative, limited government in the process. The process guarantees the outcome.

"Self" loves pleasure, including the pleasure of approval, and hates pain, including the pain of rejection. When we can have both pleasure and approval (affirmation) at the same time we are esteemed. If we can not have both we are either humbling, denying, controlling, or disciplining our "self" under established standards, i.e., only finding pleasure in the approval which the one setting the standards of right and wrong gives us, with us restraining our desired pleasures of the 'moment' in order to do their will, i.e., in order to please them, what Freud called "substitute gratification," or else, finding pleasure without (against) their approval, having a "guilty conscience" afterwards (the effect of still desiring their approval).

"Self esteem" is "group esteem," i.e., group approval, negating the commands, rules, facts, and truth that restrain "self" (that inhibit or block it from becoming at-one-with the pleasures of the 'moment'), negating the "guilty conscience" for disobedience in the process. Self esteem/group esteem engenders in man and child the perception that they can sin (disobey) with impunity. Group dynamics circumvents and therefore negates self control, self discipline, the humbling or denying of self, engendering "self esteem" instead, where pleasure for self and approval by others, i.e., by "the group" become one and the same, of the world only, with everyone living in the 'moment,' being controlled by their "feelings" of the 'moment,' which are being manipulated by the facilitator of 'change' who manipulates the environment ("the group") in order to stimulate the "feeling" of "oneness," i.e., the feeling of "fraternity," i.e., consensus, along with the fear of group disapproval, i.e., which leads to rejection, isolation, and (as history has shown) death.

It would be a simple matter, with you simply going your way and "the group" simply going theirs, except "the group" is focusing upon your daily needs. Their rejection of you (your way of thinking and acting) directly affects whether you will be able to (or be allowed to) satisfy your daily needs your way. Your worth is now being determined by them, i.e., by their "felt" needs of the 'moment,' i.e., by their desires, perceptions, and opinions. There is no representation in the group dynamics, consensus process, only the "the group's" opinion, i.e., their "feelings" of the 'moment,' which are ever subject to 'change'—yet never 'changing' from their procedure and intended outcome, the negation of the parent's/God's authority, i.e., the negation of the child being subject to his parents (the father's) authority and man being subject to God's (the Heavenly Father's) authority. It is all about making man subject to "the group's" opinion, i.e., subject to their "feelings" of the 'moment' instead. The idea is, if you make "the group," the "community," etc., "feel good" (approve their carnal ways) they will make you "feel good" (approve you, i.e., supply you with your daily "felt" needs). But if you make them "feel bad" (reject their carnal ways, i.e., reprove, correct, or rebuke them, i.e., produce a "guilty conscience" in them for doing wrong, for sinning) they will make you "feel bad" (reject you, i.e., making laws that will force you to be silent and support them, supplying them and those who follow them with their daily "felt" needs).

The terms group dynamics, force field analysis, and unfreezing, moving or 'changing,' and refreezing (which are the key ingredients in brainwashing) originated with Kurt Lewin, a Transformational Marxist—Transformational Marxists are Marxists who merge Marx and Freud—who (coming to America from Germany in the early 30's) advancing the fields of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, making it possible to bring Marxism into the classroom, and therefore into the home, the "community," the media, the workplace, the government (from the national government down to the local), and even into the church without encountering crippling resistance, thus being able to initiate and sustain the process of 'change.' In regards to the word 'change' itself, Karl Marx wrote about it in his eleven thesis on Feuerbach (a materialist). His final and most important thesis goes like this: "The philosophers have only interpreted the world in different ways; the objective is change itself." (Karl Marx, Thesis on Feuerbach #11) Have you heard the world 'change' recently? Most America's are Marxist and do not know it or are unwilling to admit it. In their ignorance, in their denial, or in their effort to remain "underground" (esoteric) they discredit anyone who explains what Marxism really is. Are you a Marxist?