I’m not sure what I was expecting to be honest.
Change?
Maybe. But truth is I was expecting ‘change’ when Obama was elected to his first term and was mighty disappointed it didn’t happen how I thought it should. Maybe things did change some but I didn’t notice.
Change what exactly?
I consider myself to be an almost ‘normal, average’ kind of guy. Nothing too freaky, nothing too far left field. And because of that I’ve always considered my thoughts on ‘stuff’ to be pretty ‘normal’ too, sort of like a common denominator and that means a whole bunch of other ‘normal’ folk are likely to think the same or similar.
So ‘change’ for me is about changing a damaged and dysfunctional system, which I see as being focused on the worship of money and greed and inequality into one of compassion and care and love and gratitude and consciousness. I believe this change is very possible but it requires a change of mindset because that’s where real change actually happens, in our heads.
That’s what bugs me about politicians in general and Obama and Clinton (he and she) and Bush specifically. There’s no change in their mindset. Doesn’t matter what side of the aisle they sit they all represent a system that believes in perpetuating itself, not in representing our best interests. Have you ever noticed how campaign promises get forgotten or retracted or negotiated once the campaign is over? Makes you think that maybe it’s all just a sham after all and we can expect four or more years of the same old, same old.
The run ups to this most recent US election, however were a little different. No denying that! What we were fed was a daily dose of outrageous statements about immigrants and ethnic groups and religion and all of it close enough to the bone to make skin crawl and sanity shake at the knees; FBI and congressional investigations and cover ups and emails and hackers and servers and lies and not a smidgen of guilt or a sense of responsibility or shame; finger wagging and rattling sabers at the Russians because god knows we all want to poke a sleeping bear in the eye with a blunt stick to see if it wakes up all grumpy; lots of talk about Chinese and Great Walls and Mexicans to build them and letting Asia go play nuclear roulette with a psychopathic North Korean bully; a couple of bloody noses and riots and references to brown-shirts and Nazis was guaranteed to sort out the politically correct macho men from the boys because we must never forget, remember?; even a sordid sex scandal or three overshadowed by the most unfortunately appropriate name in politics. Ever. Re-introducing one Mr. A. Weiner. The run-ups had it all.
The result?
Truly great ratings and massive global exposure and here’s where I see a change, because this time nobody even tried to cover it up and hide it in politico double-speak. There was such confidence in our inability to think for ourselves that it was just slapped down in front of us for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was all in plain sight and for all to see. It was clear as a sunny morning – old school politics lost and TV, along with its master, the cult of personality, won this election.
The whole season was a brilliantly written and produced show right up to the finale. Hats off to the talented scriptwriters who kept us on the edge of our seats night after night with sleaze and scandal right till the last sticky handful of popcorn and that last embarrassing Wikileak.
It was a ‘reality show’ all right, the greatest show on earth and the funny (?) thing is reality shows aren’t actually real, which makes them all the more fascinating from a psychological point of view and an especially dangerous tool of manipulation. And The Donald is an Emmy Award winning master of the game.
It wasn’t about changing people’s lives for the better or saving the planet and all that stuff we common denominators think is important. It was about creating and altering perceptions in a way that made full and blatantly obvious use of the most dangerous drug ever created … our beloved TVs. And believe me, perceptions have shifted and they’ve been polarized. TV played its part like a hero and won the election.
There is genuine outrage at the result, which is extreme in some cases. But the vote was fair right? No calls for recounts this time. No double-checking chads. No UN inspectors were flown in to check on corruption and voter intimidation. So why such emotional distress at a process and a consequent result the greatest democracy in the world champions so strongly?
Hasn’t democracy been used as the excuse for regime change and war for the last hundred years or more? Isn’t democracy one of the bigger sticks the world’s policeman proudly uses to beat down those less enlightened ways of perceiving the world?
Why the outrage?
Trump even said that if he didn’t win the system was rigged. There it was again, in plain sight for all to see. Arms were thrown over talking heads and the late night comedians had a field day but nobody got the fact that it was in plain sight for a purpose. The general population has been so dumbed down it’s now safe to expose them to the truth because they can’t see the truth for the trees. It’s a signal that change is on the way.
