An Alternative to Political Discord

After Rodney King was beat up in LA a few years ago, and the cops who were involved were acquitted, touching off a horrific riot, he appeared on national TV with the plea, "can't we all just get along". No one took that question very seriously. His comment was laughed off as pathetic and naive. He was considered a joke despite what seemed like a sincere attempt to inject sanity into the insane deadly rioting that consumed entire neighborhoods. The reason he was marginalized was...humans don't do peace. Not very well anyway. Humans do conflict.

Very few people are considered qualified to advocate peace and only a handful have ever risen to the level of a recognized credible peacemaker. And in all cases the peace they sought was short lived at best and in most cases their own lives were cut short violently. Considering the current political climate of this country, and the nearly evenly diametrically opposed political parties, do you wonder how intelligent people on both sides could become so vehemently intractable in their political views that they literally hate the other side? Each side is genuinely certain they possess the moral or intellectual credibility to remain steadfastly immovable. The level of political polarization at this time in this country is greater than anything I've ever seen. It is intense. The ubiquitous, almost pre-riotous participation in ideological enmity is everywhere. Gay rage at a women's beauty pageant. Cable news networks locked in mortal combat over ideological differences while denying ideology. One need only read the responses of any political blog to gain a measure of the hatred that permeates our political culture. In my own family, political views are held so tightly by some that they can't be mentioned lest they ignite a firestorm of political tirades and stormy departures.

Is there a solution to the impasse? The only viable solution put forth by either side seems to be total domination, to stamp out every vestige of counter political/ideological opinion. It's not said out loud, not yet anyway. But it's coming.

Another possible solution will sound as naive as it did in the first sentence of this piece. But I offer it from a slightly different point of view. My premise is that we humans can not help the offensive/defensive thought process that automatically kicks in with any point of view. It is our nature, our default attitude. If there is no apparent opposition, we will go so far as to imagine one. The human mind seeks, craves and relies on conflict to give credibility to itself and political ideology is a perfect game board. The human mind is simply a tool, a computer with no function other than to regurgitate a stored and programmed response. With no real creative ability of it's own, it offers only a fright or flight response to all situations. We languish in an unconscious state of incessant ambient fear which requires the never ending siege of mental gamesmanship which is the antithesis to any real sense of genuine well being. Well being is what humans seek. Freedom from the pain of want and desire. The tyrannical mind seeks blissful harmony with like minded people in a perfect world through chaos and conflict and will not cease until it vanquishes all threats. How crazy is that? It seeks peace (no pain) by a mutually exclusive process of inflicting offensive pain to remove the imagined adversity while being itself motivated by fear of the pain. Now that's insane. I don't care who ya are, that's insane right there. (Little Larry the Cable Guy humor)

Anxiety, anger and fear exists in the illusions of future or past. We serve our chatty minds because we are not aware of the alternative, which is to choose to be present and have our minds serve us. Nothing truly exists other than the present and in the present lie the answers to what is really important and the freedom we desperately seek. It is certain we will never find it by political means. The short lived, counterfeit feelings of success are vaporous. The first instinct after achieving political success is to defend it. To go back on the attack. No rest. Politics leads us from one conflict to the next. We expend huge amounts of time, energy and emotional capital and for what? Power is cyclical, always has been, always will be. Left today, right tomorrow.

Politicians, corporations and the media can easily exploit an unconscious, angry and fearful citizenry and they do. Political discord is the new opiate of the masses. It's not so easy to influence a peaceful, clear thinking and level headed person.

I am not suggesting we become totally politically apathetic. I am suggesting there's better use of our time and emotional capital than participating in a culture of constant political madness. We can make better decisions, lower the neurotic level of the collective conflict and begin to catch glimpses of what it's like to be really conscience. It's good for everyone and we all rise on the human tide.