Articles by Anthony J. Marsella,
We found 128 results.
USA: A “Culture of Violence”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Jul 2024
This “culture of violence” is generated, sustained, and promoted by acts that arise from individual and collective impulse and intent, and that too often find tier tolerance and approval across political, economic, educational, military, and moral policies of institutions.
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Whose Child Is This?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jan 2024
Whose Child is This? Whose child is this? Is this child an Iraqi . . . an Israeli . . . a Chechnyan . . . an Afghani . . . a Kurd . . . a Nigerian? Is she or he English, Indonesian, Spanish, Lebanese, Turkish, Congolese, Bosnian, Persian? Does it matter? Is this child not a daughter or son to each of us?
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Age? . . . Really? Distinctions, Degrees, Nuances
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Jun 2023
Age is a major topic of discussion and debate. But age is many things. What is your age? We are more and less than our chronological age! We are, simultaneously, many different ages!
→ read full articleGuidelines for Living a Spiritual Life
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 May 2023
1. Awareness
I resolve to be more aware and responsive to the spiritual dimensions of my being and my nature.
My Mother’s Day
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 May 2023
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
14 May 2023
Offerings
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
3 Apr 2023
Efforts after Resolving Questions and Answers: Obligations, Duties, Responsibilities
→ read full articleBeware the “Cides” of March
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Mar 2023
8 Mar 2023 – Reflections on Human Frailties, Virtues, and Betrayal: Finding Solace in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”
→ read full articleThe Winter of Our Discontent: Mind’s Accommodation to Disparate Experiences
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Jan 2023
A Personal Essay – MIND, MEANING, CHANCE . . .
→ read full articleHope . . . An Implacable Cosmos-Endowed Vitalism
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
16 Jan 2023
A 2023 national Gallup Poll in the USA revealed that North Americans are very pessimistic regarding 2023. Across all demographic markers, a majority “predict negative conditions in 12 of 13 economic, political, societal and international arenas.” ‘Hope’ appears to be absent or insufficient for mediating or mollifying pessimism.
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Memorial Prose Poem
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Nov 2022
I write in memory of a tragic day in history that changed the destiny of the USA and the world. With the assassination of JFK, the path was open for presidential deceit and deception, for abuses of national purpose and moral authority. Say what you will, JFK was our nation’s last hope for principled charismatic leadership capable of inspiring hope and sacrifice for higher purpose.
→ read full articlePanorama: A Compilation of Situational, Acute, and Chronic Global Challenges
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Jul 2022
29 Jun 2022 – Limits of Human and Nature Life-Form Survival
→ read full article“The Winter of Our Discontent:” Mind’s Accommodation to Disparate Experiences
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 May 2022
A Personal Essay – 20 May 2022 – MIND, MEANING, CHANCE . . .
→ read full articleA Panorama of Global Challenges ©
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 May 2022
A Compilation of Situational, Acute, and Chronic Global Challenges–A Journey into Brain, Mind, Meaning, and Doubt
→ read full articleNow, Perhaps . . .
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Mar 2022
5 Mar 2022 – In this personal response to the invasion of Ukraine, I composed a continuous commentary, unbroken by conventional grammatical punctuations and sentence structure, save a comma, in an effort to stifle and restrain the inequities of division, and instead, to sear minds with a plaintive, mournful, rhythmic statement, sanctioned by shared horror.
→ read full articleWinter Solstice: “The Day of the Longest Night . . .”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Dec 2021
I write in awe and reverence of Time! I write with respect for ancients pursuing mastery and control of Time’s mysterious cycles, determining life and lives. On “The Day of the Longest Night,” today calendarized as December 21, uncertainty of light’s return once brought chants, prayers, and sacrifices. Shrines, columns, and monuments were erected to map the past… So, let it be written . . . so, let it be sung . . . So let us honor, Time!
→ read full articleA Great Loneliness Has Befallen…
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Dec 2021
10 Dec 2021 – A great loneliness has befallen the world’s people. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and global challenges of climate change, toxic pollutions, and risks of extinction, humanity is faced with harsh choices between compliance with authority-imposed restraints on individual rights and human rights. There is considerable conflict regarding choice.
