THE NARCISSISTIC MISTAKE

A wave of narcissism swept this country during the late 1960’s and 1970’s. We heard “Do your own thing.” “If it feels good, do it.” We read the Gestalt prayer by Fritz Perls, “I do my thing, you do yours, if we meet it is wonderful, if not, it can’t be helped.” The representative rubric of this “me-ism” was “Here’s what I want, to Hell with what you want.” There was a reaction against this error. It was seen as destructive and anticommunity. Actually it could have been a building block for a new kind of community. It was not recognized as such. It was seen as a threat. As a result, there was a massive retreat to what was before.