Jim Morrison, Eminem And Universal Human Reality

Jim Morrison wanted to kill his father and have sex with his mother, and Eminem wanted to kill his mother. The first thought that in his Oedipal ranting he had discovered the secret of human condition. This claim is refuted by the behavior of Eminem.

The real reason for the behavior of both is the way in which they – and their generations – were raised. Baby boomers were raised in households in which the mother was the nurturer and the man was the disciplinarian. Mothers were nice; fathers were mean. So the children liked their mothers and hated their fathers. Children will always like people who are nice to them better than they will like people who are mean to them, and there is nothing Oedipal about it.

The parents of Emimen's generation did things differently. Their mothers left men who were mean to them; and many became mean – or at least disciplinarian - themselves. So predictably the children hated their mothers.

In the first case the children hated the male parent for being mean; in the second case the children hated the female parent for being mean.

That is a much truer human reality than what we see in Jim Morrison's claims.

In my generation, women have been taught to be mean. It is known as Third Wave feminism, or political correctness. That is likely to create more Eminems down the road.

But then there have been many men in my generation who, in reaction against Third Wave feminism, adopted misogynistic beliefs. They listen to Eminem or follow Osama Bin Laden. This is likely to create more Jim Morrisons.

And then there is the possibility for children who are worse than either of the above: Children both of whose parents are mean to them and who hate both their fathers and their mothers.

What would a generation like that look like? I cannot predict. Maybe some of them will be motivated to figure out better ways to do things, and maybe some of them will achieve these ways. But then there is a strong possibility that such people will just be hateful, both to other people in their gender and to the other gender. Maybe they will want to kill both their fathers and their mothers; and maybe many of their fathers and their mothers would deserve such an attitude.

In my case at least none of these things are likely to happen. I have been very good to my daughter, and so has her mother. But many other children are not so lucky; and I shudder to think what would happen in a situation in which a Third Wave feminist gets together with someone like Eminem.

Both Jim Morrison and Eminem expressed a truth that was experienced by their generation. But in no way did either one express a universal human reality. There is one human reality underlying both of these men: That children will like parents who treat them well and dislike parents who treats them badly. That is the case regardless of the parent's gender. And this truth will continue being expressed through all of history.