Non-activists have somehow become activated. It’s like the robots have been switched on and they’ve been programmed to perceive in a very particular way. Their way or the highway. People with no prior interest in politics are now riled like never before and they get mighty upset if you don’t agree with them. A great injustice has been done apparently.
Really? Is it the result itself making people feel like this? Or is it because people on both sides feel betrayed on a fundamental level because the system they’ve been told is god-given and a model for the world is actually collapsing?
There’s no doubt that a whole whoop-ass can of worms-of-perception has been opened, and look Bubba, there are worms wriggling slimy all over the floor, impossible to ignore and cover up. But now there’s no need to even try and cover them up.
There are now serious questions over the perception of the electoral system. Many have become used to it and ignore the flaws. Some would suggest the system could even be fixed. Shock horror! Has it always been that way? Perhaps. Does it need to be changed? Yes, I think it does and we should be focused on the perception that it does need to be changed.
There are now serious questions over the mainstream media. It’s almost impossible to ignore that there is a very obvious political bias and an agenda not so much hidden as waving right at you dressed in red, white and blue and plain as all day. Has it always been that way? Journalism certainly didn’t begin with this mindset. Does that need to be changed? Yes, I think it does and we should be focused on the perception that it does need to be changed.
There are even serious questions over the very rule of law. If there’s one rule for me and another rule for you, we’re in for a whole world of trouble people. Has it always been that way? Probably yes, but that doesn’t make it right. Does this need to be changed? Hell yeah! And we should be focused on the perception that it does need to be changed.
I read a fantastic piece from Jack Canfield, (America’s #1 Success Coach and founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul® and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success), entitled Now What? Some Thoughts After the Presidential Election and he argues …
“the truth is that whoever is in the White House rarely significantly changes the quality of your life. Certainly, they can affect some of the conditions within which you operate, but they do not ultimately determine the quality of your life. You are responsible for that.”
I love that because if you are ultimately responsible for the quality of your life it means what you think will change what you do and that changes your reality.
What we think determines how we perceive things. One person’s perception of the world ‘Apple’ could be a pie with a big scoop of Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream while another could be a cool smart phone with a brushed aluminum case and 256Gb. In each mind they’re both right and yet they’re both wrong. Rather like people’s perceptions when they hear the words President Elect Trump or Crooked Hillary.
Canfield goes on to suggest some great ways to rise above the bickering, back-stabbing, conflict and negative mindset and stay centered and focused on what’s really important. And that my friends, is you because you are the most important thing in your life!
He argues that “It is your thoughts about the event, not the event itself, that determines how you feel, and it is only your actions in response to the event that will determine the quality of your future.”
And that boils down to your perceptions. If you’re one of those people who perceives Donald Trump to be one big step in totally the wrong direction then it doesn’t really matter what an alternative opinion is. You’ve made your bed.
The same is true for the Hillary-haters. If you perceive her to be truly corrupt and crooked then it doesn’t matter what her supporters think or say. They’re wrong and you’re right and maybe you genuinely believe god is on your side in that way of thinking.
Here’s the truth. Your perceptions create your reality. What we need to wake up to is how insidious the TV has been as the key weapon in this war for our thoughts. We should all be aware that CNN, CNBC, Fox, the BBC, Al-Jazeera and the rest are being used as frontline perception managers in this war and the stakes are as high as they can possibly be.
Let’s never forget this; you are ultimately responsible for how you feel and yes, you could blindly follow what the TV is telling you to think because you always have that choice too. Even now. You always have a choice about how you think.
Canfield suggests there are six things you can use to keep focused on this concept:
- You still determine the quality of your life
- Apply the Success Principles to your work and life
- We all ultimately, want the same things
- Create win-win solutions for all people
- Keep joyfully pursuing your dreams
- We all need to come together to do our best work
If we really believed what our hearts know to be righteous and true, and we really became more mindful and conscious of our incredibly wonderful and beautiful ability to create through thought, we’d say and do and react and build and help and care and love in a different way. In a more meaningful way that genuinely and unselfishly benefited us all and that includes the planet and everything she nurtures.
I think Anais Nin said it best and it should be the one thing we take away from the latest US Elections … “We don’t see things the way they are, we see them the way we are.”
Love and light x
