Republicans, Democrats, and Ego… Oh My!

Timing is everything! Just had this very discussion with my husband this morning. Thank you for reinforcing the thought. Trouble is this election is so much fun and it is engaging. Too bad it is deteriorating into the same old nitpicking. The issues this time are pretty clearcut. They are what we should be discussing.

hi Bunny –

think you make an important point when you say the election is fun and engaging… well, i'm all for fun and engaging… it's when getting hooked into all this *and it does not feel good* that i believe it's time to step away… that's when the ego is rockin' the house…

but absolutely… it is engaging!

thanks,

drew

Any chick who can load a shotgun with one hand and change a diaper or two with the other is damned straight in my book!

On the bass… Derek Smalls!… he wrote this…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMTPQVOWCiU

Don't know your thoughts on Gary Zukav, but this is from his blog.
Savior Searching and the U.S. Election

The 2008 Presidential election contrasts the old and the new, the young and the old, the establishment and the agents for change in the most graphic way since the contest between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, except that the differences today are more stark. Youthful, charismatic, and black vs. old, staid, and white. War hero (of a very unpopular war) vs. brilliant protagonist for change.

Eight years of diplomatic, military, economic, and moral failure have made change attractive indeed to millions of voters, especially the young and the previously disenfranchised. The pervasive perversion of politics into self-serving ends that has created chaos and carnage in Iraq, threatened American democracy, and destabilized the Middle East in numerous and dangerous ways have left a large portion of the American electorate open and eager for a fresh breeze to disperse stale policies and perceptions of a corrupt and narcissistic administration, to bring new life to Washington, the country, and the world.

No individual can accomplish this, not even Barack Obama, the hero of those who long for the fresh breeze. He appears fresh, brilliant, capable, and committed but he is a hero to many and with that come serious limitations. Heroes are icons, not individuals. So are villains. The more that we long for a hero to save us, to transform the United States into a new and unprecedented influence for good and for Life, the more peril we call upon ourselves, and the more danger we create for Barack Obama, or any savior, to fall off the pedestal that we create and plunge from idolization to disparagement. On national, international, and interpersonal levels saviors rise and fall; the rise is always exhilarating and the fall is always painful.

The solution for avoiding this debilitating dynamic lies not with the next President, but with you. It is you who create idols and you who disdain them when they fail to meet your expectations. We are ripe in the United States for this to happen if Barack Obama is elected the first black President and brings to the White House his youth, energy, and devotion. The process is independent of the next President, whoever is elected. It depends solely upon you. When you cease searching for saviors in your life – a wealthy advocate, perfect mate, family, job, car, or house – you will cease searching for a savior for America as well. You will instead assume responsibility for contributing all that you can to the nation and the world that you long to live in rather than waiting for some one to create them for you. You will contribute to one another rather than exploit one another, and when the challenges becomes great and the weight of your aspirations heavy, you will not blame a failed savior for your pain but instead learn from your experiences what you need to change in yourself in order to create the world that you want. You will cherish your fellow students in the Earth school and look upon all of them, including the President of the United States of America, as partners to support and be supported by.

This dynamic is not only American. It is human and the new evolutionary requirement to create authentic power – to become the authority in your life, aware of your emotions, and responsible for your choices – applies now to all individuals in all cultures, nations, races, religions, and both sexes. Every savior search is a step away from the constructive use of your own creative capacity, and denies you the opportunity to exercise it consciously and wisely. Every step into awareness and responsibility diminishes the danger of erecting a pedestal, putting a savior on it, and then bringing him or her down to avoid facing the consequences that you, yourself, have created.

hi Nancy –

i'd say i'm down with mr. zukav's points… personal responsibility (the wall!)

good stuff and thanks for sharing it…

d