Election season - where our judgments, grievances, and fears go on loudspeaker.
We think that partisanship and divisiveness is out there somewhere, in our political system, in the words and behaviors of others, in the devil's candidate of the other political party.
The divisiveness is right here, forged in our own fearful and judgmental hearts.
It's called a racket - a dishonest scheme. We blame politics for the divisiveness, we blame our political enemies for our fears, and we see ourselves as the victims! And from our victimhood, we justify being judgmental, righteous, and fearful.
It’s such a classic case of tribalism, where we dehumanize others and see ourselves, our values, and the things we care about as victims to these nefarious or ignorant others.
Our fears are valid.
The solution to them, however, isn’t to blast them on loudspeaker.
The solution also isn’t to suppress those fears through anger and frustration projected out there at the enemy.
The real source of our turmoil during election season is the holding, cultivating, and festering of grievances. Our turmoil is an inside job.
Just because other people on our side of the political divide share our fears doesn’t make our fears okay to react and live from.
Just because we’re angry doesn’t mean we’re right. It also doesn't mean we have to express that anger.
This too: just because our candidate loses doesn’t mean all hope is lost.
What if it’s true what Gandhi said:
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
What if it’s true that our inner turmoil, even if shared by the half of the country who agrees with us, is an opportunity to change ourselves and who we be so that the tendencies in the world would also change?
Lord knows our candidate winning this election doesn’t actually resolve anything political long-term. We’ll be back in this game in 4 years, won't we?
"Well there won't be the devil of a Trump or Harris in 4 years!" you might say. No, but there will remain the devil within ourselves who so easily hates other people to whom we don't even offer the smallest effort of understanding before judging them.
What if the real problem here isn't an external problem but an internal one?
What if the change we're really looking to create in the world isn't sufficiently solved by our one vote and a bunch of negative emotional energy?
Choose: Love or Hate. Peace or Fear. Trust or Anxiousness.
Regardless who wins the election, we've all still got work to do.
That work starts right here, with you and me, and how we show up every single moment of our lives. How we show up for ourselves and how we show up for others.
Fear, anger, and frustration are an inside job. Let's stop projecting that mess outside ourselves.
From Jesus:
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.
Let's stop projecting our hatred out there on the political other and realign our being and actions with who we expect all others to be: compassionate, loving, peaceful, generous, forgiving, and supportive.
“[Be] unto others as you would have them [be] unto you.”
The inside job of healing our own emotional wounds is much more likely to heal our national divisiveness and polarization than any amount of name-calling, frustration, anger, fear, or anxiousness.
If you want support in this self-healing endeavor, reach out and let's talk. No matter who wins tomorrow's election, neither will have the power to heal this part of us.
Much Love. ❤️
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