We're All Heroes

We are all heroes in our own stories. I often wonder how people can think or act the way they do when their words and actions are so different from my own. My lazy ego simply assumes they are, on a positive note, MISTAKEN, or on a negative note, EVIL. Either way, my ego suggests I just dismiss them as I go about my business of being (obviously) RIGHT.

Sadly, I don't like operating from within my ego because, well, I'm not God. It isn't my place to judge another person's words or actions. I can say those aren't right for me, or aren't a good fit for me, but what if they truly believe what they say or do is correct? 

I'm not much of a musician or scientist, but I understand that when one plays chords on a piano or other instrument, that other things in the room will begin to vibrate with those notes or that chord. It is some sort of harmonic or sympathetic resonance at work. I think much the same sort of thing happens with politics. When we hold or have a certain world-view, there is a harmonic "thing" that resonates within us where-in we see, feel, or hear the evidence that supports that world-view. 

It's just as natural as when I clasp my hands together, left thumb on top. It just feels right because that's how I always clasp my hands. When I reverse my hands with the right thumb on top, it feels weird, it feels wrong, it feels uncomfortable, and so my inner voice simply tells me it's wrong to do it that way. There is no empirical reason for it to be "wrong," but it feels wrong for me. The problem arises when I presume to tell someone else it "must" feel wrong for them, too. We are free to clasp our hands however we wish, and there is no moral reason to impose compliance with my preference or yours.

Even freedom is subjective, but I'll save that topic for another time. My focus at the moment is the world of politics and my concern that just as I find DJT (and his ilk) to pose an existential threat to democracy (and can marshal a ton of evidence to support my view), my friends on the right feel just as strongly that Harris/Walz and the democrats are the real threat to democracy. I can (and do) argue that they have failed to identify any evidence to support their perspective, but I cannot change how they feel, for each of us is entitled to how we feel, what we think, and so on.

One thing I do know is that when I find myself to be wrong, when the evidence for my position is wrong (no matter what the subject is), there are two things I can do. One is to rationalize my behavior, blaming others or insisting the evidence of your eyes and ears is wrong. That's called "gaslighting" and I (sadly) confess I have done that in my life. I do it (knowingly and sometimes unknowingly) because my ego is too fragile to admit I was wrong. Over time I have learned to do that less and less.

The other option is to admit the mistake, error, or wrong (confess), apologize (by which I mean to say I will make every effort not to do that again), and make restitution or accept the consequence of my action(s). That's where I believe Jesus calls us to go when we harm ourselves or others.

What I would say to my friends on the Right in this current election cycle is this. Yes, it is possible that Harris/Walz and Democrats are an existential threat, and the price of bread, eggs, and milk may go up more than you would like. That truly affects all of us, and especially the poor. Please understand, though, that the existential threat that DJT/JDV and the GOP pose is just as evident to the rest of us. We simply don't see what you see, or feel what you feel.

Maybe you need to see yourselves as Freedom Fighters. Maybe you see yourselves as Protectors of Democracy. Maybe you see yourselves on the side of Luke Skywalker or the Hobbits. Just bear in mind that we do, too. We believe our evidence is crystal clear. If we are wrong, we can change course in two to four years. If you are wrong, we will be living under martial law with the constitution trampled underfoot. We know, because that is what DJT and MAGA have promised. As much and as often as "they" lie, we believe them when they say it.

That's why I am voting for Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and all blue down-ballot as well. I ask you to consider doing so as well.