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Bright Spots in Our Government

March 4, 2010 //
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We've got a lot to celebrate!

Yesterday we wrote about the Heath Brothers book “Switch” and the concept of seeking large changes by focusing our attention on things that are going right, i.e. “bright spots,” and then acting to duplicate them.  Today I want to highlight one bright spot that is occurring in our government’s ability to make decisions.

Several times recently I’ve written about my concerns over the gridlock at the federal level in being able to make any substantive changes to address major issues which are country is facing.  I do believe that we can turn from the current condition of overly partisan behavior which has stalled Congress, and towards a better future where all of our representatives are focused in a positive manner upon where we are going.  However this does appear to be one of those “elephants” where we’ re not sure where to take the first bite.  Last week, I encouraged you to take your first bite, that is a simple step, by writing your representatives (see other article).

Today I want to shine a light on a report that came out in this week’s Christian Science Monitor.  Their cover story is about the angry discourse in our political system these days, and how it portrays our nation as one divided into polar extremes.  As we’ve all noted, these extremes at the Federal level have blocked our ability to institute any meaningful change.  Yet there is hope. 

States Move to Fill the Void

The side article details how state governments are stepping into the void of leadership and working to solve major problems locally.  Around the country, states have tackled and put in place legislation to deal with such divisive issues as same-sex marriages, legalization of marijuana, growth of renewable energy, new safety standards, laws related to human trafficking, and more.

What is it that allows the states to institute solutions to these major problems?  What’s different at the state level from the Federal level?  The article points at a number of reasons.  One, state representatives who attempt to get into partisan arguments which stall legislation are much more easily called to task by their constituents who are physically closer to them.  The public and advocates can be very vocal about moving their representatives out of their political box and into working towards a solution.  Two, state representatives generally have more interaction across party lines, having personal friendships with all representatives.  They may be at a different political party, but they are your neighbors.  Three, as the stakes are not quite as high at the state level, there is more room for experimenting with new solutions.

So what can we learn from the state successes that we can duplicate?

Change Begins Within

First, we should always remember that change begins at the level where we have control.  Frequently.  I’ve written here about the importance of starting with ourselves.  Any change starts from within.  Any change begins with their own thoughts, words and deeds.  We begin in our own sphere of influence, and then expand out as the potential becomes available.

Our country was formed on the basis of local governance.  Powers were granted first to the local level, and only by law delegated to higher levels.  Over time, many powers were transferred to the Federal level which originally were seen as the purview of state and local government.  Perhaps it’s time to regroup and reconsider where our change efforts should start.  Maybe collectively, our expectations on change should be directed at the local and state level.

Focus on Our Commonalities

Second, we should always remember to focus upon our commonalities before our differences.  At the local level, it’s much easier to remember that we all live in the same neighborhoods, shop at the same stores, face the same issues.  At the local level, it’s much easier to be friends, and to act first from the level of friendship rather than from the level who belongs to which political party.

Celebrate Success

Third, we should always remember to seek out successes and give more energy to them than to any perceived failures.  This is the Law of Attraction in action.  Quit “tearing things down” with negativity.  Instead, build up that which we want to see more of by celebrating it.

We have plenty of successes to celebrate. 

Mark

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Categories Politics, Uniting U.S.

How Can We Bring Our Political Leaders Together to Solve Our Problems?

February 27, 2010 //
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Imagine a Leadership that Solves Our Problems

 

I truly believe that we Americans have the best political system in the world.  The way in which it was created, appears to have been divinely inspired.  American democracy was a momentous leap in the history of humanity as it brought about a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”  It gave a say in the running of the government to all of us; it allowed for freedom of thought, speech and religion; and, it was open to “organically grow at the edge” as time and necessity required. 

I hear a lot of people concerned about the country these days.  As I’ve written here before, I have my own concerns.  What bothers me the most is not necessarily the issues within the government (which do bother me) but rather the sense of resignation that I hear from many Americans who feel they have no say in their government.  I hear a lot of whining don’t see any action.  People say, “who am I to get my voice heard when there are so many lobbyist and it appears that our representatives are owned by corporations?” 

As a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor reports, an unusually high number of elected officials in Congress are leaving at the end of this term.  Of the ones leaving, many expressed concern over the extremely high partisan nature in which business is currently being done. 

