Or, are progressives in NWA nervous about their neighbors?
This week I got an email from an Omni friend who lives on Beaver Lake. Boaters for Trump have taken over the quiet cove where she lives, and since her yard has one of the few “Biden-Harris” signs in the neighborhood, they focus a lot of angst in her direction. It’s getting more difficult all the time. I’m feeling for her. And her story has brought home the tension ratcheting up all over the country.
It makes me very curious about how other Omni folks are coping as we come down to the wire on a difficult four year stretch.
What is the situation in your neighborhood? Please share your observations here, folks, by taking this little poll. You can probably finish it in 3 minutes, unless you’ve got lots of thoughts on the topic. I’m still learning how to work these surveys, so please forgive me if it works badly.
Are progressives in Northwest Arkansas nervous about their neighbors?
Survey Monkey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X63YD83
(Please rate the questions from 1 to 5 with 1 = low and 5 = high)
This brings up thoughts of what safety and sanctuary mean amidst this kind of craziness. If you were under some kind of attack have you ever wondered how you’d choose to protect yourself or someone you love? And who you would choose to protect? After my friend’s story I’m wondering.
Against our will we’ve been trapped in “our side” and “their side.” Even though my heart knows “their side” is just as human as “our side” I can’t in good conscience acquiesce to the things they value, even to be polite. Especially that thing about adoration of strong authority. Or that the other side is less than human. Or that violence is the answer. What is the twisted, tortured thread to resolution of this disagreement? It is up to us to untangle this mess, but where do we begin?
It appears that we have an opportunity to explore this whether we want to or not. Remember that line in Lord of the Rings, when Frodo says “I wish it need not have happened in my time…” and Gandalf replies “… that’s not for us to decide. All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that’s given us.” It’d be so nice if the Gandalf’s of the universe would come forth right now.
We’ve moved into epic times. To keep our humanity radiantly alive is the only success available to us. And it’s a goal worthy of our life energy. If we have to be our own Gandalf’s, we’ll just have to do it. I’m pretty sure we can. That may be less than a ringing endorsement but it’s the human condition right now.
I think that a better way to approach this topic in a peaceful manner is to encourage dialogue between Trump supporters and Biden supporters. The way you are dealing with this is encouraging fear. I know people who are afraid to tell pollsters they support Trump because of what Black Lives Matter members and Antifa members have done to Trump supporters, including children.
I have been verbally attacked by Trump-haters, and I have been told by one friend that I should not mention any kind of support of Trump to one of her friends. She said he has threatened to be violent with Trump supporters.
I want to encourage you to build bridges, rather than divisions.
It sounds like it’s been hard as hard for you to communicate with the “other side” as is has for me Patricia. I agree that building bridges is better than walls and it has to be done someday. Hoping it’ll be soon.
Thanks for expressing how many of us feel and for giving us a place to share how it is for us. Tensions are definitely high! I have good days when I can find a glimmer of hope and then there are the bad days when I am gripped with fear for the near future with thoughts of civil war, starvation, & desperate people! I fear facism is close at hand and grieve not knowing how we will we survive it; how will our planet survive it, when the focus is not on “cleaning up our act”? https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/09/11/the-u-s-is-borrowing-its-way-to-fascism/
Each evening, I try to write three things/people/events I am grateful for and my needs that were met by them. This helps me focus on the important things in my life. This ritual calms me.
You asked about neighbors. I am presently staying in a rural neighborhood near Elkins. The neighbors practice shooting their guns on a regular basis. I can’t see their houses from where I am, but I can certainly hear the gun shots at various times of the week. Some of the neighbors believe that loading up on amunition is a good idea because they will need to protect themselves from people of color and immigrants. They believe there are riots in the cities and they will eventually spread across the country. I find this to be insane thnking but these people are not insane people! I am so angry at the people who have spread misinformation and created immense fear and division between us. The rich/1% have made up false enemies so we will keep our eyes from the truth about the capitalistic greed that is destroying life.
I appreciate your words about finding the humanity in everyone. I believe if we were in small groups and had the skills to listen to each other, we would find that we want most of the same things; we just have different ideas about how to get there. However, there are facilitation methods which, if used effectively, can bring people of different views to agreements on how to get there.
I like the Tolkien lines you shared. I am trying to learn all I can about ways to be together with others in collaborative, cooperative way so I can be ready when new ways are being sought by others. (I don’t see it happening until we absolutely have to. The pandemic has brought some rethinking about how we can support each other, which is good. Glimmers of hope.)
Most recently I have been working on recognizing and shedding the patriarchal ways of thinking that have been ingrained in me since childhood and in our society for thousands of years! Starting with myself, learning nonviolent ways to “be”; shedding right/wrong thinking which is the result of domination and control. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/acquired-spontaneity/201708/why-patriarchy-is-not-about-men
I am “dancing as fast as I can” right now as I am trying to learn and share what I know about peace, nonviolence, and rethinking organizational structures to help those who will be here after I am gone.
Love, hope, and peace to all!
Thanks for the thoughtful reply Terry. I know that reflects what a lot of us are thinking and feeling right now.