Articles by Anthony J. Marsella,
We found 128 results.
Choice: The Measure of All Things . . .
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Aug 2014
Reflecting on Human Nature and Oppression – What then is the measure of a person’s life? By what criteria should we judge, evaluate, and/or assess a person’s life?
→ read full articleThe “Just Enough” Policy: Behavioral Control of Collective Protest through Minimum Reward
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Jun 2014
“A society can assume unlimited diversity, as long as it provides equal access to opportunity.” It is the disproportion in opportunity, rights, and freedoms that lead to resentment, struggle, and violence.
→ read full articleLifeism: Beyond Humanity
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Mar 2014
Lifeism is very relevant to our relentless savaging of life across the world. We need to identify with life — this is the most important identity. Identification with gender, ethnicity, race, nations is secondary. We are first and foremost creations of life.
→ read full articleIn Honor of the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Jan 2014
Answering ML King’s call, and the call of the thousands of others who have responded to injustice in our time, will not be easy! It will add burdens to your conscience, responsibilities to your daily rounds, and threats to your safety. In answering the call, your life will not be the same.
→ read full article“Human is as Human Does:” Reflections on Human Nature
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Jan 2014
Conventional views of human nature we hold are gradually and rapidly becoming obsolete in the face of scientific, technological, and medical developments. These developments are of such proportion and consequence that they are altering human nature as we one knew it – or thought we knew it?
→ read full articleGuidelines for Leading a Spiritual Life: Some Resolutions for the New Year
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Dec 2013
The term “spirituality” should not be limited to “ecclesiastical” contexts. “Secular spirituality” has emerged to describe non-materialistic individuals or ways-of-being that are not necessarily associated with membership or belief in a formal religion.
→ read full articlePopular American (USA) Culture: A Dysfunctional and Destructive Life Context
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Nov 2013
We are — amidst pauses and respites for comfort from pizza, beer, shopping, TV football games, and “unreality” shows — caught in a bewildering and conflicted response to the world about us. We are aware something is wrong — unfamiliar, strange, frightening – but we cannot seem to grasp its sources.
→ read full articleWar
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Sep 2013
What more can be said of war,
That has not already been eulogized
On fields of battle
Where lives were lost, minds seared,
And historians’ crafts polished
With the biased narratives of victors:
Waterloo, Hue, Fallujah?
There is no winner in war!
A Lexicon of “War (Redux):” Does Excessive Word Use Result in a Loss of Meaning?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Mar 2013
I must admit, as I gathered the terms, I found myself “shocked” by the widespread use of the word “war.” Was it possible that within the context of our global era, replete with its increased inter-dependencies, we had come to find the tensions of competition for resources and survival itself, pushing us toward “wars” at all levels of interactions? In my opinion, a “versus” mentality had arisen that was pitting different people, organizations, nations, and products against one another in a win-lose arena.
→ read full article“It’s the culture, stupid!”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Jan 2013
I would like to build on this iconic utterance, that captures so much in so few words, by calling attention to the dominate sources of continued mass violence that exists in the USA today. Even as well intentioned public and private response to the Sandy Hook massacre seek solutions in highly specific policies, laws, and practices (e.g., background checks, gun registration, armed guards), these will ultimately prove insufficient, and acts of mass violence will continue. “When you go forward for revenge, dig two graves.” It “trickles down.”
→ read full articleWhose Side is God, god, g_d On?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Jan 2013
Lessons from 19th Century Imperialism – The following is a listing of some of the enduring lessons that came to mind as I reflect on the endless mass violence and wars of our times. With Gladstone’s words ringing in my ears, I offer them to you.
→ read full articleWhy Are There So Few Peace Psychology Courses Taught?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
31 Dec 2012
What Can We Do To Change This? Although we have no exact figures on the number of courses in peace psychology that are taught in undergraduate and graduate psychology departments the United States, it seems to me on the basis of available materials that there it is at best a limited number.
→ read full articleThe Complex Calculus of the Permanent Unemployment Crisis: Players, Causes and Consequences
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Dec 2012
As I listen to explanations, solutions, and promises from “experts,” economists, financiers, social commentators, politicians, and also lived experiences of the unemployed, underemployed, and hopelessly unemployed, I have become convinced the complex calculus of players, causes and consequences cannot lead to a resolution – a revolution, perhaps, but not a resolution.
→ read full articleWhat Child Is This?
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Dec 2012
What child is this? Whose child is this? Now this child rests amidst the dust and debris of war . . . lifeless . . . torn and shattered… killed by someone whom she or he never knew and would probably never meet. Death from a distance. . . a bomb from a drone or plane, a shell from a mortar, a strap of explosives . . . intentional and willing, calculated and planned, a measured effort to destroy.
