CULTURAL WAVE CHART © 2016 Jean W. Yeager[1]

By Jean W. Yeager

           Rudolf Steiner was very clear that he wanted an Anthroposophical Society which would do spiritually inspired work in practical spheres: education, medicine, farming, and others. In his words of farewell when he laid the Foundation Stone Steiner said,

“…bear out with you into the world your warm hearts in whose soil you have laid the Foundation Stone for the Anthroposophical Society, bear out with you your warm hearts in order to do work in the world that is strong in healing.… if we show ourselves to be worthy, then a good star will shine over that which is willed from here. My dear friends, follow this good star. We shall see whither the gods shall lead us through the light of this star.”

100 years after the Foundation Stone meeting and many feel that it is important to take a look back – with some objectivity - and see what our warm hearts have done in the world. Would Rudolf Steiner say that we have shown ourselves to be worthy? Have we a good star shining over that which we willed? Is the Society strong and healing? How’d we do?

FIRE BORNE started with a series of six, graphic-novel-style historical chapters for the six generations shown on the wave chart above from 1886-2026. Each chapter shows what work inspired by Anthroposophy happened, when so we see the historical context for the working of Anthroposophia in the world. These timelines are fact based, include outer economic, political, cultural events and the advent of science/technology.

Each generation travels over a new and different Moral Landscape, a different inheritance from the previous one (by Grace, so to speak). And, each generation faces social and cultural challenges which may call forth inner Gifts. Or, a generation may need Grit to be strong, healing and therefore worthy. Or, a generation may not want to work in the world and be self-absorbed.

As you go through this review, your heart will judge how the Society in America has done. And you may be open to inspiration and be the one who knows “whither the gods shall lead us.”

In creating FIRE BORNE, we have included several of the more than two-dozen legal BY-LAWS as they appeared from 1933 to the present. These formal, legal documents change over time and tell a tale of how leadership tried in each generation to create a vessel for the spirit.

What was the relationship of the General Anthroposophical Society (G.A.S.) in Dornach to the U.S. Society? What was “membership” in the U.S. Society? How was “leadership” defined? How was money handled? How did cultural forces influence the Society? How were Groups and Branches defined? When and how did “Regionalization” arise? How did regional leaders influence and change the Society over time? When did the U.S. Society become more influenced by international forces? How did the role of technology change the Anthroposophical Society? How and when did the “Third Sector” or the Council of Anthroposophical Organizations (CAO) arise and how has their influence changed the Anthroposophical Society in America?

FIRE BORNE ANTHROPOSOPHY IN AMERICA 1886-2026

WORK INSPIRED BY ANTHROPOSOPHY IN AMERICA GENERATION-BY-GENERATION

Generational dates / phases from THE FOURTH TURNING, William Strauss and Neil Howe, Broadway Books, 1997

1886 - 1908 – (U.S.) “Second Great Awakening”

PHASE: AWAKEN

U.S. GENERATION commonly called “The Lost Generation” experienced the Moral Landscape of: urban blight, massive immigration, unbridled drug use and drunkenness. Powerful religious, political and trade movements formed to combat these social ills and others such as child labor.

1908 – 1929 – “WWI / Prohibition”

PHASE: UNRAVEL

U.S. GENERATION The Moral Landscape of “The G.I. Generation” was led by invention of “progress,” significant rise in education, and women’s suffrage but suffered in WWI’s rapid technological change, chemical agriculture, widening class differences, and weak political leadership in a financial boom.

1929 – 1946 – “Great Depression / WWII”

PHASE: CRISIS

U.S.GENERATION the Moral Ecology of “The Silent Generation” is a Worldwide Crisis: the “Dust Bowl, the “Great Depression” an economic free fall, then Nazis and Fascists start World War II which ends with the U.S. A-Bomb attack on Japan. Anthroposphical thinking comes to the U.S. bringing a start to cultural renewal.

1946 – 1964 “American Superpower”

PHASE: ORDER (Stability)

U.S. GENERATION commonly called “The Baby Boomers” grow up in a Moral Ecology of suburbia, green lawns, shopping malls. Segregation by race and socially by gender social class or sexual orientation is the norm.[2] Corporations and “industry” won WWII and television has won the family life.

1964-1984 “Counterculture Consciousness”

PHASE: AWAKEN

U.S. GENERATION commonly called “The 13th Generation” - they rebel against the Moral Ecology of segregation, the Vietnam war, sexual restrictions, divorce and abortion. They embrace risk and freedom over loyal corporatism create a counterculture. Personal computing and personal technology originate in this era. It is a period of growth for many small spiritual groups.

1985 - 2004 “Culture Wars”

PHASE: UNRAVEL

In this phase the Moral Landscape, the counterculture deepens and “old ways of doing things” come unraveled. The term “Cultural War” was coined in 1992 by then Presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan and describes the dramatic cultural and social unraveling which may continue through the 2020s. NGOs shift the terrain. The “Third Sector” of the Anthroposophical Society worldwide arose, including the Council of Anthroposophical Organizations (CAO) in America.

2005 – 2026 The Great Unraveling

PHASE: CRISIS

THIS IS A GENERATION IN A CRISIS MODE :The Moral Landscape is one in which the only thing that seems certain is change. The era starts with a Sub-Prime Mortgage melt-down which tumbles into nationwide bank failures and the Stock Market collapse. A quarter of a million people lose their jobs. A pandemic sweeps the world and meeting electronically become a new social “norm.”

--Jean W. Yeager, 2023

[1] Dates / phases from THE FOURTH TURNING, William Strauss and Neil Howe, Broadway Books, 1997

[2] BOWLING ALONE, Pg. 177