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This, unfortunately, is the respectful dialogue that our media discourages, and we so rarely engage in publicly. (This is all set to change, by the way, as we will report in an article next week.) Once there is rapport and a listening, here are some of the questions you might ask:
• Are we really better off than we were eight or even four years ago?
• Is it possible that military might isn’t enough to win the battles of the 21st century, and that we might need a few more tools in the toolkit?
• Are you satisfied that the Bush Administration has leveled with the American people and conducted their affairs on the up-and-up?
• How is it that the party of fiscal fitness has run up a debt unrivaled by any Democratic Administration, culminating in a virtual financial collapse? (And don’t blame the Democratic Congress here. Congress hasn’t been able to pass any spending bill without the President’s consent.)
• Are you comfortable with Sarah Palin picking up the proverbial 3 a.m. phone call? Or do you take some comfort knowing that even if she is President, the same folks running the show now -- the oil companies and other overly-influential corporations -- will be running the show then too?
• Are you comfortable with John McCain as emotionally fit to be President? Or -- in spite of your predisposition towards voting for a Republican -- you find Obama a more credible leader?
• Do you have a sense -- even though you may be reluctant to admit it -- that the Republican Party has gone astray? Are you more enthusiastic about Ron Paul than John McCain?
Folks, these are transformational times we live in. And in order for transformation to take place the first thing we need to do is transform the trance. Those who’ve been served just “red tribe” kool aid for the past decade, truly and wholeheartedly believe what they have been hearing is the truth. The Rush Limbaughs, the Michael Savages, the Sean Hannity’s all have one thing in common: They speak passionately to the fears and anger of average Americans. Instead of pointing towards a holistic solution however, they choose the assaholic approach of constructing straw men -- the stereotyped “liberal” who barely exists in reality -- and making that straw man the enemy to distract us from the real issues.
The further we move from the straw man conversation that has been used to displace understandable anger at America’s slow devolution from great nation to de facto banana republic, the closer we come to breaking the trance. The breaking of a trance might not be a pleasant thing, at least not initially. My friend Norie Huddle reports that years ago, she spoke to an official in the Reagan Administration about her advocacy for peace. The man got furious, and threw her out of his office. “You just don’t understand!” he shouted, “YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND!”
A few years later, she got a call from that same man. “That conversation changed my life,” he told her. For the better, we might add. The anger over being duped is a powerful force, and it may be turned on the messenger bearing the news. In those cases -- and in any case -- it’s important to remember the following when engaging in any kind of political discourse with a perceived adversary:
1. Aretha said it best: R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Say unto others what you would have them say unto you. As we continually emphasize at our newly-founded Department of Heartland Security (see below), our true security in oneness is in the “land of the heart.” From this place of great potential love and coherence, we can address the differences in belief. As Swami says, “Time to leave the static of the head for the ecstatic of the heart. The more we expand the heart, the less we will need to shrink the head.”
2. Be kind, and be non-attached. You are not trying to force a belief onto anybody, but you are calling the other person forth to explore a new possibility.
3. As much as possible, find ways to look out in the same direction rather than face one another down.
4. Be curious how their concerns and positions might illuminate a blind spot in your own point of view. Remember that the ultimate trance is the trance of separation. Even if you end up agreeing to disagree, if you stay connected in the heart you lay the groundwork for further dialogue, healing and breakthrough.
The choice we face is profound, and more and more individuals and groups are seeing it every day. That is why it’s important to take nothing for granted here. An overwhelming Obama victory will tell the world -- and ourselves -- that America is ready for political climate change. Yes, there are valid concerns about election fraud, voter intimidation and other dirty tricks that may have worked in the past. The one immediate cure for all of these shenanigans? A landslide victory that everyone knows beforehand is going to be a landslide victory so those who would try to tamper would recognize it is futile.
The next article will deal with an event -- we’re calling it The Function at the Junction -- that will very likely determine America’s pathway after the election. What is it? Sorry ... you’ll have to wait until next week. For now, first things first. On to up-wising, evolution and enduring political climate change.
How YOU Can Have an Impact Between Now and Election Day
In addition to the aforementioned political conversations across the red-blue divide, here are three other things you can do between now and then:
1. Cohere With Coherence via the Wise USA. In addition to all the activist activities, you can engage in “subtle activism” as well. Beginning on Saturday, October 25th and continuing through November 6th, a series of online events will help us focus our attention on the best possible outcome for the election. WiseUSA doesn’t endorse a candidate, just a field of greater coherence and functionality. Here is their prayer honoring the Heart and Soul of America:
“We the people, the ancestors of our great, great grandchildren, call forth the deepest wisdom and the highest compassion from the heart and soul of America, for the benefit of the entire Earth community and the next seven generations.
