Reflections on a Swinging Pendulum
As I write this, it is the weekend after election day, 2024 in the United States. At this point, I’m not sure if these words will stay private in my journal or if they will be published. I’ve obviously decided to publish them since you are seeing this post, but months have passed. Because I don’t want to be accused of being ‘political.’
Survival
I do, however, wish to outline some strategies for survival in the United States and beyond until we get the privilege of voting again in 2028. I trust that every single person who voted did so based on what was most important to them. Well, almost everyone…
It’s easy to see only what exists on the fringes. The loud voices on both sides. The signs. The flags. The stickers. The people who are so obsessed with the brand of being either R or D, conservative or liberal.
That’s what we see.
The Unseen
What we don’t see are those who are undecided and conflicted, even as they enter the voting booth. We don’t see the ones who take issue with a candidate’s previous actions but vote for them anyway because of whatever issue feels most important. I won’t hide it. I’m in the camp of being disappointed in the results of this election. To be fair, I’ve never been a fan of the president-elect.
I remember being about 10 years old, sometime in the late 1980s, the height of The Greed is Good era. He was on TV blabbing about something when I asked my dad who he was.
“That’s Donald Trump”
10-year-old me then proceeded to ask why people cared what he had to say…
“He’s rich.”
Memories
Incredibly, this memory has come back into view, more than 30 years later. We value wealth in this country disproportionately to all else. As we mature, we are convinced that we need big houses, nice cars, and lots of stuff, and we become caught in a trap of scarcity because it’s never enough. If we are fortunate enough to have these things, we work our asses off to keep them.
The day after the election, I found myself googling what countries are easiest for Americans to move to. Honestly, I don’t think having a backup plan is a bad idea. But giving myself a few days to calm down has offered perspective and reminded me that this is my home.
One of the items in my survival kit is limiting my news intake, especially from the biased sources we’ve become so used to. I’m not a scientist, but I offer a few reflections here…
The News
There’s a man at my gym, who likes to put on Fox News. I can’t hear it. I can only see the closed captioning. And it’s enough to infuriate me, so much so that I’ve tracked that I burn way more calories on the elliptical when he’s there. A silver lining, I suppose.
When I was a road warrior, I watched MSNBC obsessively. Rachel Maddow is my girl. It felt comforting to hear the news that I mostly agreed with. After that lifestyle ended, I mostly stopped. But one morning, at a hotel in New Jersey, I turned it back on while getting ready for my last day of coach training.
Channel 7
Coach training, whether you become a coach or not, changes you. It broadens your perspective. After a few moments, I turned the TV off. I realized that it was the same type of bias and fear-mongering that we often accuse the ‘other side’ of. Now I get my news mainly from Channel 7 in Boston. Channel 7 simply delivers the news and is not affiliated with any network. This helps me to feel somewhat responsible by staying informed without getting sucked into the cesspool of 24 hour cable news.
Othering
Another thing that feels important to our survival is to beware of “Othering.”
Othering is defined as the act of treating someone as though they are not part of a group and are different in some way. It is my view that when we treat others as intrinsically different from and alien to oneself, we lose our sense of connection and common humanity. Yes, unconscious bias exists and this is largely unavoidable. I’m talking about the big statements…
“Trump voters are all low IQ” OR
“They’re eating pets”
Shit like that. I could go on, but I honestly don’t even want to type these things. So let’s try to agree…
- Your race does not make you superior.
- Your nationality does not make you superior.
- The political party you choose does not make you superior.
- Your religion does not make you superior.
- First and foremost, we all bleed the same blood.
- We all need to eat.
- We all desire to be safe.
- And we want to belong and be part of a community.
Coexisting with our neighbors is possible. We can respect each other through practices like Insight Dialogue, even through our biases and differences.
Finally, let’s ask – am I thinking for myself?
It’s troubling to me that many people in this country wait to be told who to vote for through endorsements. It doesn’t matter who…
Joe Rogan tells you to vote for.
Oprah tells you to vote for.
Taylor Swift tells you to vote for.
Elon Musk tells you to vote for.
And most certainly, it doesn’t matter who the pope tells you to vote for. He doesn’t even live in the United States.
Coexisting
Thinking for Yourself
I feel strongly about this. After all, my work is formulated on the principles of being yourself, showing yourself, and growing yourself. Of course the first step in this is…
THINKING for yourself.
Remember in this strange world that we live in, where we are constantly bombarded with information and when algorithms consistently influence us, it’s important to get clear on our values. It’s easy to become mesmerized by the larger-than-life, perpetually untouchable figure just elected president. Or the idea that the US might actually elect a female president.
Your Voice
It’s easy to vote for who you like or believe to be the better human. But what are the issues?
- Reproductive rights
- Gun laws
- Border control
- The economy
- Healthcare
- Equal treatment of all people
You get the idea.
The people of America have chosen. And regardless of what side of history you are on, can you…
Be kind?
Listen with compassion?
Check your bias?
Bring light where there is darkness?
My Thoughts and Feelings
With my disappointment still raw, I won’t claim to be adept at this. But I owe it to my fellow humans to at least try. I know that this post may turn some off. I run the risk of being accused of being political. But I believe we should be able to express our beliefs, values, and who we voted for with a sense of calm. I do believe that we should be able to talk about these things.
So, wanna talk about it? Get in touch.
Watch this short video to dive deeper into Reflections on a Swinging Pendulum.
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