The RNC

I watched former president Trump give his acceptance speak last night. I'm not sure how much I missed, but it sounded like his primary focus was on immigration. I'll admit, the thing that captured my attention most was the physical layout of the stage. I kept thinking, "Wow. That's a lot of screens."

Trump is an interesting phenomenon to me in that he's such a polarizing figure. The people that like him REALLY like him and the people that hate him really, REALLY hate him. I tend to shy away from politics as I'm more fascinated with existential topics than public policy. I like trying to understand why someone thinks the way they do. Get to their core values.

During my family reunion, I had the opportunity to speak with some family members about the current political climate, both right and left wing. It is interesting to me how people can believe with such conviction that the view they hold is the correct, moral one. I'll confess I'm a little envious. To have a idealogical tribe where you belong is a comfort. It gives you strength to hold your convictions fervently. I often wonder if my open-mindedness is actually a form of people-pleasing to avoid getting into an argument. But, then, I think the truth is probably in the middle and to get to the truth, one must be able to put their opinion down for a second and look at the other perspective with genuine curiosity and open-mindedness.

I heard a talk recently where the speaker was saying to really understand someone, you have to first think of them as a good person who probably has a good point to their opinion. If we go in with the mindset of "This is a valuable person just like me that is trying to make sense of the world," we're more apt to really understand what they believe and why.

One thing I feel is not helpful to problem-solving and policy-making is urgency. Slogans like "democracy is on the line" or "family values are under fire" just heighten the limbic system, disrupt critical thinking, and lead to further polarization. Whenever someone is trying to get me to panic, I think that I'm trying to be manipulated by my emotions. It's far better to remain calm and rational. All of us think we're right. But that doesn't necessarily mean the other person is wrong.

I have a tendency to dislike fundamentalism. But anti-fundamentalism can become its own form of fundamentalism. There's a technique in therapy called dialectics. It's an exercise in holding two opposite views at the same time to be able to sit in the tension of uncertainty. Rather than look at fundamentalists with disdain, maybe I can see them as providing help to form one side of a dialectical perspective. They're helping to provide a clear, concise message of one view. So maybe it's a good thing to watch Fox News *and* NPR. Use contrasts to improve understanding.