The hollow democrats need a soul
OK, so, like many others, I was totally depressed by the outcome of the election. After some reflection and studying some of the reasons why the evangelicals came out in droves, I am floating the idea of developing a more spiritual side of the left wing in American Politics. A more "integral" democratic system,... democratic party.
I feel there needs to be more soul in the left wing. As the democratic party picks up the pieces, there is a gold mine of a spiritual well that the mainstream may call "new age", or on this IN site, "Green meme". yeah, its first tier, but there needs to be a bridge with the right wing republicans. I honestly don't think second tier candidates/politics will happen in our lifetimes, but at least green is somewhat remotely possible... and this is what needs to be translated in "all american" talk... and make it attractive to even right wing republicans. Why can't we frame ruining the environment as immoral? Lets look at what our visionary forefathers said:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
(Maybe we can add "for all beings" at the end of that... )
If this is marketed as the base of morality of the democrats, with an underlying green - yellow political agenda in the background, it might resonate and reach out to some of those in the red and blue memes?
Although the idea of "equality" is one for debate, especially on this site (I personally feel we are BOTH created equally AND unequally), I think we can all agree that if skillfully framed with simple Bush language, Healthcare IS life, this is our unalienable right. Choice IS Liberty, and integral approaches and practice IS happiness. The left needs a stronger soulful vision that holds the true spirit of the new democrats - a spirituality beyond ethnocentrism of fundamentalist christians. This spirituality is one that points to the core of all spiritual traditions around the world, the very intention I had in creating the WORLDSPIRIT DVD with Alex Grey (See the last post). I wonder if its a bit dangerous to send Worldspirit to the bible belt, but I just feel there needs to be some kind of bridge built to middle America if this country has any hope of being a beacon for the world. Any thoughts?
Ahh, you're right, I don't think either of the two major parties can end up being truly integral, and the whole two-party system is in itself indicative of something wrong with politics today. We haven't had one party since the so-called "Era of Good Feelings" in the 1820s or so, and when you look at the many US political conflicts since, why did conflict ever arise in the first place?
There are a few things that can, as I see it, can cause disagreements politically: different goals (why we would agree with, say, Osama bin Laden on certain issues), different moralities/philosophies, different opinions on unknown facts (such as whether or not Bush knowingly lied about intel pre-Iraq), and irrationality on one or both ends. Am I missing anything? Anyway, assuming that all elected officials and voters were rational, open-minded people who wanted the best for America and the world, then why should there be any kind of vast rift among Americans such as there is today? But I suppose that would be called second tier politics...
It's interesting, you'd think that it'd so easy to just say "Wake up, America! Think, be rational, be open-minded, and look at all sides of the debate," and then everything would be fine. And either no one is actually far-sighted enough to leave behind the partisan politics and do that, or not enough people are listening. A bit depressing, in a way...
Posted by: Adam Solomon at November 7, 2004 06:43 PMI like your thinking. As a lay Christian working hard to realize an "integral" Christianity, I recognize the kinship with my more fundamentalist and conservative family members. Okay, sometimes I have to work really hard in that recognition and suppress my own "lesser" meme, reptilian reactions to them. Still, your point about reframing issues "with simple Bush language" is a valuable insight. These folks are, I believe, at a less complex level of awareness but they're not dumb. Well, mostly not. The multi-hued universe of spiral dynamics may be beyond their present comprehension but not their imagination. If these issues can be presented more simply and less threateningly they, like the rest of us, will grow. The key, I've found, is speaking their "language" at their level. Christianity, like all of the wisdom traditions, is about spiritual evolution - if not exactly understood that way on all levels.
Instead of seeing "them" as the opposition (as in liberal/conservative, democrat/republican) and reacting to them as potential converts/enemies, we have to reframe ourselves to greet them as folks involved in the same process we are.
Posted by: Skip Johnston at November 11, 2004 01:27 PM
