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Lecture: The Myth of American Innocence, with Barry Spector -- 2/18

Started Feb 11, 2016 0 Replies 3 Likes

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Free Copies of Leona Tockey's Memoir

Started Feb 4, 2016 0 Replies 1 Like

Dear Friends:Leona Tockey, a dear friend who died last summer close to her 90th birthday, was a remarkable woman. She had a successful career as a psychotherapist specializing in sexual abuse issues,…Continue

The two Greta Myths of the Twentieth Century

Started this discussion. Last reply by Aleksandar Malecic Apr 26, 2014. 1 Reply 0 Likes

Where were you (or your parents) on October 12th, 1944? If you were a teenage girl in the New York City area, you might have been in or outside the Paramount Theater, where some thirty to thirty-five…Continue

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Barry Spector posted blog posts

Jul 22

Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry's Blog # 334: American Witch Hunt, Parts 1-6

Part OneTheir strictly Puritanical origin, their exclusively commercial habits, even the country they inhabit, which seems to divert their minds from the pursuit of science, literature, and the arts…a thousand special causes…have singularly concurred to fix the mind of the American upon purely practical objects. – Alexis De TocquevilleMore than any other people on Earth, we bear burdens and accept risks unprecedented in their size and their duration, not for ourselves alone but for all who wish…See More

Jun 20

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Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry's Blog # 334: American Exceptionalism

Jun 13

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Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry’s Blog # 327: Black Swans and White Vultures, Parts One -- Seven

Part OneA dancer dies twice – once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful. – Martha GrahamThe 2010 film Black Swan is a deeply wise and convincing psychological account of the inner journey required of the ballerina protagonist in order to fully embody the dual female lead roles in a production of Swan Lake.In Tchaikovsky’s original 1877 ballet, an evil sorcerer has condemned Princess Odette to live as a white swan during the day. Only at night, by the side of an…See More

Jun 6

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Barry Spector posted blog posts

Apr 27

Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry’s Blog # 161: A Poem for the Losers

Part OneShow me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser. – Vince LombardiApril 2020, sheltering in place. Two dozen residents of a nursing home not five miles from here have been infected by the virus. I have a mask to wear outside – in New Orleans I’d say, “I’m masking” – but it’s raining, I’m stuck inside, can’t go for a walk, even with the mask. No ball games today in this weather. Yes, I’m warm, have food and family, have internet, have privilege. I have the privilege to comfortably whine…See More

Apr 10

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Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry’s Blog # 133: Affirmative Action for White People, Parts One-Four of Four

Part OneQuestion: What’s the difference between ignorance and apathy?Answer: I don’t know, and I don’t care!We need to talk, and we need to listen to the voice of The Other. One of the most fundamental aspects of privilege – the privilege to ignore, the privilege to remain innocent in our minds – still retains its durability among far too many of us. We need to talk about how America established that privilege – in law – from the very beginning, indeed, from before the beginning. In other…See More

Apr 1

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Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry's Blogs # 258-259 and 313-315: A Vacation In Chaos

Part OneTo really understand our stubborn and increasingly dangerous attachment to the myth of American Innocence, we must become familiar with our heritage of what I have called the paranoid imagination, which combines eternal vigilance, relentless anxiety and literalistic religion with contempt for the erotic and tolerance for sadistic treatment of the weak or…See More

Mar 18

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Steve Staniek commented on Barry Spector's blog post Barry’s Blogs # 309-312: To Sacrifice Everything — "A Hidden Life"

"Great work Barry. From my perspective, standing up for our beliefs in the face of overwhelming opposition puts our feet squarely on the straight and narrow path to spiritual sovereignty, but sovereignty does not include imposing our beliefs on…"

Feb 13

Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry’s Blogs # 309-312: To Sacrifice Everything — "A Hidden Life"

