A Waging Dialogue Clarion Call to Fellow Americans (Note: contains semi-graphic depictions.  This content originally was written in the summer of 2023, well-before the movie “Civil War” – #civilwarmovie – was released.  Thus, this entry is not a direct response to the movie.) Have you heard about the United States Civic Wellness Movement?  It’s a…

Overview In the early 21st century in the United States of America, people from across the country built on the work of prior generations, giving rise to the United States Civic Wellness Movement.  It is no exaggeration to say that this movement is part of a broader struggle between the forces of authoritarianism and those…

As Presented at the 53rd Congress of the International Psychoanalytic Association: “Mind in the Line of Fire” Does psychoanalysis have anything to offer to alleviate toxic polarization? Not only does it have something to offer, it has everything to offer. Political, scientific, and moral arguments don’t work. Debates don’t work. Getting out the vote doesn’t…

Abstract  We can’t teach our children about the brutality that our species inflicts on one another without offering them a pathway to change it. The idea of God has typically served as our moral compass and mechanism for transcending our animal instincts, but as our world becomes smaller and polarizations envelop us, religion has become…