2016 to present has been a good time for the petty and the bitter. One look at the White House and those who staff it is proof enough, but when you add the voting block that made the Trump ascendency possible, you realize that there are many who have felt butt-hurt and looked for a champion of their concerns. For some, it was the feeling that equity and equal should mean the same thing and they didn't like that their perceived seat at the table sometimes went to people who had never had a chair, let alone a seat. Then there were those who believe that that American Exceptionalism meant they were exceptional and therefore should not be held to any of the rules and regs that the rest of us accept as part of our social contract with America.
But it also appears that whether you are known or unknown, pettiness and bitterness have overtaken the dialogue to the point that we cannot hear each other where larger grievances do apply. I believe that if you have been sexually assaulted and you have an angry grievance around that which society has historically been lily-livered to address, this should be the exact time to be heard. We have a political leader who was elected under a constant swirl of braggadocio in this area. We have seen men in positions of power and authority rightfully going down the drain for equally horrible and provable things. However, in conversation, men are feeling targeted for far lesser offenses including bad comic timing, i.e. things said to friends in jest, or growing up in a different point in time and (gasp) not being those same people anymore. I am not at all saying that #metoo and other righteous organizers are not correct in their grievances--because they are. I'm also saying that when we resort to dichotomies which are unempathetic and unforgiving, we give up the space for reconciliation.
Because we live in both a top/down and a grassroots "speak truth to power" version of democracy, the messages we hear are sort of set up to be rife with conflict. In a dialogue that intends to be resolution seeking, we have space both for speaking and active listening. At a bare minimum, the result should be a clear understanding of the issues at hand and a feeling of empathy, no matter how we may personally sit on the subject. We are not there at this time and it may take several years to understand how dysfunctional the American family has become.
Suffice to say, for now, agitation is likely to bring the worse out in us, left, right, and center unless we conclude that reconciliation on a big picture or even an international level is a goal worth working toward. We are all butt-hurt snowflakes on all sides of the political divide, maybe that is one thing to which we all can agree?
But it also appears that whether you are known or unknown, pettiness and bitterness have overtaken the dialogue to the point that we cannot hear each other where larger grievances do apply. I believe that if you have been sexually assaulted and you have an angry grievance around that which society has historically been lily-livered to address, this should be the exact time to be heard. We have a political leader who was elected under a constant swirl of braggadocio in this area. We have seen men in positions of power and authority rightfully going down the drain for equally horrible and provable things. However, in conversation, men are feeling targeted for far lesser offenses including bad comic timing, i.e. things said to friends in jest, or growing up in a different point in time and (gasp) not being those same people anymore. I am not at all saying that #metoo and other righteous organizers are not correct in their grievances--because they are. I'm also saying that when we resort to dichotomies which are unempathetic and unforgiving, we give up the space for reconciliation.
Because we live in both a top/down and a grassroots "speak truth to power" version of democracy, the messages we hear are sort of set up to be rife with conflict. In a dialogue that intends to be resolution seeking, we have space both for speaking and active listening. At a bare minimum, the result should be a clear understanding of the issues at hand and a feeling of empathy, no matter how we may personally sit on the subject. We are not there at this time and it may take several years to understand how dysfunctional the American family has become.
Suffice to say, for now, agitation is likely to bring the worse out in us, left, right, and center unless we conclude that reconciliation on a big picture or even an international level is a goal worth working toward. We are all butt-hurt snowflakes on all sides of the political divide, maybe that is one thing to which we all can agree?
No comments:
Post a Comment