THE POLITICAL DIVIDE

THE DANGEROUS POLITICAL DIVIDE

Is someone you love on the other side?

How can it be that someone you’ve known and loved all your life is going to vote for those evil liars on the other side, those crazy people opposing everything you believe in? It happens! But how to deal with it? Perhaps you’ve tried to reason with him/her, but he/she seems to have been indoctrinated into believing all the talking points of the other side! What to do?

The first and most important thing to do, is to undertake a serious, critical review of what you believe yourself. If the world seems all wrong, it’s a sure sign that you need to change yourself. If you believe in progressive liberalism, ask yourself exactly what is it that you want the country, or the world, to progress into? If you believe in conservatism, exactly what is it you want to society to conserve? Some things are worth progressing into, some are not; some things are worth conserving, some are not; and, if we are open to it, there is a subset of both views that we can agree on. This is what the debate must center upon, not on the angry demonizing of the other side.

Deciding that those on the other side are pure evil, and that those on the side you favor are saints and heroes out to save the world, is a very dangerous and mistaken dichotomy. It always leads to the justification of hatred and violence. Hatred and violence are extreme outcomes that we must seek to avoid this time. Succumbing to hatred and violence has always led to disastrous results, with many innocent bystanders being hurt or killed.  If you are passionate about what you believe to be a positive issue championed by one side or the other, then you must act to promote that issue; but don’t condemn your friends who don’t see it that way. Wisdom lies in knowing that even you could be wrong. In any case, ultimately it is not your job to decide what is best for the world.

Finally, if you don’t believe that there is an intelligence far superior to your own and that of any politician, - an eternal Infinite Intelligence that guides and protects us as a parent protects wayward children, then you are truly lost. The real saints and heroes in the history of civilization on this planet have all spoken of their knowledge of the existence of this Higher Power, and there is now empirical evidence proving that they were right. The eternal soul long buried under many layers of egoism, especially in self-promoting politicians, is deeply connected with the Infinite. It’s our job to open our hearts to receiving and sharing the Consciousness of the Cosmos. Our prayer should be: Infinite Heavenly Father/Mother, Jesus Christ, Saints and Sages of all religions, awaken Thy Love within me; and may I be able to awaken Thy Love in all hearts!

ERC 2/22/2020