→ read full articleReflections on the Myths and Ethoses That Promote and Sustain War as a “Way of Life” and Acceptable Moral Code for the USA (II)
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Aug 2021
23 Aug 2021 – Never before has the USA been revealed to be the greatest danger to world peace, as it pursues its own corrupt, criminal, venal goals. Why does the USA abide these acts, which speak directly to inept national leaders and hidden oligarchs? Still we celebrate Presidents, and permit them to build enduring libraries to their immorality and incompetence.
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Afghanistan: Elegy . . . Unfinished Tapestry?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Jul 2021
I write in sympathy, empathy, compassion, and shared hope.
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WAR
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
31 May 2021
For Memorial Day USA – 31 May 2021
→ read full article“The Time Has Come . . .”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 May 2021
“It is not the unloved who initiate disaffection, but those who cannot love because they love only themselves. It is not the helpless, subject to terror, who initiate terror, but the violent, who with their power. create the concrete situation which begets the ‘rejects of life.’ It is not the tyrannized who initiate despotism, but the tyrants. It is not those whose humanity is denied them who negate humankind, but those who denied that humanity (thus negating their own as well). Force is used not by those who have become weak under the preponderance of the strong, but by the strong who have emasculated them.” (Paulo Freire, 1970)
→ read full articlePashtun Woman: Enduring the Unendurable
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Jan 2021
It is said 90% of the world’s opium is grown in Afghanistan. It is alleged Taliban forces, exacting tolls religious fanaticism, ended opium production, while the presence of United States and NATO occupation increased this percentage. There is too much money to be made by nations and cartels to yield control. Shame!
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Winter Solstice 21 December: “The Day of the Longest Night . . .”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Dec 2020
I write in awe and reverence of Time! I write with respect for ancients pursuing mastery and control of Time’s mysterious cycles, determining life and lives. On “The Day of the Longest Night,” today calendarized as December 21, uncertainty of light’s return once brought chants, prayers, and sacrifices. Shrines, columns, and monuments were erected to map the past… So, let it be written . . . so, let it be sung . . . So let us honor, Time!
→ read full article
Afghanistan: Elegy . . . Unfinished Tapestry?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Nov 2020
I write in sympathy, empathy, compassion, and shared hope.
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Remembering JFK: Voices from a Smoldering Grave . . . Memorial Prose Poem
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Nov 2020
I write in memory of a tragic day in history that changed the destiny of the USA and the world. With the assassination of JFK, the path was open for presidential deceit and deception, for abuses of national purpose and moral authority. Say what you will, JFK was our nation’s last hope for principled charismatic leadership capable of inspiring hope and sacrifice for higher purpose.
→ read full articleMemories of Dreams Past: Hawaii as the “Geneva of the Pacific”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Oct 2020
24 Oct 2020 – Happy Birthday, Johan Galtung! Years will pass, but your legacy as a voice for peace and justice will not! The footprints of your days in Hawaii remain. “Footprints in Hawaii’s sands, escaping incoming tides–indelible footprints!”
→ read full articleThe Days Pass Quickly Now ….
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Jun 2020
The days pass quickly now.
I recall how long each day seemed in my youth.
How I yearned to be an adult,
Able to enjoy the freedoms of age!
WAR!
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 May 2020
U.S. Memorial Day 2020:
War!
Side pitted against other!
Human against human!
Primitive!
Becoming God! “Controlling Human Ontology:” Ambitions of the “Secret-State Confederation”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Jan 2020
9 Jan 2020 – I use the word “Confederation” because I do believe no single group, no single nation, and no single concern is capable of controlling and dominating humanity, nations, and the world. Defining characteristics of sinister “Confederation” of individuals, groups, and organizations include:
→ read full articleUSA Military Veteran Plight: Macro- and Micro-Level Considerations
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Dec 2019
The tragic plight of USA military veterans is discussed within the context of four critical and reciprocal macro-level determinants followed by a descriptive equation of micro-level considerations in military veteran quality care.
→ read full articleThoughts about Thoughts: Journey into Machine Mind
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Dec 2019
We seek respite from a relentless assault of information bombarding our senses. An onslaught of daily life trials, media, commercials, TV/radio/music, ambient noise levels, demanding response. Consciousness, conscience beg retreat.
