POLITICS is a game of opinion. Sold on half truths and well presented self-serving arguments and unfulfillable promises. It is a battle waged by Egos vying for power. It is most divisive, it has to be to work.
Made up of rigid mental positions driven by beliefs and values that refuse to see the validity of another way, all in the pursuit of power. Held together by projections of what could go right or wrong if only…
The winner is the one who is most persuasive, the losers must go back and construct better persuasive arguments, and tell their target audience what they want to hear, and divert attention away from their failure to subsequently deliver.
Opinions of the Ego
Your BELIEFS and VALUES form your OPINIONS. To you they are the truth, but to others they are just OPINION. The fact you believe in them so much means you are lost in Ego.
To clarify what I mean by Ego, Ego, the way I am using it in this article (and the way I use it throughout the site), is identification with THOUGHT. It’s the process of mistakenly believing your thoughts to be who you are. Identification means to “make like”. Thoughts include BELIEFS and VALUES at their core, out of which come OPINIONS.
Separation: The Enemy
Alternative views are cast as the enemy and the evil that lurks ready to destroy any chance for utopia, and those that hold them are seen as misguided, uneducated and not to be trusted to cast their vote. This allow us to dehumanise them, and prevents any connection or chance of empathy and compassion.
We see examples of this in arguments about Brexit, and Donald Trump. Separation is forged as sides are taken. Winners and losers, competition for gaining the moral ground, all are classic Ego positioning.
United by Intent
We must remember that all we have are opinions, that have become polar opposites with exaggerated consequences. They are not the truth. Truth comes from what motivates both sides, which is INTENT. We are divided by opinion, but united by intent. We all want the same thing, to have a better life, and do what is best for us and our loved ones, we disagree about how best to achieve it.
Instead of working towards something that works for all, politics keeps us stuck in division with no will to find a solution that works for all. Instead of conflict, we should try to work towards acknowledging and respecting alternative views and working towards a mutually rewarding solution.
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