I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Barry Spector the author of his new book entitled ” Madness at the Gates of the City-The Myth of American Innocence.” In this book Barry describes the madness of American public life in our time of diminished imagination. The author states that we have constructed walls, both physical and emotional, to protect against the terror outside. Inside, while we distract ourselves with consumerism and fundamentalism, the anxiety drains our vanity.
This book invites you inside our mythic walls and asks you to examine your own ideas of freedom, community and individualism. Barry states that “When we acknowledge that we’ve dug ourselves into a hole, we must first stop digging and them realize how we have colluded with stories that no longer work for us.
We truly need to write new stories that work, our old stories are not serving us anymore. As the post-modern lurches toward the disasters and bereavements that signal the end of an age, we turn to myth to comprehend the elemental forces that move through our lives, to know who we are, to undersand which stories inform our consciousness. For much too long, we’ve been telling stories that hatred is inevitable and that violence is the only way to resolve disputes. We’ve been telling them for so long and os insistently that they have become our myths.
As Berry states his book “Madness at the Gates of the City” has some specific intentions: 1) Clarify the mythic themes in American history. 2) To encourage mythological thinking 3) To support the re-emergence of initiation, authentic ritual, the oral tradition, deep memory and the imagination. 4) To confront readers with the hidden bedrock of their value systems. 5) To avoid muddling things with academic jargon 6) To circle around these themes in a Hermetic, Dionysian, soulful, non-linear manner, showing more interest in surprising connections and brief liftings of the veil than in logical proof. 7) To er-imagine America’s purpose in the world.
If you really want to take a deep dive into the stories we have been telling ourselves the the history that contributed to these stories, then I highly recommend that you read “Madness at the Gates of the City.” Barry’s book is thought provoking as well it will stur your soul in a way that will inspire you to change you own story so that you might re-craft a new more compelling story that serves you and everyone you serve on this planet.
Enjoy my interview with author Barry Spector. If you would like more information about Barry Spector and his new book please click here to be directed to his website.
