I can tell the U.S. presidential election is getting nearer by the frequency and increasingly shrill tone of postings on social media sites. Whether coming from the left or right, sharp, cutting messages from otherwise well balanced friends and family, stand out in contrast to the usual photos of kittens and sunsets. Epithets lobbed across the lines, some badges of honor, others of derision: 'teabagger', 'socialist', the 'war on women', 'traditional marriage', 'forcible rape', etc.
The main outcome of all of this rhetoric on both sides is to reinforce duality and a "right vs. wrong" line of thought. And we fall into it so easily, even those of us who know better. Caricatures only serve to reinforce divisions and preclude any possibility of finding concensus.
And yes, I've got my own causes that are near and dear to my heart, and have fallen into the same patterns. When I see protestors expressing themselves legally, beaten or abused by riot police, it turns my stomach. But then, the challenge becomes to see the "other" as human too, to see myself in my enemy.
To consider the possibility that there may be some truth in positions that I don't hold, or that, if I firmly believe in something, that I do it in a way that respects the humanity of those I strongly disagree with.
I like the approach of Thich Nhat Hanh, whose engaged Buddhism during the war in Vietnam got him kicked out of the country. His goal was to find the middle ground, and to work so that neither side would gain an advantage over the other, in order to bring some sort of peaceful coexistence to his homeland.
Maybe I am just naive and out of step with the times. Perhaps we really are in the age of Kali Yuga, as the Vaishnavists say, on the tail end of a degenerate age as it all crumbles, before being reborn, yet again. If so, then I think Neal Cassady had the best advice when he said, with only a hint of sarcasm, "enjoy it!".
Being in the middle of such things, it's really hard to know, kind of like an ant trying to see the world outside the ant hill. Even so, whatever the big picture, I will focus on staying balanced and avoiding extreme views in this situation, dodging the potholes in the road as the rhetoric of division swirls all around. And if I have to take a position, I'll try to do it with a little bit of perspective and, dare I hope, humor.
Even the Middle Way gets a little rocky.
The main outcome of all of this rhetoric on both sides is to reinforce duality and a "right vs. wrong" line of thought. And we fall into it so easily, even those of us who know better. Caricatures only serve to reinforce divisions and preclude any possibility of finding concensus.
And yes, I've got my own causes that are near and dear to my heart, and have fallen into the same patterns. When I see protestors expressing themselves legally, beaten or abused by riot police, it turns my stomach. But then, the challenge becomes to see the "other" as human too, to see myself in my enemy.
To consider the possibility that there may be some truth in positions that I don't hold, or that, if I firmly believe in something, that I do it in a way that respects the humanity of those I strongly disagree with.
I like the approach of Thich Nhat Hanh, whose engaged Buddhism during the war in Vietnam got him kicked out of the country. His goal was to find the middle ground, and to work so that neither side would gain an advantage over the other, in order to bring some sort of peaceful coexistence to his homeland.
Maybe I am just naive and out of step with the times. Perhaps we really are in the age of Kali Yuga, as the Vaishnavists say, on the tail end of a degenerate age as it all crumbles, before being reborn, yet again. If so, then I think Neal Cassady had the best advice when he said, with only a hint of sarcasm, "enjoy it!".
Being in the middle of such things, it's really hard to know, kind of like an ant trying to see the world outside the ant hill. Even so, whatever the big picture, I will focus on staying balanced and avoiding extreme views in this situation, dodging the potholes in the road as the rhetoric of division swirls all around. And if I have to take a position, I'll try to do it with a little bit of perspective and, dare I hope, humor.
Even the Middle Way gets a little rocky.
Thich Nhat Hahn is a wonder, I often have to go watch youtube videos of him speaking when I'm in difficult situations.
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