→ read full articleRemembering JFK: Voices from a Smoldering Grave . . . Memorial Prose Poem
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Nov 2019
I write in memory of a tragic day in history that changed the destiny of the USA and the world. With the assassination of JFK, the path was open for presidential deceit and deception, for abuses of national purpose and moral authority. Say what you will, JFK was our nation’s last hope for principled charismatic leadership capable of inspiring hope and sacrifice for higher purpose. — 22 Nov 2019
→ read full articlePrivilege and Education Advantage
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Sep 2019
In a democratic society, theoretically based upon equality of opportunity and resources, the “advantage” ethic represents a serious problem. While individual variations among citizens’ abilities and capacities must be acknowledged and valued, variations based on wealth, power, and position provide “advantages” which ultimately destroy the fabric of the “democratic” society. The playing field of life is not level! Unethical, Immoral, Illegal Abuses of “Privilege”
→ read full articleGlobal Challenges 2019: Amidst a World in Peril and Collapse
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Aug 2019
If ever there was a time for citizen action for peace, justice, sustainability, caring and compassion – it is now! If ever there was a time for creative and imaginative ideas, products, and collective actions to reduce the human burden on Earth, it is now. If ever there was a time to grasp the sheer magnificence of the beauty before us being lost, it is now! Sacrifices appeasing greed and mammon abound, and their consequences threaten life.
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“Omnipresent Surveillance:” Dystopian Society in Our Global Era
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Aug 2019
Imposing Authoritarian Control, Domination, and Rule: Strategies, Methods, Techniques, Tactics
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Cogito Ergo Sum! . . . Perhaps!
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jul 2019
I think!
Therefore, I am!
I am!
Therefore, I think!
I think I am!
Walt Whitman Returns. . .
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 May 2019
May 31, 2019 is the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman’s birth in West Hills, New York. I wonder what Walt Whitman would say if he appeared in our time? I know he would recognize the betrayal of history’s lessons, humanity’s continued infatuation with violence and war, and our limited empathy. He would scold us! Reprimand us! Remind us solutions are to be found in compassion and connection, not metal.
→ read full articleWAR
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 May 2019
For Memorial Day USA – 27 May 2019
→ read full articleReflections on Government Change, Reform, Renewal (Part 2)
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Apr 2019
Suggested Topics for Discussion, Dialog and Debate
→ read full articleUSA Foreign Policy and Action Choices, Options, Alternatives (Part 1)
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Apr 2019
Assassinations/death squads/drones
Bounties for info/capture/murder
Bribery/blackmail
Celebration of national “morality”/necessity of torture
Central-banking network (Debt)
Legacy: Portal to Immortality!
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Apr 2019
29 Mar 2019 – A legacy is an act, known and unknown, to ourselves and to others, in which we assert presence as identity, thoughts, and feeling. Legacy is, in some respects, an effort to preserve immortality. In contrast to consciousness legacy, much of our life is passed unaware each day, we create legacy in what we do; legacy has profound implications for ourselves and others.
→ read full articleHarbingers
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Mar 2019
I wrote Harbingers to remind myself and others, of the 1950s and 1960s, years of our youth, there were people who warned us of the costs of silence and passivity. Sometimes, courage comes late in life. I did not want to waste another chance. We squander time!
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GODOT (Reconsidered)
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Mar 2019
“Waiting for Godot,” emerged amidst the “beat generation,” in which the absurdities of the time, the sheer contradictions, were captured in ironies, cynicism, despair, and ambivalence. I need express my feelings about current times. Finding in them, parallel, the same absurdities; but the risks, dangers, threats, greater! Does it ever change?
→ read full articleWAR!
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Mar 2019
War!
Side pitted against other!
Human against human!
Primitive!
Arms against arms!
Belief against belief!
Life, lives, time, … lost!
Artist in Agony: My Step-Father, Stefano
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Feb 2019
My step-father, Stefano, died in my arms at home at age 66. In the days before his death, he said to me: “The great tragedy of life is so few people have an opportunity to develop their talents.” He knew the agony!
