[Dialogue] Prescient Thoughts from John Epps in 2004

[Ann Epps]

Thanks, Jo, for posting this "Trends of the Times" article by John.

While I'm not a member of this Dialogue listserve, I check into John's
account from time to time. Thinking through the trends of each decade was a
regular practice of John's. In fact the last public presentation he did was
at the January 2019  USA ToP annual gathering in California where he gave a
brief reflection on the trends as part of a reflection on the evolution of
the ToP methods.

Affectionately,

Ann

On Sat, Mar 15, 2025 at 12:24 PM Jo Nelson via Dialogue <
dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> Hi, all,
>
> I have been cleaning up many files from ICA Associates as a prelude to
> scanning important insights to scan and getting rid of all the paper
> files.  I found this printed post that John Epps sent in 2004 and I think
> it is really prescient about our times in 2025.  Much of what he says here
> about the “00’s” is even more stronger and evident now.  Certainly it seems
> blatantly obvious to me now.
>
> I think this is worth reading and may catalyze our creative thinking.
>
> I also found a draft paper of Wayne’s thoughts that I think were
> catalyzed by John’s post.  Two versions of it were next to John’s post in
> the file folder.  I could also send it later if there is interest.
>
>
> *Subject: [DIALOGUE] some thoughts on the spirit mood and questions *
>
> *Date:*Thursday, March 11, 2004 9: 29 PM
>
>
> Colleagues:
>
> Here are some thoughts on what may be going on:
>
> The Spirit of the 00s
>
> We once analyzed the spirit mood of the times through these categories:
> An External Situation creates and Internal Crisis which raises an
> Existential Question from which we try to Escape.
>
> For me in the 80s the External Situation was the collapse of boundaries
> which created the Internal Crisis of inescapable diversity which raised
> the Existential Question of Where do I stand? We escaped through mindless
> relativism.
>
> It seems to me the 90s were a time in which the External Situation
> featured an emphasis on the intangibles, which raised the Internal Crisis
> of meaning which raised the Existential Question of "What is my worth? We
> escaped through spiritualism.
>
> Now we're into the 00s. The External Situation is a collapse of
> stabilizing structures (economic, political and cultural - perhaps 9-11 is
> a symbol of
>
> a much wider collapse). The economic structures collapsed when the dot-com
> bubble burst, the recession hit, jobs were lost, and the Enron/Dot-Com
> scandal occurred. That has even hit Martha Stewart. Economic structures
> clearly showed their vulnerability. The political collapse came with the
> elections of 2000 and was confirmed with the pull-out from global
> treaties, and the unilateral invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Political
> structures, including the UN, just don't seem to work very well. And the
> cultural - perhaps the RCC disclosure of pedophilia in the priesthood can
> symbolize that, but you can also find collapse in even the Superbowl's halftime
> show!
>
> And baseball, the national sport, is being portrayed as fraught with
>
> drug-enhanced players. Cultural structures, even the "pop" ones, just
> don't seem to hold values any more. What's happening is not that the
> structures collapse literally, but rather that their trustworthiness has
> been
>
> radically called into question. They're still around, but not providing us
> any stability or security.
>
> Our Internal Crisis in all this is security. All the structures that
>
> provided a measure of stability and predictability are coming un-glued.
> We don't have anything reliable to count on as a shield against chaos. So
> we hawk security, as though a new cabinet post or new airport inspections could
> protect us from - what?
>
> And this raises the Existential Question of "What can I trust?"
>
> We escape that question through belligerence. I'm quite amazed at the level
> of anger that has come into the political scene in the USA. But you see it
>
> in other realms as well - the hatred thinly disguised as religious
> fundamentalism and the malevolence of virus-creators and spam mongers. This
> doesn't even mention the explicitly belligerent views of the "hawks" in the
> international scene who are not simply limited to the present
> administration.
>
> While these illustrations are heavily Western, I believe you can find the
> same dynamics operating elsewhere. Take the Palestinians, for example.
> Obviously their economy has collapsed. Their political structure, as soon
> as it's set up, is taken apart again, either because of internal struggles
>
> or by the Israelis. Their culture seems devoid of significating power. So
> with the crisis of security and no answer to "What can I trust?" there is a
> turn to suicide bombings. Which, of course, work only to exaggerate the
> conditions that caused them in the first place. I'd be willing to content
> that terrorism is a manifestation of this spirit mood in its escape mode.
>
> You can probably find these dynamics at work in cultures throughout the
> world.
>
> What would it mean to trust that which takes out of being all those
> structures that provide some measure of security against the lurking
> chaos in which we live? That's the question of God.
>
> Your additions, corrections, suggestions and recommendations would be most
> welcome as we try to keep tabs on what is going on in the world these
> days.
>
>
> Take care,
>
> Jo
>
>
> Jo Nelson
> jo.r.nelson at gmail.com
>
>
>
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>
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