Dear Friends,
I think it is fair to say that there is A LOT in flux … including our identities.
I used to see myself more as a liberal, but I am not even sure what that means any more.
Do liberals even know what it means to be a liberal? Or conservatives know what it means to be a conservative?
Just look at the different views on the authoritarian regime of Russia. The Republican brand in the US used to be anti-communism and anti-authoritarian, and now it is something altogether different.
Trump is turning everything upside down. (Hold it, now Ukraine is the bad guy who attacked Russia? What?)
What happens to a party based on fighting authoritarian regimes that now embraces them?
And there are populists who want nothing to do with either party.
This came to my attention as I was listening to Steve Bannon recently in a NYT interview. The former Trump confidant and strategist said in somewhat jarring language, “I think conservatives are pussies.” And “The Republican Party is a bunch of pussies. They’re controlled opposition.” (I invite you to listen to the full interview)
He does not have kind words for the Democrats either.
He considers himself a hard-core populist, and has called the tech elite like Elon Musk a “parasitic illegal immigrant.”
Strong words indeed, but I found myself surprisingly agreeing with some of what he said in terms of how Silicon Valley and Wall Street have too much power, and the average hard-working person has less.
(While I find some of his critiques compelling, I also disagree with most of what Bannon has said in the past.)
However, I do not think corporations should be running governments, and that political parties tend to abandon the common people. So am I now a populist?
It is a confusing time, and maybe we need to stop using labels altogether … and just ask:
“Am I listening fully to the people in my life? Am I speaking from my heart? Am I caring for what I can care for?”
I do not know about you, but I am thinking that it might be better if I read the news less, and do this more.
Perhaps rather than trying to fit into political boxes, we need to focus on how we show up in our daily lives.
I am not sure who said it, but I like the phrase, “We don’t need more Buddhists, we need more Buddhas. We do not need more Christians, we need more people living like Jesus.”
Maybe the same is true for political parties. We just need more humanity.
Blessings,
SOREN
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Thank you--somehow this was incredibly helpful and necessary for me to hear today. I helped an elderly neighbor with her dog today and afterwards I felt better and calmer than I have in days. Community and Connection on a real level-that what keeps us afloat over the long run.
Thank you! I’ve been questioning this a lot lately, too…who are we? The terms no longer seem appropriate nor accurate. I had identified for too many years as bleeding-heart liberal, default democrat and more recently as a progressive social democrat. I created my own title as “spiritual anarchist”.
I know the parties we’ve long identified with are now archaic and unrecognizable.
So, it maybe it’s time to unload the burden of labels, reclaim our heartful humanity and be in the question of “who might we be becoming” together! 🙏🏻🤷🏼♀️