The Cultural Landscape

This chapter explores the different influences in our culture that helped to foment the repressed memory epidemic of the late twentieth century, including the idea that everyone has some kind of psychological problem; the “victimology” movement; pop psychotherapeutic fads such as primal therapy; the idea that people should be happy, and if they aren’t, there must be a reason; New Age beliefs; the women’s movement; political correctness; a belief in relativism (there is no firm truth); the fragmentation of the traditional family; a crusader mentality against any alleged sex abuser; and sensation-hungry media.