Money is a problem that we created ourselves. We also have problems inherited from our ancestors. Sadomasochism is one of them.

Do you remember running low on gas? You could have stopped at the next gas station but decided to take a chance and wait.  You introduced, in your life, a chance to suffer. What was the motivation behind your decision to take a chance to suffer? Could that be masochism? Was it the first time?  Did you create other opportunities to suffer?

Masochism is a motivation buried in our subconscious, waiting for an opportunity to manifest itself. It could be in the DNA of any race, color, or religion. You can see it at every level, from the daily life of individuals to the geopolitics of governments. We don’t talk about it because it’s not something to be proud of. It is part of human nature.

• How can you justify risking your life on the freeway to save a few seconds when you have nothing urgent to do?

• Casinos are rooted in sadomasochism.  Different games have different probabilities of winning. The more you play, the closer you get to the mathematical probabilities, and they are not in your favor. The gambler would rather focus on feelings. When he loses, he is a failure and should be ashamed. When he wins, he dominates everybody. He is the king, and everybody must pay him. When gambling, sadomasochism overrides any rational thinking.

• In some cities, you can find signs along the sidewalk with “No parking north of here”. If it is raining and you can’t tell where the north is, you can keep turning around the block waiting for a sunny day! Do we really need the north pole to park a car?  Why not use “Parking on this side only”?

• To satisfy our need for sadomasochism, we even use the judicial system. We use the Law to impose our point of view on others. We pretend that nobody can be happy unless they follow our own religion, our own traditions, and our own way of relating to one another. To impose our ideas on others is stealing their freedom. Some laws should be illegal!

• Even an idea such as “Love your neighbor,” mixed with human nature, can triggered a burst of sadomasochism like the Inquisition.

• Think of the countless wars in our history. Wars are an opportunity to suffer and inflict suffering on others. They’re not the best way to resolve conflicts, but we keep practicing. If we don’t like wars, why do we keep doing it? The answer is that feelings are more important than thinking. Sadomasochism prevails.  Without it, most wars would look like a lack of maturity.

• Let’s go back a few centuries.  People were waiting for somebody to make a mistake. That was used to justify torturing him. They enjoyed making him suffer as much as possible for as long as possible. They boiled people in hot water, wrenched their tongues, and burned their eyes with hot iron. What could have motivated them, other than sadism?  The most popular entertainment was to use religions as an excuse for burning people at the stake.  What we can say, for sure, is that their main motivation was not the love of their neighbor. When people do not have enough stress in their life, they create some.

• We imprison those who don’t follow the way of thinking of the majority. We pretend that our morality is best for the public good. This is an excuse to steal other people’s freedom and satisfy our need for sadism.

• What we call ‘geopolitics’ is nothing more than sadomasochism at the government’s level. In a more civilized society, when there is a conflict, all the politicians responsible for the fighting would be charged with mismanagement and war crimes. They would be sent to The Hague. The judge would decide who can go back home and who will go to the battlefield to remove the mines.

Sadomasochism is part of human nature.