The airwaves and internet have been awash with assorted pundits trying to grasp and explain the result of the most recent US Presidential election. For the most part the analyses have been narrow, partisan, overly complex, and self-serving. My gut response, maybe yours too, was to refute or affirm the reasons proffered and stake out my own plot to defend. It felt good. It feels good. Like eating a solid meal after a fast. Emotions, however, are unlike food because they digest upwards and into our mind. To settle my gut, I began to rethink its response, and to meditate on peaceful subversion. Undo the complex, narrow, partisanship with broad-based simplicity. Subvert the structure of the analyses rather than attacking or reinforcing individual arguments. Transform self-interest into Self Interest (in the Jungian sense).
Underneath the narratives of outrage. surprise, ego, and hopeful support, I see at least two common themes, fear and indifference. The fear aspect has been explored by many of the commentators and bloviators, so I won’t dwell on describing my fears, or what I think you might fear. The depth and extent of human suffering are sure signs that we fear much. Reinforced walls and heavy-duty deadbolts protect our physical bodies, but are no barrier to fear. In fact, I think it is made stronger by every shell of defense. Might as well try to use it. It is not going away. No matter how many locks and layers it never can keep out fear because it starts inside, with us. We are, all of us, in this is the situation. No matter whether or for whom you voted, or even if the thought of voting never entered your mind.
By accepting that fear and suffering are a common human situation, we subvert the narrow and partisan aspects of the mainstream explanations and find a place to make a stand; to take root. It is no more complex than the humility of recognizing that yours is not the only pain in the world. Nor mine. A peaceful subversion of the complex set of likely innuendo and suggestion that comprises so much popular punditry. I’m tempted to talk about the subversion of “Fake News” too, but with a nod to my previous work, I recuse myself from that discussion. An apparent conflict of self interests avoided.
Transformation of self interest into Self Interest is about values that are not monetary. My self interest hopes that you will use the Tip Jar button to your right. My Self Interest knows that if you have read this far, we are even. You have not been indifferent. We should all follow your example and strive to be less indifferent toward the stories that other humans tell us about themselves. Forget, for a moment or so, about Trump and the Democrats, put Putin aside, and think instead about your neighbor, your family, and friends. There is our Self interest. Where we breathe the same air, travel the same streets, and meet in the same parks. Where we all have an interest in making our home. Together, in fact, because no one is leaving. We need to balance human self interest with the larger interests of humanity itself.
Fear and indifference subvert humanity because they leave us to suffer alone. Both can be undone by listening deeply to neighbors we have not yet heard because the truth they tell will ease our fear. Channeling the power of fear into overcoming our indifference toward others sets up a positive, non-violent, feed-forward cycle that can be used to create peace. It is simple, but not easy. The stories of some neighbors will stir angry emotions in us, especially when they describe our part in their suffering. These are the private moments in which we must wage peace. Either each of us will take action, within ourselves, to transform negative response into positive, or we will not. It is as difficult as breathing and as easy as changing your mind. Be certain that, if only for this moment, you do not suffer alone. I respect your humanity.