Part OneEvery good deed brings its own punishment. – James AgateSometimes the spirit comes through me. I’m not saying this out of pride. I’m simply observing that one when is committed to his art – in my case, writing about historical, political and cultural issues through a mythological lens, when one asks to be a conduit for other voices – when one tries to pay attention – then one had better be prepared for synchronicities. One had better be prepared to drop what one is doing, to sacrifice…See More

Jan 20

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Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry’s Blogs # 306-308: A Tale of Two Families, Parts One --Three

Part OneThe Adams’The Adams’ are an old New England Yankee family. After attaining a Law degree from Yale (as both his father and grandfather had done before him), Frank Adams signed up to fight fascism in World War Two. He joined the Office of Strategic Services, America’s first national intelligence service. Most of its members came from conservative backgrounds, but quite a few, like Frank, were liberals and true believers in the Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.As a government agency, the OSS…See More

Dec 26, 2019

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Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry’s Blogs # 304 & 305: Death, Where is Thy Sting? Death Poems, Last Words and Epitaphs, Parts One and Two of Two

Part OnePart One: The Far EastHow do we want to be remembered? Death poems (jisei) developed in the literary traditions of Japan as early as the seventh century. Later, taking much energy from Zen Buddhism’s emphasis on the transiency and impermanence of the material world, the genre spread to China and Korea. Brief as they usually are, these poems consider the big questions, both in general and in terms of the author’s own life and imminent death.…See More

Dec 9, 2019

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Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry's Blogs # 300-303: Military Madness – The Unacknowledged Metaphors in Our Daily Speech, Parts 1-4

Part One Military madness was killing my country. Solitary sadness comes over me. – Graham NashImagination is not a solitary thing. Unlike fantasy, which is self-centered, imagination implies dialogue – between what is and what could be. Consider that some languages lack the verb “to be.” Speakers grow up expecting to communicate indirectly, use metaphors freely and tolerate ambiguity. Metaphors serve as organizing frameworks that shape our thoughts about social reality. They are…See More

Nov 19, 2019

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Barry Spector posted a blog post

Barry’s Blog # 299: Grief and Remembrance in Greece

What shall I send you, dear one,There in the underworld?If I send you an apple, it will rot,If a quince, it will shrivel;If I send grapes, they will fall away,If a rose, it will droop.So let me send my tears,Bound in my handkerchief.– Greek folk songIn previous essays I’ve written at length about the importance of rituals of grief in the tribal imagination, where the souls of the…See More

Nov 6, 2019

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Barry Spector posted an event

Day of the Dead Grief Ritual at Hillside Church, El Cerrito, CA

November 2, 2019 all day

Barry and Maya SpectorWith Bruce Silverman and Marcia RayeneInvite you to our 21st annualDay of the Dead Grief Ritual Saturday, November 2nd, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PMHillside Church, El Cerrito, CAWhether or not we have recently lost loved ones, we all carry a heavy load of grief and stress simply by living in these times. If we can’t find ways to drop some of this emotional burden, we can become hopeless, bitter or numb. Letting it go makes room for a new kind of imagination to enter. But this…See More

Sep 25, 2019

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Barry Spector commented on Barry Spector's blog post Barry's Blogs # 49, 291: Zero Dark Thirty is a CIA Recruitment Film, Parts One and Two

"Thanks, David"

Sep 3, 2019

Profile Information

Before you go further, please be sure you are applying for membership with YOUR REAL NAME, FIRST AND LAST, or if you are signing up as an organization, publisher, or project, list the organization name here; then list the name of the contact person in the next question.: San Francisco Area

What are your main areas of interest?: Jungian Psychology, Archetypal Psychology, Mythology

If you are signing up as an Individual Member, do you have a degree in Depth Psychology?: Other degree not listed here

If so, from what institution?: Harvard 1971

Are you a licensed or clinical therapist?: No

Please share a little about yourself by way of introduction. What draws you to Depth Psychology and what are you looking for from this community?: I am an author, utilizing archetypal psychology to understand American myth, history and culture. My book is: "Madness at the Gates of the City: The Myth of American Innocence" (Regent Press 2010).

