John A.G. Davis (1802-1840), son of John Staige Davis, UVA Professor of Law, was one of the youngest faculty members at 28. The Board of Visitors, UVA’s governing body, appointed Davis Chairman of the Faculty in 1836.
“Polite, affable, kindhearted, and fair-minded, Davis was both liked and respected at the university. One of his pupils wrote that he was “generally considered the best professor here.” Davis was also a zealous enforcer of the university’s regulations, many of which the students heartily disliked.”
During the fall semester of 1836, students were unhappy with the school’s rules, which included uniforms and early wake-up times. Student militia marched on the Lawn without permission and refused Chairman Davis’s orders to disband. When they persisted, Davis expelled 77 students from UVA, but later reinstated them. For years thereafter, November 12th was celebrated by students protesting on the Lawn.
“On the evening of November 12, 1840, two students, William A. Kincaid and Joseph Green Semmes, wearing disguises, discharged their pistols in front of the faculty residences. Warned by other students that Davis was waiting for them outside Pavilion X, his campus home, they continued down the lawn.”
Semmes, during an altercation with Davis, shot him in the abdomen. Two days later, Davis, having forgiven Semmes and wishing no harm would come to him, died and was buried in UVA’s cemetery.
Semmes was arrested, skipped bail, and later committed suicide.
“The killing of Davis led to an increased interest in religion and studiousness at the university, encouraged a loosening of the rules governing student behavior, and, within several years, prompted the creation of the university’s honor system.” (Dictionary of Virginia.)
Unrest, despite its long history, is deeper and still a major issue among college students. Today, it has taken its painful place in the hearts and minds of people, sparing no one. The degree and prevalence of unrest challenges our limited understanding.
Bringing my forensic psychiatry experience to the table around which sit many Americans who are concerned with unrest, let me suggest that protests filling our TV screens, social media, and print media are artfully and professionally planned distractions. The protests are the Trojan Horses. The real destruction of living a meaningful, peaceful, and self-governing life is occurring without our awareness.
Postmodernists are seeking to remove our “absolutes,” such as truth, law, and authority. They are replacing our “absolutes,” without significant resistance, with their own. “Hate speech” in the postmodern lexicon means “I hate you if you disagree with me.” Even earlier, “God Bless America” was replaced by “God Damn America.”
Those who studied Psychology 101 learned the ego is protected by “defense mechanisms” such as projection, denial, regression, repression, displacement, rationalization, intellectualization, reaction formation, and sublimation. Cleverly, defense mechanisms can also be used as attack weapons against opponents. “Projection is a psychological defense mechanism where a person unconsciously or consciously attributes their own feelings, thoughts, or traits onto another person or group. It’s a way for people to tolerate emotional distress by reducing the intensity of difficult emotions or changing them to positive ones.”
While former President Trump was in office, members of Congress falsely accused him of doing exactly what his accusers were doing. It was projection, woven into complex prevarications, sworn to by prominent heretofore respected national leaders. Verification of these facts was established by more than one investigation and commission.
“Contradiction of the truth,” according to Matthew Maher, former professional soccer player turned minister, is one of 4 tactics taken from Hitler’s playbook. The other 3 destructive strategies are “controlling the news, bringing conflicts to groups, and converting the youth.”
A list of issues dividing America, contributing to its unrest today include “Critical Race Theory,” “Defund the Police,” “Lawlessness and Crime without Consequences,” “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI),” “Wokeism,” “Transgenderism,” “Insecure Borders,” and “Abortion.”
“Originally, the Marxist Left built its political program on the theory of class conflict…the imbalance of power between the capitalists and the workers.” Countries undergoing a Marist revolution in the 20th century ended in utter disaster – which one should read as “the slaughter of millions.”
Critical Race Theory is a Marxist regime built on the social and racial unrest of the 1960s. Largely unopposed, Critical Race Theory is dominating teacher training, education from the beginning through graduate school, and the US Government, including our military.
“Wokeism,” may be deployed aggressively, not to encourage improved social justice, but the extreme opposite. It can be used as a projection to invite unawareness of the total ablation of what Americans believe and hold as incorruptible truth. In reality it becomes another effective distraction away from the truth that slavery was and is evil, but it is no longer acceptable in any form in America.
Christians tell us to read the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, written 58 A.D., to understand how the denial of Jesus Christ, passing the reins to atheists and expelling prayer and the Bible from schools is sending us into deep seas in leaky boats without lifejackets.
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here,” Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest, 1610-1611.
God knew of our unrest long before Shakespeare. God touched David, the giant slayer, and reminded him to comfort us with these reassuring promises:
“Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” – Psalm 37:7-11, NKJV.
Unrest and weariness, no matter the cause, is ultimately relieved by the peace that surpasses all human understanding, the peace provided by God. As we patiently “rest in the LORD,” ask for wisdom to cast your vote for the presidential candidate whose policies most align with our Father in Heaven.
Robert S. Brown, MD, PHD a retired Psychiatrist, Col (Ret) U.S. Army Medical Corps devoted the last decade of his career to treating soldiers at Fort Lee redeploying from combat. He was a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Education at UVA. His renowned Mental Health course taught the value of exercise for a sound mind.