We Are Living in Trying Times
At the time I wrote this newsletter, we were days before the election. You will read this a few days after it. My prediction was that many of the races were still undecided, and that there would be a plethora of rhetoric, blaming, finger-pointing, and soon lawsuits galore. At no point did I expect this massive blue tsunami sweeping America.
Most of us try to not be political, because politics gets people quite engaged. How can we not be engaged when the decisions that are made affect our income and livelihood? We want everyone to feel empowered to speak up, and yet we do everything to convince those people that our opinion and belief system is superior to theirs. What we have seen now is a loud and clear message. A younger generation is ready to lead, and they don’t want to continue with the messaging, hostility, discord, and false promises. And our job is to help empower them to do so.
What Do We Know About the Other Side?
We only work off a belief system that is shaped by our own experiences. So frankly, what do we know about what the other side has lived through?
I am a German-born immigrant. I came to the United States to find myself and figure out what I was meant to do. My experience is significantly different from the experience of someone who has never been to a different country, does not speak another language, and has a different belief system than I do. How we are brought up shapes what we think and believe. The majority of us do not question our beliefs because they are ours, inherited from our parents, part of our DNA, and part of the community, country, and religion we are in.
Everyone Thinks Their Way Is the Better Way
Many of these ideas are rooted in thinking that our way is the better way. A Catholic is better than someone Jewish; the Jewish person is better than a Muslim. Or is the Muslim superior to an Evangelical or a Jew?
Everyone in the United States is an immigrant. It is the nature of this country, except, of course, for the native population, and look what was done to them. We needed all kinds of people to come here and make America what it is today, a melting pot, something America has always been proud of. That call was irresistible to me. If I do not fit anywhere else, maybe I fit in here? The country is still relatively young, and perhaps ideology and innovation are not so rooted in old tradition. Maybe that is what makes it so great to be here.
Over the 30+ years I have been here, I have seen again and again that most everyone thinks their thing is the best thing and everyone else is wrong for believing their thing is the better thing.
I realized this early on. I was raised Catholic; I went deeper into the spiritual aspect of belief, wondering what God is. My interpretation is now clear, and it is an all-encompassing one: we are all part of something larger, and spirit lives in all of us, regardless of what the denomination or political party says. If only everyone else would get that and let people believe what they want, as long as it is for the greater good of all. If one community thrives, it will inspire others to do so. And looking at the election results, I can only say that I feel hope. Finally! They are young and excited; they are not afraid, but committed to change. Of course there will be trial and error, and of course there will be challenges. But what I predicted for the last two years in my writings, my podcast, Founders of the Future, is happening. Bullies who break the very systems they built and will allow creators to emerge to build the future. We are here; this is happening in real time and on a much larger scale than I anticipated. I am not the only one who got the memo. The pendulum swung the other way.
The Pendulum Always Swings Back
The other piece of it is the political part. I am not a conservative, but I grew up as one. I do not believe anyone can take anything away from me. I am an immigrant, after all, but I am white and blond. That puts me in a different category, and it is what it is. I did not do anything for or against it. That just happens to be my experience. But I do realize that this comes with a certain obligation and privilege. I am successful, I have a voice, and I have a platform. It is not the biggest, and it is not small either. It is what I have, and I use it.
My point is that the more extreme a viewpoint, the further to one side the pendulum is. By the nature of balance, the law of polarity, the pendulum must always swing to the other side and back again until it finds its balance in the middle. Unless we can agree that there is a middle, allow all voices to be heard and not judge them, we will continue in this uncomfortable volatility. I believe the social media platforms have figured out that the more angry we are with each other, the more time we give them and the more money they make. They have no interest in us getting along. And we keep falling for it.
Your Voice Matters, Especially Right Now
This is also the topic I chose for my latest podcast with Naomi Seligman, a whistleblower. When her TEDx talk on speaking up aired, she says, “None of my friends showed up.” Speaking up was uncomfortable, and she did it anyway. In our interview, she shares her belief that not speaking up for what is right means you are complicit. In her words, “Silence is complicity.” She also says, “I also understand how hard it is to speak up.”
She does not ask everyone to take the same action. She says it is “really about caring about your community beyond your community, knowing that you need to make a difference for more than just yourself.” And she says, “you don’t get to not act,” and “it is not hopeless.”
So in my closing reflection, my message is simple. Get rid of what does not serve you. Focus on what you want to bring into your life, not on what you want to fight. Energy creates more of the same energy. Create the good, loving energy, but do speak up when you see something that is not right. Your voice matters. It does, especially right now. Let’s let each other live and enjoy life the way we choose to, as long as we make contributions and support our communities.
Who did you judge this week for what they believe, and what do you understand about what they have lived through?
I made my cut of the conversation with Naomi, The Architect’s Cut, the 10-minute version. Please take a listen:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-polarization-and-why-silence-is-complicity/id1608742539?i=1000800758277
Let’s grow,
Beate
P.S. If you want to learn more about how I help companies run, check out my next masterclass on AI at YourBusinessMC.com. Maybe it’s for you.
