This book is about the shocking and powerfully tragic changes I have seen in this culture on my journey. The blatant discrimination I experienced early on is minor in comparison to the trends I see. A great deal of honor, the tenderness and humanity I witnessed throughout my life starting with my profound encounters with Fromm and Burdick have been lost. Using the narrative of my deeply personal, painful and costly life experiences I have written a book that hopefully vividly demonstrates the path we are on and offers a profound analysis and insight into the these trends. My dream is that the book will touch deeply some fellow travelers.
I have used my years teaching anger management to help people understand some of the serious danger we all face when we don’t learn to cope with these feelings inside of ourselves. We need to be able to recognize anger in ourselves and others and to learn how to understand it. I feel we dwell in a culture of denial. People have grown so insulated and isolated that they often are not in touch with themselves or others. Just like planes need instruments and gifted pilots to fly and know how to land and how to stop accidents and violent collisions with other planes, we as people need to learn how to fly our own systems and how to navigate in potentially dangerous situations.
When I started in this field, there was a great deal of openness and freedom. You were encouraged to venture into the darkness of another’s soul and experience their pain with them. Now, I feel people run from closeness and most of all from intense emotions. My field has changed dramatically.
I will show in this book how dangerous it is to fly blindly and to deny your feelings and ignore the strong signals inside that trouble is ahead; you need to learn to be courageous and to face the frightening emotions we all feel. The tighter you screw the lid down on your feelings the more damaging and dangerous they become to yourself and others.
I have clearly outlined in this book how the authoritarian personality that I did my dissertation on has become more dominant in our culture. Fascism is a very hypnotic but scary style to live with and to embrace. I want to expose the tragic outcomes that can emerge from embracing fascist thinking and not keeping a vigilant watch on all of the changes and behavior of the people in power. We need to return to the angels within us and reclaim some of the tender warriors that have been with us in the past. Integrity is the key and having a belief in a higher power.