→ read full articleGenocide: The Ecology of Pathways to Ending Lives and Life
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Nov 2012
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. This article is in some ways a lament. But in other ways, it is voice in the wilderness calling for an awakening to what is occurring as we choose silence as others cry in pain and humiliation.
→ read full articlePeople Come Into Our Lives . . .
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Nov 2012
People enter our lives at unexpected times
Changing us in profound ways . . .
A glance, a smile or frown,
A word — spoken or written —
American Popular Culture: Socializing and Homogenizing Mind, Nation, and World
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Nov 2012
It is said that a fish does not know or recognize the water about it until it is caught and raised from the depths of its milieu so necessary for survival. It is then it may understand the essence of its survival. It seems to me that the same analogy may be applied to American citizens. We are embedded in a popular American culture to which we seem to be oblivious. Figure 1: The Socialization of American Culture, Society, and Psyche:
→ read full articleThe United States of America: A “Culture of Violence”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Nov 2012
Charting a “Culture of Violence:” Causes and Consequences – As Figure 1 demonstrates, the manifestations and consequences of violent acts are extensive. This suggests the existence of a “culture of violence” that 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.
→ read full articleThe Lexicon of Madness
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Oct 2012
My purpose in writing this commentary is to call attention to the perils of language use and abuse that characterize the “mental” health professions and the public. As the introduction of the DSM V approaches, it is essential we understand the many underlying issues that exist at this time regarding the terms professionals and the public use when referring to “mental” health problems, especially with regard to their denotative and connotative meanings.
→ read full articleLexicon of War
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Oct 2012
Overwhelmed by the endless violence and wars in our world, I wrote an email to a number of listservs where I listed a number of different adjectives preceding the word “war.” And I added a request to readers to make any additions they felt were appropriate. The email brought many replies that both suggested additions and that acknowledged the implications of the emerging “lexicon of wars.” Thus I share with you an updated and more comprehensive lexicon of wars, with a figure (in the end) that suggests a socialization process for wars.
→ read full articleConsequences and Costs of War (Graphic Illustration)
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Jun 2012
Reflections on the costs and consequences of war and violence.
→ read full articleJustice in a Global Age: Becoming Counselors to the World
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
16 Jan 2012
Invited Keynote Address, Counselors for Social Justice, American Counseling Association – I have no hesitation in telling you that I, like many of you, am deeply troubled and saddened by the abuses of privilege and power that are now occurring in our government, business, and religious sectors. Indeed the strategic convergence of shared interests and agendas among these three sectors of our society, in combination with a media failing to meet its responsibilities to accurately report news and to conduct investigative journalism, now constitutes, in my opinion, a serious threat to the foundations of our society, and ultimately, to global peace and harmony.
→ 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
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 Jan 2012
The unassailable truth is that the United States of America 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 articleThe Fukushima, Japan Mega-Disaster (updated)
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Apr 2011
The Fukushima, Japan Mega-Disaster that occurred on March 11, 2011 (2:45 PM Japan Time) will continue to unfold its tragic consequences for years to come. The tragedy must not pass without extensive public and private discussions and reports of the lessons learned from the disaster.
→ read full articleThe Fukushima, Japan Mega-Disaster
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Apr 2011
In a global era in which all of our lives and the lives of all living beings, including the environment, has become increasingly interdependent, efforts must be made to promote an understanding of the growing frequency, severity, and consequences of natural and human-made disasters.
→ read full articleGuidelines for Living a Spiritual Life
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Mar 2011
1. Awareness
I resolve to be more aware and responsive to the spiritual dimensions of my being and my nature.
Identity: Beyond Self, Culture, Nation, and Humanity to “LIFEISM”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Feb 2011
This article explores the nature and meaning of identity and its personal, cultural, and national nuances and consequences. In this presentation, I note, as have many others, that meaningful personal and social identities are at the core of a meaningful human existence. But this assertion raises critical questions about what is a meaningful identity, and what is a meaningful existence. These questions assume greater importance and consequence in the context of our emerging global era, in which the development, shaping, and assertion of certain personal and social identities can have life-affirming or life-harming consequences for all of us.
→ read full articleIDENTITY: BEYOND SELF, CULTURE, NATION, AND HUMANITY TO “LIFEISM”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D.,
22 Oct 2008
President, Psychologists for Social Responsibility Summary: This article explores the nature and meaning of identity and its personal, cultural, and national nuances and consequences. In this presentation, I note, as have many others, that meaningful personal and social identities are at the core of a meaningful human existence. But this assertion raises critical questions about […]
→ read full article