Maybe It's Time

Maybe instead of trashing the other party, it's time to work on ourselves. Time to stop calling someone "Hitler" just because we don't like him. Trump is not Hitler. He is Trump, a totally unique person. If you must hate, then hate Trump for who he is. Because when we call him "Hitler," we are a big part of our own problem.

While we're at it, maybe its time to stop calling people "Nazis" just because they have some conservative values, time to stop mocking and stereotyping people just because they are Christians. There are conservative Buddhists, but we don't call them Nazis; traditional Hindus, but we don't call them fascists; patriarchal leaders of indigenous tribes, but we don't call them bigots.

And maybe its time to stop hating "the corporations." The vast majority of U.S. corporations are small businesses, many owned by black and Latino women and men. In the hands of creative people, capitalist free-market economics can be a force for growth and community.

And maybe its time to stop hating masculinity, Western culture, and "whiteness." We are one human race. A Vedic verse says, "Vasudhaiva kutumbakam: the world is one family."

Time to stop herding ourselves into racial, gender, grievance identity-groups, festering on an ethic of resentment. Time to value our unique selves: not for the color of our skin but the content of our character, and the merit of our work. Because the myth of the "collective" is as debilitating as the myth of hyper-individualism. We are not just interconnected strands of fungi: we are persons.

Maybe its time for us to stop hating us. If we didn't judge ourselves, we might not be so full of judgment against others. The problem with the people we hate is not that they are so different, but that they are so much like us: the parts of us we don't want to see, or feel, or acknowledge needing.

So now that the election is over, let's do the work of healing, through the breath of compassion. And we won't heal the nation until we heal ourselves. So begin by feeling your own heartbeat, bravely singing its special song of wonder and uncertainty.