Thank you for this and thank you for not favoring one side or the other. For me it is a huge turn off when practitioners I follow and respect, advertise their political views. Immediately, I tend to not want to learn and grow from them any longer.
Yes, this is vital. When you say "practitioners", I assume you mean people who teach practices of some kind dedicated to the improvement of well being. So, if that's the context, suggesting to your audience what the "correct" political point of view might be is inherently counterproductive to the goal of helping the person find, for example, more freedom of movement in their body. "Do these practices, but if you vote for so and so, you're doing it wrong and your soul can never be saved."
On a broader level, the idea that I can dehumanize my political opponents if they are "obviously lousy people" is exactly the problem with all of our politics. Saying "they started it" is worth exactly nothing as far as I'm concerned. Instead, it only perpetuates the same problem at the source of it all.
Learning how to treat each other like human beings takes a lot more skill than doing the right stretches, meditating, keeping a gratitude journal, doing breathwork, etc. In my mind, anyone with a true intention to improve their well being must understand that this is a COLLECTIVE question.
"Improving my own well being - and to hell with everyone else" . . . this is a losing proposition, including for the person who thinks they are just being practical and "taking care of #1".
I heard a lot of descriptions about Dave's steadiness from those who had spent a lot of time around him when I would visit him in Vermont.
I saw it firsthand in college when we were both arrested at the 1996 Chicago Democratic Convention, the first time since the 1968 convention where police beat anti-war protestors in the streets and live TV coverage of the convention broke away from the speeches to show what was happening . . . which of course led to the Chicago 8 trial where David was a key defendant.
Yes, thinking about Dave has often been an important reference point for me to understand how I want to show up in the world.
Thank you for this and thank you for not favoring one side or the other. For me it is a huge turn off when practitioners I follow and respect, advertise their political views. Immediately, I tend to not want to learn and grow from them any longer.
Thanks for being here, Tanya!
Yes, this is vital. When you say "practitioners", I assume you mean people who teach practices of some kind dedicated to the improvement of well being. So, if that's the context, suggesting to your audience what the "correct" political point of view might be is inherently counterproductive to the goal of helping the person find, for example, more freedom of movement in their body. "Do these practices, but if you vote for so and so, you're doing it wrong and your soul can never be saved."
On a broader level, the idea that I can dehumanize my political opponents if they are "obviously lousy people" is exactly the problem with all of our politics. Saying "they started it" is worth exactly nothing as far as I'm concerned. Instead, it only perpetuates the same problem at the source of it all.
Learning how to treat each other like human beings takes a lot more skill than doing the right stretches, meditating, keeping a gratitude journal, doing breathwork, etc. In my mind, anyone with a true intention to improve their well being must understand that this is a COLLECTIVE question.
"Improving my own well being - and to hell with everyone else" . . . this is a losing proposition, including for the person who thinks they are just being practical and "taking care of #1".
I love this piece!!!
I also love that your grandfather seems to be unshaken by the action of the counter protestors. I suspect that you are a lot like him. ;)
I heard a lot of descriptions about Dave's steadiness from those who had spent a lot of time around him when I would visit him in Vermont.
I saw it firsthand in college when we were both arrested at the 1996 Chicago Democratic Convention, the first time since the 1968 convention where police beat anti-war protestors in the streets and live TV coverage of the convention broke away from the speeches to show what was happening . . . which of course led to the Chicago 8 trial where David was a key defendant.
Yes, thinking about Dave has often been an important reference point for me to understand how I want to show up in the world.
💕