Amos, if women were the exclusive bearers of the "mothering" principle that I speak of and if men were the exclusive bearers of the "fathering" principle that I speak of, then I would have to agree with your objections to my theory.

However, the two principles are powerfully at work in every individual, regardless of his or her gender, and they should best be equally at work in each individual for optimum result. Gender has little to do with it, ultimately. A female can choose to work primarily with the male archetypes, and some do. A man can choose to work primarily through the female archetypes, and some do. That doesn't mean you'll notice it by the clothes they wear. ;-) That doesn't mean they themselves will even have any notion they are doing it!

Souls do not have any gender, in my opinion. They encompass both principles (male and female) and they go totally beyond gender...but bodies do have gender. Bodies are temporary. Souls are eternal. The fact that you're a man right now, Amos, is temporary! The fact that I'm a man right now is temporary. Heh! (And I don't expect ANYONE out there to necessarily believe a word I just said in this paragraph...fine with me if you don't...but that's what I tend to believe. Why do I believe it? Who cares, really? Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter if you and I believe in some different stuff.)

I'm not talking about the obvious behavioral and cultural stuff that's visible on the outer surface of people, I'm not talking about their biological gender or what arises directly out of it! I'm talking about the underlying spiritual attitudes that govern their overall psychology. Is a person more passive or more aggressive? Are they more inclined to negotiate peacefully or to confront, demand, and attack when things aren't as they would like? Are they rigid or flexible? Are they straightforward or circumspect in their dealings with others? Are they shy or bold? These are NOT questions of gender at all, they are questions of individual attitude.

And what about a society? How does the society behave in those regards?

Now in the USA you have a society that has been besotted with the "tough guy" approach to domestic and international situations for a long, long time....and in my opinion that is a society that is primarily working through the masculine archetypes. It is outwardly expansive...the masculine force. Some societies tend to draw in, protectively toward the center. That's the feminine force. Either force is quite useful, as long as it stays in balance with its opposite...either is quite destructive if it becomes dominant to the detriment or exclusion of the opposite. Any society is an interplay of the two, but are they working together (as in a good marriage) or are they at odds (as in a not so good marriage).

It is possible to harmonize the two sides. But that requires mutual respect. It even requires love!

When will the conservatives and liberals in America learn mutual respect for one another? When do you think? Does anything in your national public dialogue or the dialogue on this forum encourage them to?

Someone has to start first... ;-) (And I ain't gonna hold my breath waiting for it to happen.)