I’ve written before about the Victim Triangle, the construct that keeps all of us Victims as we cycle through the roles of Persecutor, Rescuer and Victim, unable to exist one without the other.
America’s political identity has fallen into similar dependency: to be the winner there must be a loser. The idea of a win-win outcome has been lost, reaching across the aisle replaced by strict partisan battle lines.
The election on Tuesday is an ultimate example of the “take no prisoners” attitude that prevails. It is all Republicans one way, Democrats the other. The battlegrounds are deeply drawn and the anxiety accompanying the outcome has split the country asunder, the sole commonality being the degree of fear existent in every community.
Our nation is riding an every-four-year see-saw, relentlessly repeating the cycle of political parties winning and losing. Each half of the electorate alternating being either on top, or on bottom, never in balance, flying by the fulcrum point on the way to the extremes, the sequence inexorable, exalting when riding high and despairing as we hit ground with a thump.
What if we can let go of the winner/loser concept and go beyond the election’s outcome as it affects our alignment to a political party. Instead, have each citizen take individual responsibility for making the ethical and moral choices that benefit the nation as a whole?
We must find common ground.
In other words let’s listen respectfully to each other and choose the solutions that give everyone the dignity they deserve, regardless of allegiance to a political party.
We must find common ground.
Does an opinion about the benefits or drawbacks of the Affordable Care Act fully define a person’s character? Does a stance on the morality of Roe v Wade solely characterize a person’s morality?
We must find common ground.
Otherwise life will become unbearable. We will be forever at odds, taking umbridge as a reflex whenever we hear a buzzword outside of our acceptable landscape.
Human dignity, universal definitions of love, generosity of spirit… they are qualities present in all of us. They keep us from being Victims.
