“He’s awful. He just wants to divide the American people!”
Where have you heard that lately? In the months of intense presidential campaigning leading up to election day 2020, this sentiment became a deeply held conviction of American voters on both sides of the political spectrum. I observed how supporters of either candidate had the same deeply held belief that the opposition was a threat to American society because his ideas would only create division amongst the people, and that he is working against unity in America.
This was so interesting to me because opposite sides held this identical conviction. I began to think about where this was coming from, where the roots of these views had sprung from. Then, while listening to a podcast one afternoon, my mind jolted from its typical thought process when the host quoted an article that challenged the cry for unification and instead urged a party leader NOT to work for unity, but instead to push for division! The author was saying, in a rational and thought out manner, that it is time to separate the country. I was intrigued! Aren’t we supposed to want unity? Is it even ok to think about wanting to separate? This was most certainly a radical idea!
I have spent more than a decade practicing the 12 steps of recovery. One of the main principles we learn in these programs is to take responsibility for one’s actions and the outcomes of those actions – good or bad. This may sound basic, but because our human nature urges us to blame others and to try and minimize our negative behaviors. Taking responsibility requires intention, training, and conscious effort. The vast majority of people are very slow to realize how their own thoughts and actions have negatively shaped their world or impacted others, and instead blame those around them for the unpleasantness and hardships of life.
“I wouldn’t have to yell so much if you would just listen the first time!”
“I wouldn’t be drinking this much if you were a better spouse!”
“I wouldn’t have to get us into debt if you would get a real job!”
“The country wouldn’t be so divided if the other party weren’t such idiots!”
Each of these statements exemplify our deeply ingrained blame reflex. I know it’s hard to face the fact that our behavior has had negative effects. It’s MUCH easier to play the innocent victim role and look outside of ourselves for evidence of the harm being done, but even Adam, the first man, resorted immediately to blame when he was accused of wrongdoing, “The woman you gave me made me do it!”
Because I have been training for more than a decade to assess situations from a perspective of taking responsibility for my part, I took pause at the popular, blame-heavy statements that these political party leaders, “were dividing the people.”
I am not ignorant of the power and influence that political leaders possess. Nor am I naive to the negative impacts that some domestic policies can have on a society. But you know the saying, when you point a finger at someone, 3 others are pointing back at you. So I think we need to hold a mirror up to our society and see where this perceived division is truly stemming from.
I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I think that the division might be your fault. It might be our fault. But this might not mean that we are terrible people. The divide we are experiencing is coming not from the policies or ideas of our leaders, it is coming from the hearts of the people. The leaders are merely doing what leaders have done since the beginning of time – exploiting divisive perceptions in order to unify their followers against a common enemy.
My conclusion is that the American people have divided themselves. I know that some people reading this will want to scream at me for being wrong or ignorant. This is a “political” post, and that kind of reaction has sadly become an acceptable norm in our country. The same response occurs when anyone in the 12 steps is charged with taking an inventory of their own actions. It’s very uncomfortable, but discovering the truth about ourselves brings relief. Identifying the root of an issue is necessary for progress.
Values vs. Beliefs
We are in a type of cultural tug-of-war that has never before existed in our country. In the past, the American people have disagreed on many issues, but most still shared the same values – those that are affirmed and upheld by our constitution. We all held the value that freedom is essential to the dignity of each individual, and that all people have the inherent right, bestowed by their creator (not the government), to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We held varied beliefs as to how these values could best be defended or nurtured, but underneath those varying beliefs about the “how”, most Americans agreed on the “why”.
Just to give you a simple example of the difference between values and beliefs, lets look at health. Two people can have the shared value of personal health, but may have different beliefs as to how to nurture that value. One may believe that a diet high in good fats and protein is the best way to achieve health, while the other may believe that eating a low-fat, plant-based diet is the way to go. Their beliefs, like all of our beliefs, are rooted in their individual knowledge and experience. Their values are rooted in something deeper.
It seems that now, in 2020, the foundational unity of values that once held America together is breaking apart, and many people in the US no longer espouse the values outlined in the US constitution. To some, they seem outdated or insufficient. There is no longer a general consensus that humans have the inherent right to personal liberty, but instead hold that people in a community must conform to limits on their liberty as determined by governing authorities, for “the greater good”. Resentments have built up in both of these camps, and the leaders exploit these emotions in an effort to gain support and unify their camp against the opposition.
These differing values have begun a tearing of the fabric that has unified the American people for the last 250 years. The values that drove liberty-seeking people to give up everything, leave their homelands, and sacrifice their lives are just not present in all Americans today. But that is not the fault of the leaders. The divide is rooted in the hearts and minds of the individuals.
We can’t unite the people if the people don’t want to unite.
It seems to me that many Americans consider tolerance and equal opportunity inadequate, and instead insist that the culture and law affirm and support every person’s life choices. Support and affirmation are not the same as tolerance. This is an unreasonable goal because it would require others to espouse values that they are not aligned with. While we may be able to influence others beliefs through information and experience, there are no external tools that will change someone’s values. The values of others falls into the “things I can’t change” category of the serenity prayer. The most unfortunate outcome of a community with fractured values is that those who espouse this new goal seem to feel that injustice is being done when affirmation is absent. Requiring tolerance from your community is reasonable. We could all get under the tolerance umbrella together, but we will never, as a people, all get under the affirm & support umbrella.
Does this change in values present an irreconcilable difference?
If a large number of Americans, maybe even half, no longer align with the values that our country was founded on and continually feel victimized, then what is the solution? Do we all continue trying to force our values on others until we get a majority, and leave up to 49% of people feeling like they have no voice or proper representation? Do we just accept the fact that we live in a society whose values vacillates depending on the outcome of elections? This unstable environment creates a deeply distressing environment for the people, who live in a continual state of uncertainty.
So, is the humanitarian solution to split the US into two distinct countries or regions – one upholding the traditional Constitution, and one creating a modernized version?
As Christians, we are instructed to try our best to live at peace with all men. To many, this means accepting the authority of the government while we are on this earth, with the knowledge that ultimately we are under the Lordship of Christ. However, as the government continues to press against traditional values and moves from a society of tolerance to one of support and affirmation, it becomes increasingly harder for Christians to live peacefully under both the earthly leaders and the authority of Christ. When the government imposes its values on our children or our livelihoods, without allowing Christains – or anyone – to peacefully abstain from practices that violate our values, peace becomes impossible. If we are put in a position where we are forced to abdicate our subjugation to Christ in order to comply with governing authorities, we cannot have peace because our hearts, minds, and spirits will be in distress. I would also assert that this same scenario affects those who hold non-Christian values in like manner, and that it is equally oppressive to force them to deny their deeply held convictions and try to impose Christian values on people who do not hold them.
You can’t change the foundation of a thing without destroying a good deal of what is on the surface. If you want to preserve anything that is built on that foundation, you need to remove it before you start swinging a sledgehammer at the foundation. The USA was created on a solid foundation of tolerance, as outlined in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. It was intended to be a refuge, a safe place, where people of all beliefs could live amongst one another in peace, not forcing one belief system into others lives. If that begins to change, there will be some level of destruction. I don’t claim to have a solution, nor am I advocating for secession. I can only contemplate these things and conclude that it certainly is an interesting time to be alive.
Charmaine Rusin 