ABSTRACT
Shame and temporality, along with truth, provide crucial lenses for reflecting upon our present condition. This chapter describes a provocative encounter on the streets of Seattle that provides insight into undercurrents that are visibly emerging in contemporary life. It presents a detailed example, along with a few others, which contribute to a deepened understanding of the contemporary scene, enhance the reader's knowledge of shame and temporality, and offer space to reflect upon these basic experiences. Finally, the chapter discusses those reflections from the perspectives of several philosophers and psychoanalysts who share a deep concern about the future of the human being. The experiences of shame, truth and temporality are interrelated. Our identity has changing levels with no final foundation. New perspectives often come from the raw, disowned elements of our world. The ghosts of the past and the uncanny dimensions of the future, the strange new world to come, disrupt individuals and societies in multiple ways.
