A Hero's Journey for Americans

Besides America’s current slide towards dictatorship, everyone has no doubt been reading and hearing about AI and automation displacing ever more people, who then become "useless eaters" in the eyes of some One-Percenters. My post at https://outofunitedstates.com/p/empire-burlesque is about policies cutting Medicaid and SNAP to fund tax breaks for the wealthy, alongside a rejection of renewable energy for fossil fuels, reflecting a focus on profit over people and the planet. This threatens economic stability, ecological balance, and the collective psyche, or what Carl Jung called the Anima Mundi—the soul of the world. I’d like to outline practical steps for Americans, individually and collectively, to find meaning and reclaim their soul—and America’s—in an AI-driven world, drawing on Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth interviews, and Jung’s concept of the hero’s journey,

In The Power of Myth, Campbell describes the hero’s journey as a universal pattern: a call to adventure, trials, transformation, and return to serve the community. For Americans facing job loss, this journey begins with a crisis. My Empire Burlesque post calls this an “ontological shock,” where identity tied to work dissolves, leaving many feeling irrelevant. Frankl, reflecting on his survival in Nazi concentration camps, argued that meaning, not power or pleasure, sustains life. Jung’s idea of the collective psyche suggests that America’s soul is wounded by policies prioritizing greed over empathy, as seen in everything from Medicaid cuts affecting 74 million people (per 2024 CMS data) to fossil fuel subsidies despite 2024 being the warmest year on record (NASA).

This crisis is the hero’s call to adventure. Individually, it’s the loss of a job or purpose; collectively, it’s the erosion of democratic values and environmental stability. Campbell notes that heroes often resist the call, but acceptance begins the path to transformation. Americans must heed this call to save their own souls and the nation’s.

Frankl’s logotherapy identifies three paths to meaning—work or deeds, relationships, and attitude toward suffering—which align with the hero’s journey stages. Jung’s archetypes, like the hero or the wounded healer, add depth, framing personal and collective action as a mythic quest.

The hero’s journey involves trials that test resolve. For displaced workers, this means finding new purpose through meaningful work. Frankl emphasized that even small deeds can provide meaning, while Campbell saw the hero’s trials as opportunities for growth. Community-driven work, like urban gardening, can counter food insecurity risks highlighted by policy failures. Learning urban farming or renewable energy installation—fields with growing demand, per the US Department of Labor’s $200 million 2024 green jobs investment—offers purpose. Joining cooperatives, which employ 280 million globally (International Co-operative Alliance), allows workers to use existing skills.

Communities can form local cooperatives or maker spaces to create jobs outside corporate systems. In Detroit, the Detroit Community Wealth Fund supports worker-owned businesses, a model for collective resilience. Advocating for policies like universal basic income or green energy funding aligns with the hero’s quest to serve the greater good, countering the post’s critique of profit-driven policies. Campbell’s hero often finds allies and mentors who provide support. Frankl saw relationships as a source of meaning, even in the camps, where shared suffering fostered connection. Community can counter “technocratic feudalism” driven by AI surveillance, which isolates people.

Displaced workers can join mutual aid networks or volunteer at food banks, which served 44 million Americans in 2023 (Feeding America). Organizing community events, like shared meals or storytelling nights, builds bonds. The Harvard Study of Adult Development confirms relationships are key to well-being, making this a vital step for those feeling “useless.” Communities can create spaces for connection, like time banks, where people trade services (e.g., tutoring for repairs). With over 500 time banks worldwide (TimeBanks.org), this model fosters solidarity. Grassroots movements, like the Sunrise Movement’s 1,000+ U.S. climate action groups (Sierra Club, 2025), unite people to fight systemic issues, building alliances.

Frankl’s most profound insight is that meaning comes from choosing one’s attitude toward suffering, a concept Campbell ties to the hero’s transformation after facing the abyss. Jung’s wounded healer archetype, echoed in the post’s reference to figures like Jesus or the Buddha, suggests that suffering can lead to empathy and wisdom. For those facing redundancy, this means reframing loss as a chance for growth. Mindfulness practices, like meditation or journaling, help process job loss. A 2023 Journal of Positive Psychology study found meaning-centered therapy cut depression by 30% in unemployed people. A former driver replaced by autonomous trucks might mentor teens, turning personal pain into purpose, embodying the wounded healer. Communities can create platforms for sharing stories of struggle, like podcasts or forums. The Moth storytelling events or local blogs amplify these voices, fostering collective healing, urging Americans to find beauty and truth despite despair, transforming the national psyche. Humor will be important. Tastes vary. In the past, gallows humor has been popular among people who could die at any moment, like in combat or concentration camps. https://outofunitedstates.com/p/humour-noir

To save their souls and America’s, individuals and communities can follow this manual, blending Frankl’s principles, Campbell’s hero’s journey, and the post’s call for empathy:

1. Answer the Call with Purposeful Work: Learn skills like permaculture or peer counseling through platforms like Coursera or community colleges, often subsidized. Join or start cooperatives to create jobs, as seen in Spain’s Mondragon Cooperative, employing 70,000. Collectively, advocate for policies supporting green jobs or social safety nets, countering the post’s cited cuts.

2. Build Alliances Through Community: Volunteer in mutual aid networks or food banks, and organize local events to foster connection. Support time banks or bartering systems to exchange skills, reducing reliance on corporate economies. Join movements like the Sunrise Movement to address systemic issues, uniting for climate and economic justice.

3. Transform Suffering Through Resilience: Practice mindfulness to reframe job loss, using support groups or logotherapy-based therapy. Share stories through community platforms to inspire others, embodying the wounded healer. Collectively, create public art or forums, like Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, which has produced 4,000 works since 1984, to reflect shared struggles and hopes.

4. Embrace the Mundus Imaginalis: The concept of the Mundus Imaginalis—a realm of imagination—aligns with Campbell’s view of myth as a guide. Individuals can engage in creative acts, like writing or art, to envision new roles. Communities can use art, like murals or theater, to inspire collective action, countering the post’s “trickster” archetype of division.

5. Return as Wounded Healers: Heroes return to serve their communities. Individuals can mentor others or advocate for change, while communities can build resilient systems, like local food networks, to counter ecological and economic threats. This collective return strengthens America’s soul, rooted in empathy and justice.

The convergence of AI-driven redundancy, profit-driven policies, and ecological threats is a call to adventure for Americans. Frankl’s logotherapy offers paths to meaning—work, relationships, and attitude—while Campbell and Jung’s hero’s journey frames this as a mythic quest. By learning new skills, building community, embracing resilience, and using imagination, individuals can transform personal loss into purpose. Collectively, Americans can advocate for systemic change, create alternative economies, and foster solidarity, countering the Empire Burlesque post’s warning of a fractured psyche. This journey—individual and collective—reclaims the soul of America, through meaning, connection, and courage.

"Hoka Hey," a Lakota phrase often translated as "It's a good day to die," embodies a warrior’s mindset of courage and acceptance of mortality. Rooted in Native American, particularly Lakota, philosophy, it reflects the belief that life is fleeting, and one should face challenges fearlessly, ready to meet death honorably. It’s not about seeking death but living fully in the moment, with purpose and bravery, especially in defense of community or values. The phrase aligns with spiritual views of interconnectedness, where death is a transition, not an end, encouraging a life of integrity and sacrifice.