“U.S. Democracy in Transition”, A PSYCHOSOCIAL WEDNESDAYS with Betty Sue Flowers

How must the American dream evolve for a more inclusive democracy?

Democracies are challenged everywhere in the world. In April, Psychosocial Wednesdays take a closer look at the USA. How can the U.S. overcome its crises to create a more inclusive democracy? Betty Sue Flowers argues that U.S. democracy faces crises in masculinity, values, and development. Citing the proverb “A crisis is an opportunity riding a dangerous wind,” she raises key questions: What challenges from the country’s origin and adolescence must be overcome? Which aspects of the American dream need deeper exploration? What new American identity and form of democracy are needed for a “new birth of freedom”?

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https://zoom.us/meeting/register/rja1L0P2QLSOJvDUWx0REA#/registration

WHEN: 16 April 2025

(9pm Zürich/Berlin/Rome; 8pm London; 3pm NYC; noon San Francisco)

TITLE: US Democracy in Transition: A Jungian Perspective

ABSTRACT

Betty Sue Flowers argues that US democracy faces crises on multiple fronts. Citing the Chinese proverb, “A crisis is an opportunity riding a dangerous wind,” Flowers identifies three key crises:  in masculinity; in the nation’s implicit values foundation; and—viewing the country as an entity undergoing individuation— in its development. She raises thought-provoking questions: What are the challenges in the country’s origin and adolescence that must be faced and transcended? Which aspects of the American dream require more conscious exploration? What new story of American identity is needed? Is there a better form of democracy that would deliver “a new birth of freedom?”

BIO
Betty Sue Flowers, PhD, Professor Emerita-UT Austin, and former director of the Johnson Presidential Library is an international foresight consultant, with expertise in poetry therapy, sustainability, and executive leadership. Flowers was the series consultant for Bill Moyers’ “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth.” She has authored two poetry books and four PBS tie-in books, and co-authored Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future. She has also edited the Penguin English Poets edition of Christina Rossetti’s works. Flowers has consulted for NASA, the CIA, and the US Navy, moderated Aspen Institute seminars, and served as scenario editor for organizations including Shell Global, OECD, and the Five Eyes. She chairs Public Agenda’s board and serves on the Board of Governors of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco.

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