The article says.  “Senators perceived by outside groups to be working across party lines face reprisals in the polls.  Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah, and John McCain of Arizona faced strong opposition in the Republican primaries from conservatives, who challenge their bipartisan work.”  The article goes on to quote Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, who says “the ability to work across party lines has really taken a serious hit in the Senate — more than I’ve ever seen it before.  What that tells you is that any [Republican] that even ventures the idea of working with the other side, no matter how conservative they are, end up in real trouble.” 

Sen. Evan Bayh, points out that politics has always been “a bare-knuckled sport.”  But he adds, “the extremes in both parties are the most dynamic elements, and they tend to hold members to rigid litmus test, and any deviation is punished…at the end of the day, people expect us to get things done.  This constant all or nothing situation constantly leads to nothing.” 

I agree it sounds discouraging.  I too share concerns about the amount of corporate influence over Congress.  I too am concerned that the extremes in both parties seem to be the tail wagging the dog.   But I disagree that we have no power.  We can let our elected officials know what is important to us.  You can write them, you can do it right now.  I’ll make it easy for you. 

Here’s some sample text, which you can copy and modify: 

I am writing you to express my concern over the highly partisan manner in which our Congress appears to be acting.  The issues facing our country such as our economy, healthcare, the continued deployment of our troops on foreign soil, climate change and other numerous issues are so important to our future, that there is no time for our political parties to continue along the path of a win lose mentality.  This is the time to put down our partisan differences and focus on the highest needs of the American people.  Too many Americans believe they no longer have a say in how their government is run.  I disagree, and I know you do too.  You, as my elected representative, are my voice in the government.  The power you hold is instilled in you, by both our Constitution and the people you represent.  Your role and charge is not to any political party, nor to any campaign donors or lobbyist.  Your charge is much higher than that.  I ask you to do everything in your power to hold to the highest vision for our country and to work to end the partisan stalemate that prevents our country from solving these momentous problems.  Americans have a history of coming together.  Now is the time, and you hold the key.  Can you hold back the partisan pressures which face you can turn your focus towards what our country can be?  Thank you for listening and good luck. 

Here’s a website where you can go and send your note to your congressman:  Write Your Congressman

Here’s where you can write your senator (you will have to send 2 notes):  Write Your Senators

You will have to fill in a small bit of personal info, but it won’t take long.  You do have a voice and a say in your government, claim it.  Ask them to turn from where we are and towards our highest possible future for our country. 

There was another time our country was divided much more than it is now….in fact we were warring with ourselves and President Lincoln offered this hope and guidance to us:  “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” 

I know that the better angels or our nature will be touched by the needs of the present to help bridge us to that future that calls us. 

Blessings. 

Mark

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Categories Bridge Building, Culture, Politics, Uniting U.S.

Healthcare Deals and Our Greatest Ideals

February 4, 2010 //
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What are our greatest ideals?

Today I’m facing a moral dilemma. What’s more important… passing health care legislation immediately that ensures access to adequate health care for everyone in our country now… or… passing health care legislation in a little bit longer time frame but for the right reasons?

To be clear, I truly believe that every person should have access to quality affordable healthcare. This is an issue I feel so strongly about, that I wrote all my Congressional representatives in support of health care legislation. In my letter, I pointed out that our providing healthcare is a moral imperative and encouraged them to hold that vision above the needs of special interests. I still feel this way.

In my “prior life” I had worked for the Medicare agency for over 20 years and closely watched health care legislation of all types. I knew that if the Obama administration decided to make health care legislation a priority that they had a fairly short political window in which to get this done. Generally public mandates are only good until the next election two years away. I trusted that they had learned lessons from the Clinton administration’s attempt to pass health care legislation in the 1990s and would not make the same mistakes. My biggest concern, and why I wrote my letter to my congressman, was that the legislation would not stay focused on the needs of the people. Although I knew the legislation should appropriately consider the needs of the healthcare industry, I also realized that this industry is so complex and has so many special interests with a multitude of lobbyists that frequently their voices drown out the voices of the people who need the health care.

Now I have a confession to make, after spending many years watching health care legislation, I enjoyed not reading every news article about Congress’s efforts to pass the bill. Occasionally I’ve had people ask me questions about the current health care debate and I had to acknowledge that I had not immersed myself in the details. However, I did begin to wonder why the Democrats who could have crafted and passed a bill had not done so. After all, if they truly wanted to push something through on partisan lines they could’ve come up with some kind of bill that would pass muster for everyone in their party and get it through. I told myself that they were taking this more time-consuming approach because they were trying to ensure the support of the healthcare industry and create a bill that met their needs.