→ read full articleAfrican American Female Vocalists
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Feb 2019
14 Feb 2019 – I share this tribute to African American female vocalists on Valentine’s Day because they sing and sang of every meaning of love in one way or another: joys, pleasures, struggles, pain, and recovery. Imagine; two centuries of unparalleled talent as individuals and as a group. I have heard many, and many are new to me. Listening to African American Female Vocalists fashioning a song, watching them command presence, and reading about their lives fills me with appreciation and awe.
→ read full articleAge? . . . Really? Distinctions, Degrees, Nuances
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Jan 2019
28 Jan 2018 – We are more and less than our chronological age! We are, simultaneously, many different ages! Regardless of our chronological age, “distinctions” can be made that position us at younger, older, or “consonant” with our chronological ages as a function of different dimensions of our behavior and existence.
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More Than an “Icon:” Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Enduring Legacy
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Jan 2019
Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for Civil Rights and Social Justice. King adhered to Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence. In 1955 he began his struggle to persuade the US Government to declare the policy of racial discrimination in the southern states unlawful. The racists responded with violence to the black people’s nonviolent initiatives. (The Norwegian Nobel Institute)
→ read full articleNuclear War and Me: Annihilation Inscribed Across Time and Place
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
31 Dec 2018
Time awaits Poet T.S. Elliot’s prophetic words! And who would be left to affirm Elliot’s insights amidst a nuclear “wasteland?” Why T.S. Elliot’s claim of a “whimper?” “Whimper!” “Whimper” murmurs! Whimper is subdued, timorous, surrender, like a final gasp! “Whimper” a sound preceding silence! I imagined myself “whimpering” in a final surge of life. Annihilation!
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Whose Child Is This?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
24 Dec 2018
Whose Child is This? Whose child is this? Is this child an Iraqi . . . an Israeli . . . a Chechnyan . . . an Afghani . . . a Kurd . . . a Nigerian? Is she or he English, Indonesian, Spanish, Lebanese, Turkish, Congolese, Bosnian, Persian? Does it matter? Is this child not a daughter or son to each of us?
→ read full articleWinter Solstice: “The Day of the Longest Night . . .”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Dec 2018
I write in awe and reverence of Time! I write with respect for ancients pursuing mastery and control of Time’s mysterious cycles, determining life and lives. On “The Day of the Longest Night,” today calendarized as December 21, uncertainty of light’s return once brought chants, prayers, and sacrifices. Shrines, columns, and monuments were erected to map the past… So, let it be written . . . so, let it be sung . . . So let us honor, Time!
→ read full article
Memorial Prose Poem
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Nov 2018
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (29 May 1917 – 22 Nov 1963)
Remembering JFK: Voices from a Smoldering Grave . . .
In Search of Meaning: Thoughts on Belief, Doubt and Wellbeing
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D.,
24 Sep 2018
A Twenty-Year Anniversary Reflection: 20 Sep 1999 – 20 Sep 2018 – This paper discusses the spiritual consequences for health and wellbeing associated with a dialogical tension between meaning-making and doubt. Meaning-making is pursued via various complex belief systems: worldviews, philosophies, religions, ideologies, mythologies, and “spiritual paths.
→ read full articleIdentity in a Global Era: Individual, Collective, National, “Existential” Considerations
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Jul 2018
30 Jul 2018 – This paper is an overview of a complex topic, “Identity,” an essential concern in a number disciplines (e.g., anthropology, child development, medicine, politics, psychology, sociology). There is considerable debate within and across the disciplines regarding the nature of identity and its dynamics. This paper summarizes some of the major dimensions.
→ read full articleAcculturation and Human Relationships: Essential Encounters of “Cultural Constructions of Reality”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Jun 2018
Acculturation is the key to understanding the dynamics and consequences of all human relationships. Acculturation, is in my opinion the most important “concept” for understanding the nature, meaning, and outcome of human being encounters and interactions, and perhaps, in a way yet to be determined, also for animal species.
→ read full articleWar
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 May 2018
What more can be said of war
That has not already been said,
That has not already been written,
That has not already been sung in song,
Recited in verse, shared in epic tales?
