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November 23, 2004
Too early for bridges? too late?
Last week I hosted “An Evening of Political Healing and Renewal” with my friend Jim Ullman in the catacombs of a Durham mall (see Jim's blog for his account of the session). Jim had the idea for this session some time ago, and based on discussions we have had over the months leading up to the election, I was happy to join in. We anticipated that some sort of reconnecting would be needed after a particularly rancorous campaign.
We had a very small group of people show up - mostly left leaning – and we had a very engaged discussion. After efforts to publicize this nonpartisan event across the political spectrum, it was interesting to consider why so few people came out to talk. Jim and I both got replies expressing interest accompanied by words to the effect of “I’m not ready”.
Why am I ready to connect so quickly after this election when many are not? Part of the answer may be found in the exploration that Jim and I have done around seeing ourselves as “natural neutrals”. I am often able to “stand in the middle” of a discussion and consider viewpoints coming from different directions. When I notice that I am not feeling open to an opinion other than mine, I try to examine what messages within me are holding me back from the neutral position. In doing so, I can usually learn something about my beliefs and consider how they are serving me. Sometimes this happens rapidly, other times it can take months.
There’s more to why I want to engage – I’m naturally curious. In this case - curious to know how people have come to form different views of the political process and candidates. I learn about my own thinking when learning about how others go about their processes. There are plenty of blogs focused on politics – that’s not the only thing we will explore here, but it is hard to ignore.
There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin. - Linus van Pelt in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The ever-quotable Evelyn Rodriguez has an excellent analysis of the predicament of talking across a political divide in a posting called The Casualties of Ideological Warfare
The recent U.S. elections roundly demonstrated a macrocosm result of ideological gulfs - gulfs that begin in our own homes, families, friendships, neighborhoods, cities, states, businesses, churches, and anywhere where more than two people meet (or clash).
...
I struggle to find the spot of land - a little patch of grass swaying in the canyon gusts - across the ever-widening gulf to build a bridge. Our values aren't inherently that different. But it has come to the point where if I can perceive the other's side, I am excluded and righteously so.
This is the situation I find most frustrating re: politics, particularly this year – that the polarization is so intense that any mention of the “other” is met with derision. However, I remain hopeful, and can relate to the additional comments from the same posting (read the whole thing and have a look around her blog - she has a lot going on!):
There is continuum in our capacity to encompass wider and deeper perspectives into our perceptual awareness and relatedness that grows from egocentric to ethnocentric to worldcentric or, in other words, from me to us to all of us.
"The more you grow, the more you grow beyond you," says [Ken] Wilber.
By the way – another way that Jim and I are going to look for dialogue opportunities is through Let's Talk America:
Let’s Talk America is a nationwide movement that will bring Americans from all points on the political spectrum together in cafes, bookstores, churches and living rooms for lively, open-hearted dialogue to consider questions essential to the future of our democracy. Let’s Talk America reconnects with the ‘town hall’ meeting spirit that’s the lifeblood of our democracy. Let’s Talk America is where everyone can talk about America’s promise, about what freedom, democracy, unity and equality mean to us -- to "we the people." Let’s Talk America is a meeting ground where we can come together to listen, speak, ask and learn -- without being forced to agree, change or bite our tongues.
Posted by Mary at November 23, 2004 11:20 PM