COMING TOWARD THE MIDDLE, ON EITHER SIDE
PART OF THE SOLUTION OR PART OF THE PROBLEM
"This world, this nation, will never unite based on divisiveness and make-wrong. Duh!
I suggest we do something else..."
The BuddhaKahuna
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WHO IS RIGHT?
Who is right?
We evilize the "other". People who are different we often stereotype, usually to the negative. Yes, this is "evolutionary", as in the caveman days we had to be cautionary and suspect that people from other tribes could represent danger - and those who were cautious survived.
But now we have the power to learn higher thinking and to correct primitive brain thinking.
Will we?
"THEY"
I am so struck by the political environment of today. The 1%, impractical liberalists, fat cat bankers, "they" are heartless, socialists, unpatriotic, mooches, irresponsible - a few of the "make-wrong" labels and "otherizing" mechanisms.
"They" are certainly wrong, since I am right and have the facts and the morals on my side.
But, how can it be that the other side believes exactly the same way about the opposite beliefs?
Something is amiss here. Something is illogical. (D'ya think!)
And we need to see that is amiss, IF we want better solutions and a better world!.
A TRUISM: KNOWLEDGE LEADS ONE TOWARD THE MIDDLE
As we learn more, we tend to go toward a more balanced view.
If we don't have a reasonably balanced view, then that is a sign that we are probably operating from a failure to apply Critical Thinking, including not checking out the real facts or considering the real options - and not considering that there are almost always "trade-offs" - and that hardly anything is black and white.
In the Hippie days, there was a prominent bumper sticker: "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."
Although I'm not quite sure how kindly that was meant, it nevertheless contains some truth.
And I would suggest that we each would best assume responsibility toward working with the full intent to solve the problem, with a zero agenda for make-wrong or anger.
BLAMING
And it suggests that we ought to work toward the solution, which is what we ought to do instead of spending our energy and emotions on "judging" "others". (People must, absolutely must, if we are to be fully progressive, understand this concept: The Reasoning For No Blame.)
And here's another saying, paraphrased:
:"Those people who judge us are terrible people." Is there anything ironic about that statement?
It is, in this case, the Hippie generation saying how awful the staid old adults were, without considering or understanding anything about how the other had come to their thinking. From a culture demanding that they be understood and dealt with compassionately, they failed to understand and deal with the "others" with compassion.
COMPASSION
First, we need to get off our high horses and to have compassion for others, as human beings, even if they learned and believe something different than we do. Then, and only then, we can go toward solutions, working together.
The solution lies always in first understanding and then approaching the problem with the idea of solving the problem, not making oneself right...and the other wrong! (One must discipline oneself to actually "think" and to apply Critical Thinking.
A PROBLEM, BUT AREN'T THERE TRADEOFFS?
Yes, the evidence seems to be overwhelming that there is man-made climate change, but are those who propose upping energy production in the US bad and/or wrong? They could be wrong, but I doubt if they are "bad" people, as I am not elevated to the level of moral judge. I am interested solely in having people be better off in total. I am interested in the ethical solution, not the moral judgment! There are trade-offs here, but who on the climate change side is willing to stop driving their cars or using electricity in their houses or to pay a huge amount more for their energy, such that they are forced to go into debt or cut back on their luxuries? Who on the other side is willing to ... Well, the argument can go on and on.
But the point here is that if we considered all the tradeoffs the solution would move more to the middle, where we would consider all the factors and make a choice from that. The extremes are very, very, very unlikely to be what is the best (and most ethical, therefore) solution?
So, as human beings, we (and I) always need to be asking ourselves whether we are open to the facts and to working toward a solution - and give up being righteous about our often uninformed set of "facts" and beliefs?
Are you? __ Yes; ___ No, I am not willing to work with those people or to compromise...
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AM I CREATING A NEGATIVE FORCE?
I am struck with some of the posts to social media or blogs, where it seems to be about make-wrong or being a victim or how stupid the other side is, etc. and etc. (The talk shows are incredible, full of non-reasoning, except to justify a false assumption or prejudice, but few people seem to see that that is what is going on, as whoever one agrees with is, of course, right.)
Hardly anyone is addressing the issue with some constructive action being proposed.
If the latter doesn't happen, then it appears to be that we are just perpetuating a negative force (no matter how well-meaning we are) - and it is appropriate to look at that effect we are having - and to decide whether to continue the likely harm, at least in terms of polarization and victim (rather than solution) orientation.
I saw that even engaging in a discussion, though trying to be fair minded, didn't even work. (See Being Right.)
MY PLAN
I am planning on dropping all low impact or no impact activities and focussing only on what difference I can make. All of my writings, I am hoping, will provide me with a basis for books and/or courses that will enable some people to be more or much more effective in life - and from that I hope they influence others to be so - for only through strengthening people can we move to a better world.
I have the hope that I can convince people to use the tools available to them and to use the basic life skills to create effective and happy lives.
We'll see.
I hope that anyone reading this might consider more of what they could actually do that would create some impact and/or that they will free up their energy for something that will benefit them more and/or benefit others more directly.