Genocide: The Ecology of Pathways to Ending Lives and Life
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 May 2018
21 May 2018 – This may be a tough read for some. It was difficult for me to write. I dislike being a Cassandra, Jeremiah, or any other voice that keeps calling attention to the many challenges ahead for humanity and for the world. And yet, it seems to me that if I do not, then somehow I have betrayed my responsibilities, duties, and obligations as professional psychologist, citizen, and human being.
→ read full articleTwenty Arbiters for Policy Decisions and Actions: A Template for Our Times
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 May 2018
5 May 2018 – Perhaps it would be helpful to keep before us the various aspirations for society’s models supportive of nature and human life. Idealistic? Of course! But, if we deny the possible, then reality fills the gaps with less than laudatory choices.
→ read full articleHomogenization of Psychotherapy and Counseling: Scientific, Professional, Ethical/Moral Issues, Risks, and Directions
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Apr 2018
28 Apr 2018 – In a time and era when people of contrasting cultural diversity are coming into contact on a daily basis, it is incumbent dominant, historical, and conventional Western therapists and counselors learn the nature, procedures, and wisdom of traditional non-Western therapies, and in the process, re-consider the cultural context of their own practices.
→ read full articleReflections on the Cultural Construction of Reality: Assumptions, Issues, Directions
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Apr 2018
There is an inherent human impulse in the human brain and body to describe, understand, and predict the world through the processing and ordering of stimuli. Culture is a concept and construct. It is a word and terms. It joins thousands of other concepts among social, psychological, and behavioral disciplines, and is essential foundation for “culture” disciplines and professions.
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Welcome to the Land of King!
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 Apr 2018
A Memorial Commentary on the April 4, 2018 Anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination – Ladies and Gentlemen, I write to you today from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, birthplace and national shrine of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, Nobel Prize Laureate, and martyr to the cause of justice.
→ read full articleReflections on the Myths and Ethoses That Promote and Sustain War as a “Way of Life” and Acceptable Moral Code for the USA (I)
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Feb 2018
19 Feb 2018 – The unassailable truth is that the USA is a culture of war! A culture of war is a shared set of meanings and behaviors that are socialized by macrosocial and microsocial institutions via support for certain cultural myths and ethoses that present war and associated acts of violence and aggression as an acceptable action for pursuing domestic and national goals and purposes
→ read full article
In Pursuit of Peace and Justice: 100 Peace & Justice Leaders and Models (List #2)
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., & Kathie Malley-Morrison, Ed.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Feb 2018
14 Feb 2018 – The individuals included on our current list are from all genders, ages, roles. They are from many nations, ethnocultural groups, and “races.” There is a rising tide of commitment to peace and justice; there is an intolerance of the corruption, cronyism, and asymmetric power, sustaining current abuses. There is a new spirit of resistance to the old-world moral order, dominated too long by a limited number of oligarchs and martial nations.
→ read full articleWelcome to the Land of Luther King!
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Jan 2018
15 Jan 2018 – I write today to tell you the roots of hate, ignorance and evil endure nurtured by the protective veils of government corruption, cronyism, greed, and religious prejudices sanctioned by dogma and custom. I call upon you today to join Luther King’s call to justice, now more than 50 years old as it still echoes throughout our global age. Listen! Can you hear the cries of the masses around the world leading lives of desperation, lives devoid of hope, lives existing from moment to moment, each breath lacking reflexive assurance the next breath will come bringing temporary solace to an aching body and mind.
→ read full articleWinter Solstice: On This Day of the Longest Night . . .
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Dec 2017
In 2017, Winter in the Northern hemisphere begins on Thu 21 Dec at 16:28 UTC. It is the shortest day of the year; it is the day of the longest night. For thousands of years, humans sought understanding of the cosmic wonder of day and night — the endless cycle of sun and moon.
→ read full articleMemorial Prose Poem
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Nov 2017
Remembering JFK: Voices from a Smoldering Grave . . .
→ read full articleThe Golden Rule: Eleven World Religions
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 Oct 2017
4 Oct 2017 – It is indeed ironic, tragic in fact, that the Golden Rule is considered an essential truth of world religions and yet is abandoned by religions in favor of self-serving social and political goals keeping people apart separated and disconnected. As has been said by wise voices: “There is no other.”
