The Binary Challenge in Life and Politics
Although the prevalence of social media in our lives and the 24 hour a day news cycle may make it feel otherwise, ultimately the decisions we make remain our choice always, even including politics.
Certainly, its pretty difficult these days to maintain a positive outlook between the political discord and the pandemic. Of course, on the former, we don’t have to look very far to figure out who is responsible. Yes, it’s us. You and me. All of us.
Nazi concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”
What attitude are Americans choosing these days?
An October 2020 article in Science magazine titled Political Sectarianism in America makes a strong case that we’ve moved beyond political polarization to a moralized sectarianism. It includes three core features: othering—the tendency to view opposing partisans as alien to oneself; aversion—the tendency to dislike and distrust opposing persons; and moralization—the tendency to view opposing partisans as evil. The authors state, “Viewing opposing partisans as different, or even as dislikable or immoral, may not be problematic in isolation. But when all three converge, political losses can feel like existential threats that must be averted—whatever the cost.”
Sound familiar? If not, and you’ve lived in America for the last decade or so, you must have had your head buried in the sand.
The authors point to three contributors for the rise of sectarianism — identity alignment, the rise of partisan media, and elite ideological polarization, stating, “Although the content of these narratives is entirely different across the political divide, their structure is similar: The other side cheats, so our side would be foolish to adhere to long-standing democratic norms. These narratives, which partisans experience less as stories than as truth, increase their willingness to sacrifice those norms in pursuit of partisan ends.”
Not surprisingly, the distinct divisions are apparent in Congress. A Harvard Business Review article (September 2017) by Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter provides evidence of this enhanced polarization (often referred to as gridlock) as major legislative initiatives in the last decade are passed with the support of a single party (the Affordable Care Act (Obama) and Tax Reform (Trump) while other major challenges are stalemated. The days of Ronald Reagan working with Tip O’Neill and Claude Pepper to save Social Security are long gone.
Where are we going with this, America? Civil war? Is the divide so deep it can’t be bridged or healed?
It’s time to look in the mirror and look long and hard. Viktor Frankl further wrote, “When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.”
At the heart of the current America divide is judgment. No, not judgment as wisdom. Instead, judgment as good/bad, my tribe/your tribe; judgment as I am right and you are wrong. A binary choice, nothing in between, no other options.
This closed perspective results in decisions made before all the facts are known and a pre-disposition to information supporting pre-formed conclusions. Listening most likely doesn’t even happen. We’ve already made up our minds.
America, we need to take a step back. This old cliché refers to having a broader perspective, to look beyond the current situation, to look at the big picture.
When we are in judgment that we are right and others are wrong, it becomes difficult, if not impossible to take that step back. Let me be clear, I am not suggesting that we all need to agree. Competition and consideration of differing ideas is healthy.
But when we start with “they are wrong” there’s no opportunity, no open door to listen or understand. Frankl further proposed, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Certainly, every day we are offered many thoughts, events and news that serve as stimuli. Are we prepared to use our human gift of awareness and consciousness to exercise our ability to make a choice? Can we set aside our immediate reaction and instead simply be open? Ask ourselves what other interpretation there may be other than our automatic default?
We as a nation of individuals have it within our personal means to change the dynamic.
Consider the following . . .
Everyone has a need to be heard and understood.
Our citizens shall be safe and free from harm.
America will come together.
And now consider them as each our responsibility:
Everyone has a need to be heard and understood, and I am responsible.
Our citizens shall be safe and free from harm, and I am responsible.
America will come together, and I am responsible.
So, what am I suggesting each of us do? The shift in attitude is both subtle and simple, and yet may feel unnatural at first. But with time, like any new habit, it will become natural.
Step one: be aware of your own political bias. In this case, bias is not intended as a negative. Simply be aware of where you are.
Step two: when the “other side” does something that bugs you, ask yourself if it would still bug you if “your side” did it. Reflect on the implications.
Step three: make a conscious decision to move from a judgment-based attitude – I am “right” and they are “wrong” -- to an attitude of non-judgment. Simply be open. To be clear, this does not mean you have to agree with everyone else.
This final step is the small, yet big leap. It frees us to move from seeing situations as conflict which leads to anger and defiance. Conversely, non-judgmental openness presents the opportunity for reconciliation and acceptance. And boy, could we use a big dose of that in our country right about now.
Neighbor, the next step is yours, open the door and we’ll walk down the street together to lead “a nation unfinished” to a new era of American harmony. “If only we are brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it.”
Jay Eagen resides in Durango, CO and is a Certified Professional Coach via his business Involution Coaching, LLC. Prior to moving to Colorado to work as a Vice President in the ski industry, Jay had a 25-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives concluding as Chief Administrative Officer (1997-2007) overseeing the House's business operations. Jay can be reached at jayeagen57@gmail.com or 970-946-5770.
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