The Denver Jewish news., 1920-05-12

Reprinted from Mental Hygrene by spe-
cial permission.
BY a. INVERSION. NJ. ID.
The subject of racial disease has the
added fascination that history. bio
logy, and sociology lend to medicine.
On n broad canvas pathology can more
easily be traced than on minute
one. for individual and minute vara-
lions thus tend to standartiZe them
selves. How much of history is writ
ten in racial diseases can easily be
summarized by those who know how
profoundly malaria. yellow fever. hook
worm and other infectious diseases
hnve Influenced the world. Converse
ly, and this Is the theme that | wish
to develop. we may read something of
the history OF n race i'm the symptoms
Of the patient that stands before us.
Now there need he no difference of
opinion about the liability of the Jews
to psychonueroses. Step into any clin-
ic for nervous diseases in any lnrge
city in Europe or America and the Jew
is unduly represented among the pa
tents. Figures similar to those ! have
collected in the Psychopathic Out-pn-
tient Department of the Boston State
Hospital can he shown to be true for
any clinic in Boston or If we fellow
the neurolOgist and psychintrist into
his private office. 1t is easy TO dis
miss the subject by saying that there
is predisposition in the race that ac-
counts for this undue occurrence of
mental disease. but contend that this
is cheap solution in that it nscribes
causation to II totally unknown factor.
heredity. whereas environment and his
tory can easily he examined and ailyz-
cd ns to causative influences. .inaly-
sis of the life conditions of the Jews
in the present day and historically
needs to be made and perhaps is hest
made by n Jew familiar with the init
mate life and history of his people.
The thesis that wish to develop
essentially in this: ns important for
; sractical PURPOSE ns biological heredity.
may term social heredity BY this is
meant that groups Z + life factors may
he handed down for generations ana
may influence the life of every indi'
vidual in the race as potently as If II
change had occurred in the stock.
1t Is idle. of course. to deny that the
.Jcw has an innate character. differ
cnt from that of other races. which
perhaps predisposes him TO psycloneu-
roses and other mental diseases. I'm
0uestionably deeply emotional. clingins
to belief and opinion with tenacity
unparalleled in the history of the
world. extremely active mentally. ana
in point of intellectual achievement TO
he compared only with the great races
OF the world. he is curiously passive
in his resistance and curiously in
,lomitable in his hold on life and sue
cess. Accused of Inateriafism and YET
furnishing propcrtionately more social
rcformers than any other race: ne
cused of materialism and vet respon-
s;ble for the two most ethical religions
In the world: said to he dominated by
love of gain, but the birthplace of the
ethics that govern his accusers. the
Western peoples: a race of contradlc-
tions. Inconsistencies. strongly indi-
yitlualistic and extraordinary social
II may well be that such soil would
produce great failure as well as great
Is success. psycloneurosis as well as gem
: ius.
But even racial character may be a
matter of social heredity. IN the face
of what we know about the life factors
of the Jew. and of the extraordinary
changes that have taken place in his
character in the last generation. no
!. surmises as to an innate character are
permissible. Let us, then. examine
these life factors. governed by the
thesis that social heredity has been
established thru these factors. First.
we may state that the main factor
and the one out of which the others
arose has been the persecution of the
Jew. Because he felt his religion to
be superior to those of the nations with
whom he came in contact. and because
lie refused in any way to acknowledge
the potency or the reality of the gods
of the people amongst whom he lodg-
ed. he was looked upon as nnsociahi"'
different. and becau3c or this sim
ister person. one to he restricted ana
guarded against. The basis of dis
like is normally unlikeness. The re-
strictions prior to. the Christian era
are of no Importance to us. hut with
the rise of Christianity. competing
religion, what was the mother religion
became thing to he prescribed ana
harried. Thru the pagans the Jew sur
f.red no serious misfortunes: with the