→ read full articleThe Conditions for Human Health and Well-Being Reside in the Psycho-Social Contexts of Life
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Jul 2017
12 Jul 2017 – I call upon the timeless words of Henry David Thoreau, a 19th Century student of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1889-1888), to open this article on the critical consequences of the socio-cultural context for human health and well-being. It is, perhaps, coincidental today is Thoreau’s birthday; his 200th year anniversary, a reminder of the enduring power of great thoughts and words. Guide me, Sir!
→ read full articleBeware the “Cides” of July
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
10 Jul 2017
4 Jul 2017 – Shakespeare’s oft quoted lines from Julius Caesar are well known. They are used often in conversations to remind us of the perils lurking among auspicious and inauspicious dates and places: “Beware the Ides of March.” The lines are notable for the 15th day of Caesar’s death at the hands of those he trusted, even as he alienated their friendship.
→ read full articlePashtun Woman: Enduring the Unendurable
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Jun 2017
The words to this lyrical poem, Pashtun Woman, are presented in a rhythm and evocative cadence to the delicate and haunting melody, A Thousand Splendid Suns. The title of this melody was adapted from a Seventeenth-Century Afghan poem, written by Saib e Tabrizi.
→ read full articleWAR
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 May 2017
For Memorial Day USA – 29 May 2017
→ read full articlePolitics, Power, Peril: Twenty-Four Assumptions for Discussion and Debate ©
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 May 2017
I offer these 24 assumptions regarding politics, power, and peril to promote both public-forum and education-setting discussion and debate. World populations have now consciousness of the consequences of power asymmetries, especially preservation of entrenched financial interests through endless wars and military occupations by cabalistic Western powers. Cui Bono?
→ read full articleAddressing Fractionation: Principles for Arbitrating the “Common Good”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 May 2017
There is an urgent need for healing the divisive separation of people, societies, and nations. A continuation of the present intentional and unintentional “fractionation” forebodes a tragic future. Humans and the institutions they have created for collective living, now threaten life and lives as they assert selective group domination and control.
→ read full articleA Lexicon of Polity “State” Descriptors ©
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
24 Apr 2017
I sought to identify and list adjectives describing nations, states, and institutions. Adjectives are powerful words used to modify or describe a noun; they help convey or enhance the noun’s possible meanings and impact. We use adjectives many times a day to communicate our feelings or attitudes about a topic. It isn’t enough to discuss a topic, we benefit from immersing the topic in adjectives.
→ read full articleAfghanistan: Elegy . . . Unfinished Tapestry?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Apr 2017
I write in sympathy, empathy, compassion, and shared hope.
→ read full articleWorld Order and Disorder: The “Games” and “Gambles” of Life and Lives
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
10 Apr 2017
In a world of lawlessness, anything goes, and does! We remain in shock at the destructive events occurring across the world. Yet we too often ignore these events as consequences of the protected policies and actions of nations, individuals, private organizations, engaged in protecting their interests. Protected from harm, the perpetrators of harm are engaged in the “games” and “gambles” of world order and disorder. To what end?
→ read full article“Total War:” Weaponizing and Exporting USA Popular Culture
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Mar 2017
The power of USA popular culture is vast and complex. It has been exported to virtually all nations. It is a “war-like” invasion and occupation of a way-of-life, displacing and overwhelming existing cultural values and practices. Even as the USA is subject to increasing criticism for its abusive and intrusive actions in the culture’s of other nations, USA leaders appear reluctant to accept criticism.
→ read full articleIn Pursuit of Peace: The Cosmic Nature of Our Inner and Outer Journey
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Feb 2017
To understand and to accept the mystery that life and death are one can only enrich our life, and can only promote a greater sense of responsibility to promote life. This is spiritual foundation for living amidst the trials we face as individuals, societies, and nations. It calls upon us to grasp and accept the realities of our existence as the stuff of stars, and to live according to the principles of life inherent in our creation. Let us embrace the reality that I/we/life and the universe are one!
→ read full article“Becoming Mars”: Destruction of Life on Earth
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Dec 2016
Burrowes writes with informed conviction of the disastrous consequences of humankind’s presence and actions on Earth. Humanity’s brief, but ruinous period of habitation, has been labeled “The Anthropocene Era.”
