The futility of our times is we keeping sharpening the blades of rage be those blades sarcastic humor, or outright disgust; aversion backed by our version of “facts” only to remain ever more mired in a dangerous deadlock. This is a spent, quicksand approach in that it has no bottom. Antagonism is simply a spinning wheel of mutual resentment that can be endlessly propelled when disconnected from the work of human connection. The division we feel separating us from half the US population is not natural, but an engineered strategy to acquire political power for what should be a clear minority in a civilized democratic country. We now know that behind the Division strategy is method and the goal is to paralyze our country’s democracy in a shallow stew of endless insults and retribution. The western back country hiker knows that if you step in a ‘cow pie’, the first move is to step aside and for God’s sake, don’t dance a tango in the smelly mess.

We now know that democracy has an enemy and that enemy has more power with each passing day. Last week we fired math and statistics as reliable indicators of potential decisions in terms of economy and future. Our President also fired along with those foundational tools of American life the person who was responsible for credible information operating independently of political desire. A ground level decision that must be made by every American is: “do you want a free democracy or not?” The second questions can be: “What does a free democracy look like? So lets step aside from this situation and begin to counter the deliberate strategies of division. Antagonism can spin forever. Rage and division are the prizes of the enemies of free democracy.

A modest proposal for Good

Good is the modification of that part of you that innovates connection with friends and neighbors. Many if not most have a friend, relative, or direct family member who is clearly voting on the side of “mysterious crazy”. How could so and so vote for such and such? Good is finding out and understanding. The strategy of division of to assure you will never be curious enough to cure the disconnection and it is working. The best strategy of Resistance for this age is to modify your connecting capacity to include turbo-curiosity supported by endless compassion, the kryptonite of endless antagonism. The rules are twofold: make your motivation a desire to connect and understand and two: don’t worry about how they vote. Relationships will heal this country and only relationships. Historically we are only in a short period where the destruction of relationship and connectivity has become a viable political tool. Democracy is diverse community but while diverse community may have been mostly about race in the past, now it is working at a deeper level: tolerance and curiosity. There will always be differences at the the political level but division is optional. Right now division is receiving all the fuel and that has to change. That would be good.