Do you belong to any other online Psychology-related communities or orgs? If so, which?: Mythsinger Consortium

What is your WEB SITE (IF you would like to promote it)?: http://www.madnessatthegates.com

If you have a Twitter, Facebook, Blog, or LinkedIn account and would like to have people "follow" you, list it here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Madness-at-the-Gates-of-the-City-The-...

Barry Spector's Blog

Barry's Blog # 343: A Mythologist Looks at the 2020 Election, Parts 4-6 of 6

Posted on July 22, 2020 at 6:26pm 0 Comments 0 Likes

Part Four

Two Senile, Old White Guys Who Want to be President – Or Do They?

I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters. – Trumpus

This essay is not really about politics, except to the extent that politics reflects mythology. Our first responsibility as mythological thinkers is to cultivate discrimination, to take a step back and…

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Barry's Blog # 340: A Mythologist Looks at the 2020 Election, Parts 1-3 of 6

Posted on July 22, 2020 at 6:24pm 0 Comments 0 Likes

Part One

The war is not meant to be won; it is meant to be continuous. – George Orwell

Watch what we do, not what we say. – John Mitchell, Attorney General under Richard Nixon

Let me be perfectly clear (Nixon said that). I want Biden to win in a landslide, win back the Senate, pick the next few Supreme Court Justices and send Trumpus (Trump = us) out beyond…

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Barry's Blog # 334: American Witch Hunt, Parts 1-6

Posted on June 20, 2020 at 2:53pm 0 Comments 0 Likes

Part One

Their strictly Puritanical origin, their exclusively commercial habits, even the country they inhabit, which seems to divert their minds from the pursuit of science, literature, and the arts…a thousand special causes…have singularly concurred to fix the mind of the American upon purely practical objects. – Alexis De Tocqueville

More than any other people on Earth, we bear burdens and accept risks…

Continue

Barry's Blog # 334: American Exceptionalism

Posted on June 13, 2020 at 3:15pm 0 Comments 0 Likes

Part One

Their strictly Puritanical origin, their exclusively commercial habits, even the country they inhabit, which seems to divert their minds from the pursuit of science, literature, and the arts…a thousand special causes…have singularly concurred to fix the mind of the American upon purely practical objects. – Alexis De Tocqueville

More than any other people on Earth, we bear burdens and accept risks…

Continue

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At 8:17pm on August 21, 2012, Mark Winborn said…: Hi Barry -

Will do. And send yours to

5050 Poplar Ave., Suite 1633

Memphis, TN 38157

At 2:53pm on August 6, 2011, Bonnie Bright said…: Hi Barry. I'd like to add my welcome to Ed's and thank you for sending the links and articles for your work by email. You've done some wonderful things in your career and it's great you've found the Alliance. My main goal in founding this community is to help get depth psych out into the world and you have a both a wealth of information to share and willingness to share it. I am truly glad to meet anyone so in tune with a calling!

I hope you'll find this a place to deeply connect with likeminded others and that you will actively engage whenever you can find the time. I find it truly wonderful to be involved in this dynamic and growing community--especially since it allows us to connect from all over the globe in a way we otherwise could not.

I'll get those links up in the next couple of days. In the meantime, it looks like you're already off and running, but I'll send you some tips on navigating the site in a separate email in case its of help. Enjoy the site, and I look forward to seeing you around. ~Bonnie Bright, Founder

At 6:32am on August 4, 2011, Ed Koffenberger said…: Welcome Barry,

Glad you have found the Alliance and have decided to join. Your new book sounds intriguing and it will be on my shelf soon. These is an author's group where this information about your book can be posted as well. As an American, I lost my innocence about the nation during the Vietnam War era. Still lament its passing from time to time.

Ed

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