→ read full articleWinter Solstice: On This Day of the Longest Night
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Dec 2016
In 2016, Winter in the Northern hemisphere begins on Wed, 21 Dec, 10:44 a.m. GMT–shortest day of the year. What was this mystery, visible but elusive, recurrent but changing, cyclical but subject to interference from clouds and storms. Cosmic battles! Struggles in the heavens! Messages for those below on Earth, watching!
→ read full articleA Drinker’s Hamlet
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
24 Oct 2016
Ah, to drink, and with our sips
To end the heartaches and the thousand natural shocks Flesh is heir to;
Nay, to refrain, and with the virtue
Therein derived,
Face the onslaught, full strength alone.
Aye, that’s the rub!
Whose Side is “God, god, gods, g _ d,” _ _ _ on? A Reprise and More
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Oct 2016
17 Oct 2016 – This paper is an expanded version of a paper first published in TMS on Jan 7, 2013, under a similar title. The focus of the first paper was the invocation of “God, god, g _ d” as a “moral” rationale for justifying wars, occupation, and invasion by empires, nations, religions, and dictators. Invoking the moral authority of “God, god, gods, g _ d” is a timeless ploy used to assure military invincibility, enlist public support, and comfort public doubts about consequences of violence, destruction, and war.
→ read full articleConscience and Consciousness
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Sep 2016
With uncommon courage and conviction, notable peacemakers, including Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Daniel Berrigan, Philip Berrigan, Helen Caldicott, Glenn Paige, Bell Hooks, Mairead McGuire, Antonio C. S. Rosa, Dalai Lama, Daisaku Ikeda, and scores of others, modeled “conscience” as a way-of-life, accepting the quest for peace must be nurtured and sustained with the totality of one’s being . . . each breath an affirmation of commitment.
→ read full articleWhose Child Is This?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Aug 2016
Whose child is this? Is this child an Iraqi . . . an Israeli . . . a Chechnyan . . . an Afghani . . . a Kurd . . . a Nigerian? Is she or he English, Indonesian, Spanish, Lebanese, Turkish, Congolese, Bosnian, Persian? Does it matter? Is this child not a daughter or son to each of us?
→ read full articleNatural and Human-Made Disasters: A Primer for Our Times ©
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Aug 2016
The word “disasters” has become much more than a word as humanity becomes aware of the numerous natural, human-made, and human-facilitated disasters in our times…. Albert Einstein, advised: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them” Albert Einstein is no longer with us, but his words remain, and demand attention. Anything less … a disaster!
→ read full articleThe “Versus” Mentality of Our Times: Twenty-Five Conflicts
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Aug 2016
To a large extent, the “versus” mentality is exemplified in the former President George W. Bush, fateful words: “You are either for us, or against us.” Seeds were planted: “There is a good side, and a bad side.” Seeds of ignorance! How tragic! There will always be different sides; but the challenge to awakened minds is how to engage bring creative solutions to fractious challenges. At the core are differences! Failure to understand the nature and history of differences dooms humanity and the natural world future.
→ read full articleForgotten People © – Human Lives . . .
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Jul 2016
One more traffic accident; one more headline of deaths and injuries on our roads. Daily fare now! But what sealed my mind about this accident, this human tragedy, was the anonymity of death. True, many victims will be known and remembered to those whose lives were connected — grieving spouses, crying children, perhaps distant cousins and aunts living thousands of miles away. Yet still: “Forgotten People!”
→ read full article“Tapping the Victim Syndrome!” Voters as Victims Fuel Trump’s Appeal!
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Jun 2016
Trumpism! No magic, no mystique, no charisma, no aura of invincibility! Just an astute and calculated recognition of the nation’s many discontents, assumed causes, and an appealing public persona fuel Trump’s appeal.
→ read full articleWAR
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Jun 2016
For Memorial Day USA – May 30, 2016
→ read full articleGlobal Resources and Challenges for 2016
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Jan 2016
What is different this year – 2016 – is the “global stage” in which the challenges and resources are being tested and contested. It is clear to me we are unable to grasp the “global” level of events and forces. We are unprepared for the magnitude of stage! The problem is our resources, those things we have reflexively, conventionally, and traditionally relied upon (i.e., political, economic, cultural, military) are inadequate in the face of our challenges.
