At the pinnacle of the Hatred Complex and the Love Complex is the quality of power. Love involves the power to create and nurture. Hatred involves the power to demoralize and destroy. Closely related to power, love, and hate is the concept of honor. Again, civilized societies and terrorist cells define and use this term differently.

As mentioned above, the inferiority complex seems to activate hatred. This tendency can either escalate into hatred of others, or it can deteriorate into hatred of oneself. Terrorism has been able to develop a psychological stronghold in America because some of our citizens also have an inferiority complex but of the self-hatred type. There are different ways in which self-hatred is processed, but it always seems to involve a sequence of feelings, conditions, and conclusions. Below are some examples of what I call the Self-Hatred Sequence.

In order for any Self-Hatred Sequence to be convincing, the self-hater must displace feelings and/or distort reality, and then find satisfaction in a compensatory conclusion or self-image. The resulting self-image is false: a delusion or fantasy. While terrorist activity is a reality, and the objects of terrorist hatred are to be conquered or destroyed, self-hatred brings about a psychological deterioration of oneself and the internal ineffectiveness of the nation (America).

The Self-Hatred Sequence is a product of our public education system, the misuse of certain psychological and sociological concepts (tolerance, non-judgment, etc.), and the inability of some post-9/11 politicians to grapple with the problem of terrorism. Whereas the inferiority complex involves feelings of inadequacy (real, exaggerated, or imagined), its transition into self-hatred is guided or induced by our own institutions. Some Americans have betrayed their own identity as Americans and as participants in a democracy.

There can be different variations of the Self-Hatred Sequence (I suggested only three), and people can operate more than one Sequence at a time. The potency of this type of self-hatred rests precisely in its flexibility for parallel or overlapping variations in the individual as well as among individuals. Self-haters see a mirage and think it is real. They want it to be real because the desert sun of terrorism is so harsh. They do not have enough confidence or hope to search for an oasis. To make the situation worse, some American educators and politicians are kicking sand in their faces.

The Self-Hatred Sequence should also be contrasted to its opposite. Self-love would seem to be the logical choice, but self-love carries negative associations both in psychology and religion. Self-esteem also has to be discarded because a meaningful definition would require more depth than can be given in this essay. I decided to use the term self-respect because it means to possess some of the positive qualities already put forth: confidence, honor, adequacy, responsibility, fairness, as well as pride and dignity. Instead of delineating how self-respect is processed, I think it would be more helpful to offer what I call the Self-Respect Pledge.

The Self-Respect Pledge is broad enough to cover all levels of mental health from the balanced to the damaged. It gives people permission to protect themselves even if they are imperfect (i.e., 'worth nothing'), even though they live in an imperfect country, and without feeling intolerant of others. It provides a starting point for a generation (or more) who have been shaped by biased educators and partisan politicians, and who are overwhelmed by terrorism. It is a turning inward of tolerance in a sort of self-help mode. If self-haters can discover worth in themselves and in their country, then perhaps they will also acquire courage and a true joie de vivre.

The combination of the Hated Complex and the Self-Hatred Sequence is potentially disastrous for America. There is an outward blasting of hatred from terrorists and toward Americans, and an inward seeping of hatred from Americans and toward themselves. Both directions give the message that there is something innately wrong with being American and that our country is not worth defending.

It is not too late to change course. It will, however, require some heavy-duty equipment for sand removal. (1) We need a president who will protect and defend America, and who can withstand and answer the self-hating critics. (2) We need a reformation of the public education system, including teacher quality and the writing of textbooks. (3) We need a reclamation of the psychotherapy profession and its terminology to serve the purpose of rational wellbeing. (4) We need a revival of life-affirming spiritual values.

Over the past few years, I have written essays on terrorism and on the reactions of America and the world. I have used themes of denial, co-dependency, narcissism, delusion, anger-and-blame, either/or thinking, loss of innocence, collective guilt, a Rogerian becoming, the double standard, character formation, and political correctness. Today's theme involved taking a simple definition of the inferiority complex and adding a discussion of hatred onto it. This does not mean that all past themes were erroneous. My hope is that each essay contains, at least, a nugget of accuracy. Today's offering is just another nugget, sifted from the sands of conflict. (Written 01/07/08)