Where Do You Stand?
Q: Where Do You Stand?
A: This is an epic question in a moment of fierce polarization, within a country that refers to itself as “United”. I wonder for how long have we actually been divided in our thinking, preferences, priorities, and intentions as a nation? How long have we been living under a false pretense that everything is “fine”? And who is “we” anyway? Can we group together 331M culturally independent people and assume we are truly all working towards the same future? Would you define our culture as cohesive? The clock is ticking until secession begins.
As we are continuously forced to reconcile the present moment as individuals, the larger collective is experiencing the ripple effect surging from an overheated US. Each of us is in a heightened state of alert; processing media, conversations, headlines, social feeds, colleague’s opinions, anxiety-laden relationships, zoom calls etc. Nations around the world are also reflecting the overload of dramatization that is being amplified onto the global theatrical stage from Reality TV Central (USA).
What is occurring is temporary, in that we are caught in the web of an existential crisis of duality. Everyone is pointing a finger at someone else. This gets us nowhere, fast. This blame game has an end... and that end is implosion. Until we start pointing the finger at ourselves, we are utterly powerless, regardless of what color we are voting for.
Are we living a real-time fall of an empire? Yes, without a doubt. We’ve had a “good” run as some would say, full of corruption, deceit, pretentiousness, foul-play, theft, abuse, murder, just as any other dominating and conquering nation. Our nation’s shadow, of which has been glossed over throughout time due to our constitutional rights and democratic values positioning us as the pin-up flavor of the moment, has been deeply buried in plain sight until recently.
When will we admit we are no longer popular, America? And realize that in truth it was never about our image, how we are perceived, ensuring that all other “subordinate” (in private of course) countries followed our lead in wanting to be like the United States. It is time to reevaluate the altar of which we have been prostrating to...that of Arrogance.
Well, here we are. So now what? What can we do to rectify this moment as a human being? To start, we can apologize. Let’s start with our own lives. To whom and for what can we apologize? Let the rivers of possibility begin to flow, forgiving, and loving our way through the intensely uncomfortable waves of vulnerability and show our tenderness through taking responsibility for our actions, words, thoughts, behaviors, etc. Truly, if we remove blame as an option, who else is there?
And in more concise and urgent news, we have an election coming. Like winter, only more grave. To vote is to exercise your voice. Perhaps like many of you, I have observed waves of despondency attempt to lull me into a deadened sleep “away” from the current problems we are facing as a society. This is not an option for me and though I can see this as a temptation, witnessing it in myself and others, to lose hope and faith in moments of crisis will only eat you alive from within. There are solutions and moving towards them requires a relentless amount of discernment. It is time to flex this underused and misunderstood muscle when approaching what feels like a choiceless experience such as this election.
For many of us, neither current candidate is fully representative of our personal values and principles. This is not about perfection. We do not live in a paradisiacal utopian society in which we can measure the acts, gestures, and speech of others in a manner of absoluteness. We are human beings and we are not bound by a geriatric political figure who stands before our nation speaking the language of the old politic. We will also not be saved by either candidate. The wheels of karma are in motion. So how do we empower ourselves?
We can take inventory of our actions, thoughts, and emotions. We can witness our errors of enablement and own our part. We can align with the dignity of our pure heart regardless of who wins. We can achieve internal criteria and measure ourselves as a way of critically observing and learning our way towards progression within our own minds. We are not here to cast judgment and blame. We are here to listen to our inner Supreme Court judge of Conscience and know where we stand.
We cannot change the world until we accept we are the world. This is the new conversation.
