Book Nook: Nurturing Our Humanity

Esteemed social scientist, cultural historian and international bestselling author Riane Eisler’s research demonstrates the fact that the tragic shootings of the recent past may well stem from the impact of growing up in a “domination” culture or family that supports rigid, top-down rankings and is held together by fear and force.

And merely observing this type of violence or participating in duck-and-cover active shooter drills at school can, in turn, leave a powerful psychic imprint on children: witnessing or experiencing violence causes significant stress, which in turn can lead to violent behavior.

This trickles out into society as a whole.

Riane has tons of research-based evidence supporting her position, all of which is found in her new book Nurturing Our Humanity.

The antidote, she explains, is to take concrete steps to end domination and violence at home and in society at large, beginning with a focus on parent-child and gender relations, so that we can weave non-violent behavior patterns into our individual and social fabric over time.

I was able to review the book. It really does pack a lot of research and facts into its pages. Despite all the research, though, it's easily understandable by an interested reader - the research shouldn't scare readers away. It is quite sobering to read about the far-reaching effect violence can have, even with people who aren't directly impacted but simply know about events. But working towards a more humane and less violent community can start at home, in the way we demonstrate positive relationships and in the way we help our kids relate to others.