Tom Gnagey

Saving Humanity Tom Gnagey

As life on Planet Earth becomes less and less guided by values such as compassion, altruism, and the equitable distribution of wealth, and more inclined toward immediate gratification, bigotry, and greed, the author postulates the self-destruction of the human species. He offers but one hope; the necessary, reinvigorating of our focus on Positive Social Values, taught early in life and reviewed daily. After a short presentation of how the human mind learns, stores, and uses Values, he examines at length 26 specific pairs of values - an essential positive, constructive value contrasted with its negative, destructive opposite. He follows each to its logical conclusion - where humanity could eventually find itself if one or the other is pursued. Each set of values is illustrated, mostly with events from the author's long life as a boy, father, clinical psychologist. The presentation focuses on exploring the values and showing how parents and caregivers must thoughtfully encourage and reward the positive values over the negative ones. It is intended as an easy, if important, read for folks concerned about the topic - the survival of humanity. An early review remarked it was "difficult to determine if the book is a primer on neuropsychology, a parenting book, a philosophy of life, or a dead serous clarion call about the frightening future for humanity if it doesn't become serious about saving itself right now. The author likes to believe it is all four.