Fooling the People

In watching the Republican party continue to implode, I am reminded of an old saying: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

"Fooling the people" is what the GOP has relied on ever since they developed their "Southern Strategy," which culminated in Karl Rove's tactics of playing to the base and dirty attack politics. The problem is, once you push out all oppositional forces through deceptive tactics, and the inevitable consequences of having a dishonest heart crop up, there's no one left for the people to blame but you. Thus, fooling all of the people can only last so long.

Now that Republicans have been relegated to a near-powerless position in Washington, they have a choice - continue with the same old tactics of the past, or forge a new way forward. To me, it looks like the exact same choice that any individual has when his ego has gotten him into trouble - deny responsibility and go deeper into the illusion of happiness-through-dominance, or accept responsibility and be humble enough to learn a new way.

So far, it seems like the majority of GOP power-players have been unable to shake their dependence on the egoic strategies of division, conflation, and obfuscation, while a few of the more forward-thinkers are starting to embrace a more honest and inclusive direction. This gives me hope. While I generally don't agree with the conservative platform, I also don't want a full third of our citizens to feel disempowered, disheartened, and unhappy that their voices aren't being heard, no matter who makes up that one-third of our American pie.

Every single citizen of our country and our planet is a part of our collective soul, and as such we all suffer when they suffer. We are all diminished when anyone's voice is diminished, no matter how unpalatable we find their voice to be. That is why I hope and pray the Republicans can come out of this with a more inclusive heart, and that Democrats can let past battles die and be authentically gracious in their victory.