WE THE PEOPLE
Living from the Inside Out
Every word I speak,
every step I take,
every name I call,
every judgment I make...
Politics encompasses everything we do and say, everything we don't do and say, and its impact on others. It's impossible to be a-political. Our lives are a statement of our politics. And actions speak louder than words. Even if I were to become a hermit, which is tempting, that would be just as powerful a statement of my politics as running for office, or feeding the hungry.
Normally, politics is defined very narrowly in a modern sense of governance. Here, I’m looking at politics much more broadly and deeply; encompassing its roots and the myriad of environments in which politics plays.
There is some sort of politics going on all of the time in all of these settings: the home, the neighborhood, the community, the city, the country, etc. it is all of these combined collectively that are used to make up the politics of the macrocosm. In these settings, politics refers to the power structures and governance (from home to country), problem solving, conflict resolution, decision making, strategic planning (informally in small groups and formally in large organizations). Politics has to do with how we welcome or discriminate, include or exclude, listen or stereotype, accept or judge, and our openness or closedness to ourselves and to others, to difference and sameness. In every setting from home to country, we can sense the culture and feel the politics; whether it be nurturing or destructive, healthy or toxic.
I see the politics of the macrocosm as an expression and reflection of the politics of the microcosm. Macrocosm politics does not define microcosm politics. But microcosm politics DOES define macrocosm politics. For example, Donald Trump being president is not the cause of so much ugliness in America today, but is rather a reflection of who we already are and have become. It has been brought out in the open by this election. Now we can better see and know the powers and influences that are in the roots of we, the people… or at least some of the people. The bible refers to it as the principalities and powers that control and define this world.
The collective is a reflection of the individual.
The political is a reflection of the personal.
The integrity of an individual and a community
comes from this alignment.
That which we see outside of ourselves
is a reflection of that which is within.
