The Root of Division
Last week we explored the root of ideology, which is addiction to rightness because of how we define significance (as a status to be created or obtained). And I wrote about the path out, which is finding insignificance or turning from selfish ambition to wisdom as we create.
The cycle of dysfunction
Next, division follows ideology in the cycle of dysfunction. While division is the inevitable next step after choosing ideology over wisdom, it is not its root. Today’s journal entry will look at the root of division, the reason for that root, and the path out of it to freedom and relief.
The root of division in American politics is what I call The Great American Illusion.
In the way that we self-govern, the Great American Illusion is inclusion. I am writing this based on my firsthand work in American politics, in Congress, and in grassroots organizing, and in reading history.
Inclusion is our illusion because we of course are not one out of many. It’s an ideal worth pursuing—going back to the “Join, or Die” cartoon published by Benjamin Franklin in 1754. “American unity” is in fact the vision statement of Liberatus.
We can be proud of our country, but we can’t rewrite history to say that all people were included. Still, it stands to reason that any objective fault we might find with the generations before us will also be found in us by the generations after us. It’s imperative that we work to make the country more just and free so that the next generation is stronger, so they can take up the quest for the generation after them too.
But since inclusion is our illusion and therefore the root of division, why is that the case?
I am convinced inclusion is The Great American Illusion because of the ways we self-reject as humans. Henri Nouwen writes that self-rejection is when we begin to believe that we are worthless and unlovable because of how we’ve been treated, and deny the sacred voice that calls us Beloved. I am convinced that about every negative thing we could say to each other as peers is rooted in self-rejection.
When we marginalize or devalue others, I think we are also self-rejecting—even if it looks like we are over-valuing ourselves. I think we are rejecting our capability—not to live up to so-called “higher ideals”—but rather to find the relief of insignificance, which I wrote about in the previous journal entry.
And of course economic or other situational factors might play a role in what appears to be “devaluing” others, which brings me to a very necessary disclaimer: I do not think that voicing legitimate concerns up the chain of command in any power structure—including spiritual, relational, workplace, economic, caste, or racial power structures—is self-rejection. Sometimes people in these leadership or power positions fail to serve their people or value the dignity of those who have less power (control), and that should be called out. At the same time, as citizens of the United States, we are all the rulers, we are all power-holders; we are all peers—when we live up to our ideal of inclusion, and in terms of voting rights, now we do.)
So ultimately, we divide because of how we feel about ourselves. But it’s up to those who have power to understand the difference between “division” and genuine “speaking truth to power,” and by using a cliché phrase I mean “disrupting a power structure that’s inherently dividing by devaluing humanity.”
In all cases, from a Christian perspective, division—and self-rejection—is tied to our rejection of who we are called to become in Christ.
The path out of division and its root of the inclusion illusion which is created by self-rejection, including rejection of who we can become in Christ and our capability to level power structures that devalue others, is love. It’s knowing ourselves as grounded and loved, so that we can love our neighbors too. Love endures all things—and this is how we move forward free from pressures of division. In a political context, love means to collaborate or be inclusive of others and their lived experiences.
In writing all of this, a final clarifying note should be added related to the power structures noted above. It’s not okay to define someone else as not being “grounded and loved.” Someone else who appears to be chaotic or dysfunctional could be experiencing any number of life circumstances—and that moment calls for compassion. Compassion is what we can offer when we are grounded—and when our physical needs are being met. Compassion is how we obliterate power structures that devalue others. The real message of Volume One isn’t that we should care for people like asylum-seekers at the US-Mexico border who are in need because they’re needy, it’s that we are all needy and we should obliterate dehumanization of others. Finally, in America today, workers aren’t necessarily paid for the wealth they create, and food scarcity is real. We will look at wealth and poverty and the way they shape us in the next journal entry on burnout, the third aspect of the cycle of dysfunction.
The lifestyle choices that can replace and reverse the cycle of dysfunction. We can collaborate by being inclusive of others and their lived experiences.
In this article:
The Root of Division: The Great American Illusion of Inclusion
Why the the inclusion illusion is the root of division: Because of how we self-reject
The Path to Freedom: Love, which endures all things; obliterating dehumanizing power structures by collaborating, and collaborating by including and listening to the lived experiences of others
Weekly Action Point:
Take a look at the vision overview as we look to produce a biannual publication. Take time to pray in nature about your vocation or calling. Then, you can set up a monthly recurring donation as a Liberatus Advocate at the tab below. You can also write Volume Two with us by responding to a one-question interview. We will compile responses to the question about the future you imagine into a new vision asset to guide the stories that we tell, the research that we include, and the partner organizations that we fund.
Mission: Inspire American Unity
Liberatus offers inspiration for American unity in beautiful, well-researched illustrated journals, written by professionals across the political spectrum, to help us all choose unity, build endurance, and become the leaders who make our country more just and free for the next generation.
Journal Entry #145
ISSUE 021: THE BEGINNING, AGAIN — PART 4