Of course, as we know by now, one of the reasons that no bill has been passed is because a number of Congressional representatives would not support the bill until they had won for their state some special concession often unrelated to healthcare. The current issue of “The Christian Science Monitor” (February 7, 2010) has an interesting article on the backlash to these deals. One aspect of their report truly saddens me. It outlines a number of the deals that Democratic congressmen obtained for their states to secure their vote. Although I am not naïve and recognize that this kind of bargaining has long been part of our political process, the degree to which they withheld their votes on our moral imperative to provide health care in order to seek gain for their state, shocked even me.

Here is one telling quote from Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska who came under fire for the deal he brokered for his vote (involving getting Nebraska exempted from a Federal Medicaid mandate), in his defense he stated, “this was never just about Nebraska. It was to be a placeholder to try to get [the Medicaid extension] fully funded for all states. My priorities are Nebraska first, Nebraska, always — not Nebraska only.” Sen. Nelson’s comments are representative in my opinion of the beliefs and intents of other congressmen who made agreements for their votes.

I feel compelled to mention at this point, that this is not a partisan article attacking Democrats… these political deals occur on both sides of the aisle. As I wrote about yesterday, I truly believe we need to move beyond our partisan divisiveness and move to a trans-partisan approach to our political challenges. We need to come together as a people and solve issues collectively rather than continuing to do things the old way where all too often we focus on the needs of the few over the needs of the many.

Therefore, I was really encouraged by one aspect of the Monitor’ s article. People are pushing back on their Congressional representatives for putting the needs of their individual state ahead of the needs of the entire country. Now I know some of this pushback is motivated by the Republican camp who senses a vulnerability towards their Democratic counterparts and is “stirring the pot” for future political gain. Yet beyond this is a growing group of people of all political persuasions who are seeking more transparency from their leaders. They’re tired of backroom deals, and they’re using the power of the Internet to stay informed on them. They are seeking to hold their elected representatives accountable for all the people not just a few. This is a good thing for all of us, no matter what our political beliefs.

I sense an interesting shift going on here. In the early days of our republic, the needs of the states were most often put above the needs of the country. Our Congressional branch of government was designed to support the needs of the states. The pattern of congressmen brokering deals for their state has a rich history. Historians tell us, that it was only after the Civil War that people shifted their perception from seeing us as a loose confederation of states to one country. Our worldviews continue to evolve in this direction. The people for whom we have care and concern and to whom we feel connected is growing and growing and transcending political and geographical boundaries. You can call me naïve, but I consider myself an optimist. The shift I see occurring is in the consciousness of the American public, where they are less concerned about the needs of their state than they are about the needs of their country… and their fellow countrymen. They are less concerned about “their political party winning” and more concerned about “everyone winning.”. Yes I know, there is a lot of evidence to the contrary and a lot of continuing partisan rhetoric and actions, but in my optimism I do see a shift.

Which brings me to my moral dilemma… I truly believe everybody in our country deserves access to quality healthcare simply by virtue of their humanity. Everything and everyone is interconnected. The lack of access to care for anyone affects all of us whether we realize it or not. The sooner we provide this care, the better off we will all be. So there is a part of me that wishes that this healthcare legislation had been passed. On the other hand, I truly believe that all of us including our congressmen need to evolve in our outlook on life to where our actions and choices are driven by the greatest good for the greatest number. Our care and concern for humanity must evolve beyond state boundaries and political parties.

So I’m left today seeing the gift in all of this. In spite of my desire to have immediate healthcare available to everyone, what good is coming through our country through the challenges of this failed legislation? I truly believe that the debate around healthcare and the pushback on congressional deal making is calling into our awareness thoughts of our greatest ideal as a people. Although we have a ways to go, this situation is raising our consciousness. It is one further step in the process at our realizing at the essence of our being that we are all connected and that connection transcends all human boundaries. Our next step is to release our old limiting beliefs in the way things must be done in seeking new actions and new solutions that serve everyone everywhere. That is where our greatest ideals are to be found.

Mark

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Categories Culture, Politics, Uniting U.S.

