It's been another week marred by an all too familiar tragedy here in the States. Another mass shooting has claimed the lives of children and adults.
I am not going to talk much about gun control or the insanity of our hands off policy towards firearms in this country. I wrote that post last year. There is no need to repeat myself. What I am going to focus on is how we are being manipulated into boxes. The attempt to frame this issue by vested interests (cough...NRA) is that any action is an attempt to take guns away from everyone. So it puts any sort of gun control into a defensive crouch having to say no we aren't interested in disarming most of you. This has actually pushed me into an extreme myself of no guns at all. Of course that is what the tactic is designed to do, push people to the extremes, especially the other side. That way you can yell, "You see I knew that's what they really wanted the whole time. I was right!"
As human beings we often fall into the trap of 'either or' thinking. You are either with me or against me, you are either anti abortion or pro abortion, you are either anti drugs or a junkie, or the tired current model of you're either for no limits on firearms or you're trying to take away everyone's guns. This my way or the highway thinking ends all of us stranded by the side of the road going nowhere. I have found when faced with a problem there is often a third solution that is neither of the extremes, but better than either approach. See just like you I want things my way. That works if I am absolute ruler of reality and all are my subjects and obedient to my will. This has yet to occur in my lifetime. Sometimes I do get my way, but often I do not. However there is more than just my way or your way, there is our way. Considering how interconnected we are in this digital world we are in dire need of "our way."
I think as a society particularly here in the U.S. we've forgotten how to listen to one another. We are so concerned with getting our own way, that there is no collective way. So here we sit with another fresh tragedy to bring our differences to the forefront. I don't believe this is inevitable. What I and all of us must do is to realize that there must be some other way that is neither your way nor my way, but a way that works for all of us. (Well most of us). Whenever I've been caught between two unpleasant extremes when it seemed there were only two options I always found a third way. So I guess this week what I am saying is there is always a third option, that neither side sees until they look for it.
So why am I telling you this? Well if you live in the States you desperately need to hear it. If you live elsewhere perhaps you can apply this third way thinking to some personal problem. Simply start with the conviction that there has to be another way besides these two. Once you begin to operate under that frame of mind you'll be surprised at what presents itself to you. Try it out after all, there is no time like the present.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
No comments:
Post a Comment