Ritualization is a potent stabilizing agent, a simple salve for a stressful time if only we are mindful of how we use its powers.

The American nostalgia for home and family is closely tied to the American domestic cycle and labor pattern whereby a family unit is created for a limited number of years only to unravel as the kids go away to school or for work, or to create their own family units. The idea of losing and then returning home is a powerful and often unrecognized... See more

The sense of private property ruled the American middle-class household.