→ read full articleReflections on Witnessing the Republican Presidential Candidate Debate
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Dec 2015
At what point do we as a nation acknowledge we have helped create the tragedy of terrorism by our own actions — policies serving our selfish needs and those of a few allies? For this we have thrown the world into chaos and disarray! We cannot continue imposing our will and interests on the world without consequence. Think! Hate begets hate! Nuclear weapons now proliferate.
→ read full articleA Template for Our Global Era: The Lexical Nexus of Proportion, Process, Ideology
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 May 2015
Human survival and wellbeing are now embedded in a complex interdependent global web of economic, political, social, technical, and environmental events, forces, and changes. This article is simply an effort to call attention — increase awareness — to the events, forces, and powers of our time by acknowledging and presenting the lexical nexus of global era ‘proportions,’ ‘processes,’ and ‘ideologies.’
→ read full articleWar, Peace, Justice: An Unfinished Tapestry…
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 Mar 2015
War, peace, and justice are the eternal threads of human history – each thread with distinct symbols, colors, and appeals, each thread with its defining events, forces, heroes, and villains. History is the story of efforts to complete our unfinished tapestry. Until such time, we remain, as Bishop Tutu of South Africa poignantly stated in speaking of survival amid violence and oppression, “Prisoners of hope.”
→ read full articleWalt Whitman Returns . . .
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
Preface to Leaves of Grass (1855) – What Walt Whitman would say if he appeared in our time? I know he would recognize the betrayal of history’s lessons – humanity’s continued infatuation with violence and war. He would scold us! Reprimand us! Remind us solutions are to be found in compassion and connection — not metal.
→ read full articleThe Epic Ideological Struggle of Our Global Era: Multiculturalism versus Homogenization
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Dec 2014
In contrast to homogenization, the preferred ideology of those in power and position seeking control and domination, Multiculturalism embraces the reality of life’s diversity and differences – the beauty of variation. All other ideologies “pale” in complexion, complexity, and comparison.
→ read full articleTwo Paths in the Wood: “Choice” of Life or War
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Oct 2014
There is an urgent need for new ideological foundations to replace our nation’s historic reliance on war and destruction to achieve ends. Our nation’s history is stained with the blood of indigenous peoples, with the blood of slavery, and with the blood of world wars whose resolutions (victories?) produced a heritage of continued reliance on military solutions and revenge from those who “lost” or from those who now see the intentions of the USA and its allies.
→ read full articleThe Paradoxical Consequences of USA Counter-Terrorism Programs
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Oct 2014
Jihadist Terrorist Perceived Motives and Successes – “While nothing is easier than to denounce the evil doer, nothing is harder than to understand him.”
Fyodor Mihailovich Dostoevsky, The Possessed, 1872
WEEDS . . . Metaphors . . . WARS
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Sep 2014
I speak here of weeds growing across our land,
Wild, uninvited, unwelcome, festering!
I speak here of weeds inhabiting gardens and lawns,
Growing amidst driveways, sidewalks, curb cracks.
As I Age . . . Thoughts on Memory and Cosmos
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Sep 2014
The reality is the omnipresence of memories — as we recall them, as wish to recall them, and as we wish to forget them. Memories are always present — waiting to be released. And with each memory, comes an endless flow of associations. Memories work their way to the surface — the immediacy of the present moment.
→ read full articleAge: Choices for Being-in-the-World
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Aug 2014
There are many ages! Some are objective (i.e., quantifiable, legal), and some are subjective (i.e., private, perception, personal, psychological). We need to recognize the full range of age choices to avoid stereotypes and categorical conclusions. Obviously, physical and mental limitations and disabilities impose constraints.
→ read full articleJustice as Arbiter: Educating for Moral Authority, Legitimacy, and Credibility
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Aug 2014
This paper is about justice! The term “justice” is widely used in our daily life in media, politics, economic, and religion sectors. This has resulted in surplus meaning, and perhaps a dulling of its implicit power as a historical force. There can be no doubt “justice” is an enduring human virtue and value.
→ read full article