We are discussing the overriding role that shame can play in male consciousness.
It can be shame-inducing for men to seek help from other men. “The hero” such as John Wayne is by definition solitary and the pinnacle of the individualistic self-ideal for men, writes psychologist Gordon Wheeler. The act of introspection becomes “shame laden.”
In a milieu of shame, all dependency is characterized as “infantile, shameful, ‘primitive’—and feminine.”
I recall how a Native American prison chaplain told me prisoners do not want to look inside—no introspection wanted. But he found that prisoners did read my book The Hidden Spirituality of Men and discuss with gusto the archetypes of masculinity it presented, such as Father Sky, the Blue Man, the Green Man, Spiritual Warrior, Hunter-gatherer, etc. (archetypes as an indirect way to look inside?)
Dr. James Adams lived through Hitler’s fascism and decades ago saw fascism rising in America. He predicted that the fascism of the future (i.e. today) would not include swastikas and brown shirts but finding “a mask for fascism in the pages of the Bible.” A concerted effort to dismantle an open society in favor of one controlled from the top by an all-knowing father. A false fatherhood and a sick and narcissistic masculinity lie at the heart of such a movement.
Adams warned that holding up an all-knowing father who preached resentment and aggression and wrapped it in religious covering would characterize the order of the day when fascism returned in America. Are we living through such an historic moment now?
In an appendix on “Hitler as a Religious Figure” in my first book on Evil, I showed how many of his speeches were laden with religious rhetoric. He was a pseudo-religious preacher playing the role of an all-knowing “spiritual” father. People lapped it up and bowed to his every word.
An authentic mentor with a fatherly heart brings hope, promise and possibility into one’s life; while one lacking a fatherly heart brings hopelessness and despair, aggression and scapegoating. Violence follows. And sheep-like crowds that do whatever the all-knowing father proposes.
This can include killing democracy by gerrymandering districts to ensure one’s hero father does not lose votes. Or attacking journalists and politicians who dare disagree with said infallible father.
A true fatherly heart goes out of its way to foster mutual communication within a family and a community, a communication that flows both ways, listening and speaking, teaching and learning.
A healthy fatherly heart encourages belonging. An unhealthy one is busy dividing and separating and expelling and attacking the stranger, not welcoming him or her.
It can include setting up detention camps with names like “Alligator Alcatraz” and merchandizing items that mock others, thus revealing a sick marriage of savage capitalism and hatred. The opposites of solidarity and community, love and justice.
One can see how the political rhetoric around immigration feeds directly into fascist efforts to control and ostracize, expel and dominate. And create scapegoats.
Is evil in our time being promulgated by people and parties that in fact appear incapable of feeling shame? Much like the Eichmanns of the past?
See Matthew Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 178-181.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society, pp. 389-398.
And Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
And Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ.
And Fox, The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved.
And Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest.
Banner Image: Memorial mural honoring Dr. Herman Wrice, community organizer, activist and fighter against drug abuse in Philadelphia. Photo by Tony Fischer on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you find that introspection for some men is considered “shame-laden” and “feminine” in the negative sense? Might discussing archetypes be a way for healthy introspection to begin? Does it concern you that a “religious covering” wraps much of the political rhetoric of our time, whether pronounced by the Speaker of the House or by a special religious office in the White House?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
“I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang.
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved
The Pope’s War offers a provocative look at three decades of corruption in the Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic Christianity.
“This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope.
“In the gripping The Pope’s War, Matthew Fox takes an unwavering look at the layers of corruption in the Catholic Church, holding moral truth against power.” — Jason Berry, author of Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self
6 thoughts on “Shame, Fascism, Healthy & Unhealthy Leaders & Father Figures”
While I understand the psychology of shame that has been discussed the past week or so, I struggle to see it Trump and all of his enablers and fervent supporters, and patriarchal evangelicals like Mike Johnson, or conservative Catholic Project 2025 architect Russel Vought. In fact it seems like their arrogance is exceeded only by their cruelty and ignorance dressed up as benevolence and knowledge. They appear to be utterly without shame, and any attempt to make them feel even a tiny ounce of compassion or empathy results in sneering, condescending contempt clothed in “Christian” holinesss. This reaches grotesque proportions in people like Pete Hegseth and his patriarchal, racist, misogynist pastor- Doug Wilson, who has a myriad of followers, both lay and pastoral, all of them devoted to Trump. Christo-fascism indeed, the Christian Taliban, and they are just getting started.
Yes, I agree with Vivian. This level of psychopathology has no apparent level of shame. It may exist in them but buried in deep abyss.
Does it concern me ? Of course, it does, but it seems that this conversation is still avoiding the deeper rooted problem and source of this distorted power situation:
In my opinion, until women are considered as whole and equal humans this crazy power play will continue. The hatred and dismissive attitudes toward woman are present in powerful institutions (embedded in the creation story, as told) — just look at the Catholic Church which stands as a rigid example of constricting women and perpetuating this in the name of Jesus who did not treat women in such a manner.
So yes, it may be helpful to read your book and incorporate archetypes of a different masculinity — but you are still scratching the surface.
Prayers and love to all — let’s broaden our vision. 🧡
Yes! Yes! The prediction of Dr. James Adams of the US vulnerable to an authoritarian leader in the future is amazing; that time is Now with Trump! The enclosed video on Shame is very good, and I’m recommending Mark Randall’s YouTube subscription channel on Men’s Emotional Health to my email list of male spiritual friends. Thank you DM team!
Mathew,
I love your post and how you have helped me!
But as for John Wayne, you may want to read “Jesus and John Wayne”.
He was a terrible human being, an extreme racist, and much more.
Sincerely, George Burks
The administration in DC is clearly working towards a state religion, along with state media, state “culture”, etc. The special religious office and the executive order that encourages federal employees to proselytize are just the beginning. Threats to take away income tax exemptions for churches will result in burdens on the ones that teach real love and real justice and real service to others. We are on the road to banning certain churches, as happened under Hitler and is alive in today’s autocracies. Russia outlawed Jehovah Witnesses because, though they can be disregarded as just a door to door evangelical nuisance and have some practices that could be dangerous, they bow to no government, including the USA’s. The children are excused from reciting the pledge of allegiance, for instance. I admire their integrity in that area.
There is no shame in these people. The women involved love power just as much as the men and represent to me toxic masculinity. We are seeing in real time, every day, proof that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I agree with Paulette that oppression of women infects every institution, and it can seem that only those who play the toxic power game are acceptable in this administration that absolutely hates real women.