Cultural Scripting

White Jerome D. and White Terri . Self-Fulfilling Prophecies in the Inner-City. Illinois Institute of Applied Psychology, Chicago, 1968.

White Jerome D. “Adapted Child Complexes”, Trans. An. Bull. 9: 36, October 1970, pp. 150–153.

Ernst Franklin H. Jr. “The OK Corral: The Grid for Get On With”, Trans. An. J., 1:4, p. 37.

Lewis Leonard L. “Freemasonry — A Ritual, A Game, A Defense Against Urbanization”, Trans. An. J., 1: 4, January 1971, p. 44.

Lewis Leonard L. “Freemasonry — A Ritual, A Game, A Defense Against Urbanization”, Trans. An. J., 1, p. 49.

The punch line of an insightful skit song in a Chicago community organization went: “Oh, we're for integration, Oh, we're for integration … But not next door to me!”

White, Jerome D. and White, Terri. Op. cit.

The persistance of subrosa “street” culture and its effects on the personality, both as scripter (and counterscripter) and cultural-scripting agent need to be further examined. In studying the incantation bowls uncovered in the Near East, for example, stylistic sayings were noted that protected the inhabitant of a specific house from various demons (Lilith, et al). These bowls date from 1500 to 3000 years of age approximately and are quite common from Egypt through Iran. When I showed some of these translated wordings to an old colleague and rabbi, he was amused that they were much like a k'miah (magic sayings on an amulet or a printed card) that were hung on the beds of the sick to ward off evil spirits. A few days later, I managed to buy in a traditional Jewish bookstore, yellowed by age, but nevertheless obviously sought after, printed cards with magic sayings, mentioning of heroes, and specifically, warding off Lilith. The superstitions and their counters via magic had been passed from mouth to mouth, generation by generation, for millenia.

Schiff Jacqui and Schiff Aaron . “Reparenting in Schizophrenia”, Trans. An. Bill., 8: 31, July 1969.

The writers are indebted to Martin Groder and second- and third-hand reports of visitors and workshop leaders about the Asklepieion format.

Freud Sigmund . Civilization and Its Discontents. W.W. Norton, New York, 1961.

The question is often the most pertinent point. The answer too often tends to be chauvinistic, heuristic, defensive, argumentatively rebellious, etc. Whatever tentative answers we accept to a difficult question (or perhaps unanswerable question) belie the ultimate truths. We are indebted to a great teacher, Moses Hadas, for pointing out the questions before, modestly, presenting his point of view.

Freud, op. cit., p. 45.

Freud, op. cit., pp. 4243.

Freud, op. cit., 69.

For a full discussion of the impact of suburbia and TV on the value transmitting processes in our culture including a summary of Coleman's finding that school success is primarily related to family expectations and peer behavior and expectation rather than other factors see: Bronefnbrenner Urie . “The Split-Level American Family”, Saturday Review of Literature, October 7, 1967, pp. 60–66.

Time, August 21, 1972, p. 50; cf. Thompson, William Irwin. At The Edge of History, Harper and Row, New York, 1971. Thompson elaborates on his theory of how culture transforms and provides some speculation as to which direction culture will take. Whether you agree with his theories or his speculations, his approach helps to make the point of the multi-layered cultural transition period that we are now in.

Time, August 21, p. 52.

Time, May 30, 1969, p. 42.