Today, Oliver had a byline on HLN about getting through the political season while maintaining your sanity. We endure this “besmirched gladiatorial combat” every four years, and it begins to feel as though life is finite but political campaigns are infinite.
He reflected on three points in the article: “Don’t let the talking heads scare you,” “Look for appeals to altruism or self-interest,” and “It’s better not to divide the world into angels and devils, because your angel is someone else’s devil.”
Campaigns provide endless fodder for talking heads, be they on TV or radio or in print. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone exaggerates, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. To earn a living, they must fill countless broadcast hours or column-inches to grab people’s attention and hold on to it against all the competition. Whose scandal is today’s front-page news? What’s the latest revelation, prediction, or disaster about to befall us? The pundits become ever more extreme in their predictions of what will ensue if the “other party” gets power.
We think it’s revealing to listen for whether a campaign appeals to voters’ self-interest or altruism. Are we being reminded that we’re all in this together? Or are we promoting the development of an even more hierarchical, money-driven society? That second direction is not the purpose of our existence, and it makes for a harsh environment. When there is great poverty, we are all impoverished and the world becomes more hostile—the opposite of the way of love.
It’s important to know the issues at hand in any campaign, stripped of their political coating. The world is not all black and white, angels and devils. Remember that your angel is someone else’s devil. Issues are in the same category – not black and white, all good or all bad. Whatever became of respectful accommodation and compromise?
A great and essential unifier is laughter. We all like to laugh. Many articles and books have reminded us of the power of laughter; it’s healing and provides perspective. To get through the ongoing political season, we recommend laughing as often and as much as possible. If you aren’t in a state of extreme duress, you can see an absurdity to this life that we humans co-create. Enjoy the absurdity!
Oliver & Barbara