Healing Our Political Divide

February 3, 2010 //
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We can bridge our divide

My sincere wish for today’s blog is that you read it, that somehow it touches you, and that you pass it on to others.  Your actions make a difference.

Our beautiful country and our glorious planet are facing tremendous challenges.  Every day our news is filled with reports about the struggling economy, wars, natural disasters (such as the recent events in Haiti), climate change, population growth, dwindling access to fresh water, people with lack of access to affordable healthcare, and on and on.  Some days it seems that these issues are overwhelming and that time is running out on humanity to solve them.

Yet, I am an optimist.  I know that collectively we have the strength, intelligence and wisdom to solve whatever barriers we face.  But the key is we must face them together.  As Benjamin Franklin said, “we must all hang together, or assuredly we will all hang separately.”  Somewhere within each of us, we truly realize that people are better at solving common problems when they work together.

However, as we look out on the landscape of American politics it appears that many politicians and much of our media fans the flames of our differences which only serves to keep us divided.  Whether intentional or not, their left-right win-lose approach to solving our problems only pushes us further away from any real resolution.  We must move to focusing on our commonality and seeking win-win solutions that unite us as a people.

There is a lot of talk in Washington, DC these days about seeking bipartisan solutions.  Even last week, President Obama met with Republican congressional leaders during their retreat in an attempt to foster a bipartisan dialogue.  Although I was encouraged by this event, the news coverage and discussion by political pundits still tended to focus upon who won and who lost in their discussion, casting a cynical eye on whether we can truly move into bipartisan politics.

I say it’s time to move beyond bipartisan and into a new era of transpartisan politics.  What does transpartisan mean?  According to Wikipedia, this is an emerging field of political thought, which aims to negotiate between right and left towards a dualistic solution or perspective, one which tends to avoid political affiliation altogether.  This concept has been around for many years.

Now I know as you read this that there is a part of you that doesn’t want to let go of your personal political labels.  That’s fine.  Seeking to promote a transpartisan approach to the challenges facing our country and our world, doesn’t mean letting go of any of your personal political beliefs.  You can be on the right, you can be on the left, you can be in the middle.  You can be a Democrat, you can be a Republican, you can be an independent.  You can be a member of the Green Party or be a Libertarian.  You can be a Tea Party member or belong to MoveOn.org.  In fact, the vast diversity of political opinions is a good thing, as it offers a wide variety of perspectives as we approach solutions to our issues.  The more ideas we bring to the table, the better ideas we have.  It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about solving our collective problems.

So I am asking you today to join in the promotion of a new transpartisan era in American politics forged in the glorious history of our diversity of political opinions, but anchored in the awareness of our common humanity.  As our constitution reminds us in its very first words, “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union…”  Let’s all of us keep our focus on attention on living from a state of that “perfect union”.

You have the power to make a difference and to heal our political divide.  What can you do?  Here are some actions for your consideration:

  • Stop right now and Google the word “transpartisan”.  Read about the groups and organizations that are promoting this new vision of American politics.  Get ideas about how you can bring this concept into your daily actions.
  • Begin noticing when politicians or the media are promoting conflict and win-lose political options.  Let them know that you do not appreciate how they continue to foster division.  Turn away from media that contributes to dividing us as a people.
  • Support political leaders who promote transpartisan solutions.  Let them know you appreciate their seeking win-win alternatives.
  • Look for opportunities to insert transpartisan solutions into political dialogue.  Talk with others.  Write letters to the editor.
  • Seek a diversity of opinions and value all of them.  Surrounding yourself with viewpoints that only agree with the opinion you already hold limits your ability to find the best option.
  • Join and support groups are seeking transpartisan political solutions.  Friend them and support them on social marketing sites such as Facebook.
  • Be firm in your political beliefs but honor other people’s beliefs.  Seek solutions that unites us rather than divides us.

You can probably come up with your own ways and add to this list.

Finally, I hope that you agree with me that it’s time for us to move beyond politics as usual.  It’s time to move beyond putting our differences before commonalities.  It’s time to work together to tap the power of synergy to solve the challenges we face.

If you agree, please forward this note on to your friends and family and add your own comments in support of working in unity.

Mark Gilbert

Visit http://www.consciousbridge.com and view our library of articles and subscribe to our posts.

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Categories Bridge Building, Culture, Politics, Uniting U.S.
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