Our Division Benefits Those In Power

Friends.

Our leaders? I really don’t think all this talk of unity and Oneness works in favor of those who hold all the power.

Like.

If you live in the US (like me), unity and Oneness and bridge building and being curious about the ideas/views/etc. held by those who are deemed “the other” - these aren’t topics you’re likely to hear hit the Senate floor in Washingon.

AND.

I think (this is just me, my observation/conclusions - no need to agree) that those in power are using everything they have at their disposal to keep us divided so that “we” hate “them” and “they” hate “us” and “we” see “them” as the “enemy” and put all of our trust in THAT leader or THAT group or THAT candidate to make it all better.

Right?

I mean, think about it - leaders and elected officials benefit when those of us who vote and work and live “under them” are divided. Our division fuels their success.

Why?

Because when one candidate can demonize another candidate along with all of that other candidate’s followers and position that candidate and all of their followers as the “problem”, they can (then) position themselves and their followers as the “solution” to the “problem” and come out on top.

And this?

This, I think, is why when we turn to the media (whether it’s a news outlet or social media platform or whatever) - we are being shown the most divisive information that is spun in such a way that it is made to appear even more divisive than it already is.

In other words, what we’re shown is curated to …

Make us ANGRY.

Make us HATE them.

Make us see NO GOOD in them.

Make us see them as THE PROBLEM.

AND.

There are times.

(And I’ve seen this in action, it happens.)

That we are told ONLY the parts of the story that will fill us with outrage while the parts of the story that will make us feel empathy are withheld, only to be found if we go looking for the full story.

Like.

Sometimes we’re only shown a 30 second clip of a 60 minute segment or a 2 line blurb of a 5 page speech or the reactions of people on X or Threads or Facebook or Truth Social to what this particular candidate said or did or whatever.

Rarely are we given the whole story.

Rarely are we given all the pieces to the jigsaw puzzle.

Rarely are we told that there’s more to the story that we’re being told.

(**SIDE NOTE: no need to remind me, I know - sometimes the whole story is bad. Sometimes the full jigsaw puzzle is ugly. Sometimes the “more” to the story makes the story even worse. Yes, I realize: sometimes. MANY times. the story is just as bad as it seems. I’m not talking about that here. Instead, I’m referring to the countless stories that we’re only told bits and pieces of, the bits and pieces that are curated to make us feel anger, outrage, hate, judgement, etc.)

This is the meaning behind the old phrase, “divide and conquer”, isn’t it? The best way to WIN is to create division and the more division you can create and the more fear you can generate about “the other” and the more chaos you can orcastrate.

Well.

The better chance you have of people casting their vote behind you to be the savior, the one who can make it all better.

“This guy knows what he’s talking about.”

“This woman is going to get things done.”

“This person sees the real problem and knows the real solution.”

And so I’m in this place in my journey now (again - this is my journey, it doesn’t need to be yours - I respect your journey, please respect mine in the comments/emails/DMs/etc) where I’m incredibly leery and all too aware that the material I’m being presented with by the media and the algorithms that are at the base of all of our scoial media platforms are all working overtime with the aim of fanning division into flame so that those in power can remain in power and keep the power.

Because.

Honestly?

If we were to move past our division. If we were to genuinely come together. If we were to awaken to how connected we really are. If we were to start truly caring for our neighbors and our world and one another and ourselves. If we were to finally realize that we’re all small waves that are part of a much, much larger Ocean.

Phew.

I mean.

Imagine how everything (Every.Single.Thing) would change.

That said, these days I don’t read the news. I don’t listen to the news. When I see “that candidate” or “that leader” or whatever, I keep scrolling.

And before you ask - no, I’m not living in the dark; but yes, it does make me a it unaware which (for me) has been a GOOD and interesting thing.

Why?

Because when I hear someone say, “did you hear about ______ and what ______ had to say? Can you BELIEVE THIS?!”, I can honestly say, “oh no - I haven’t heard. Tell me more. Tell me why you’re upset. Tell me where you heard this from.”

And then.

I listen.

I ask more questions.

I go do my own research to find our more.

OH.

And a good way to find out more, to do some research? I’ve been using ChatGPT lately - not so much to have AI write things for me (I like to write my own way and I think my way is better than ChatGPT - HA!), but to point me to a wide variety of resources.

For instance.

Did you know? - you can open ChatGPT on your phone or computer or whatever and type in, “what did Donald Trump say about ____” and ChatGPT will tell you what he said and then give you the links to 5, 10, 15 different places on the Internet that talk about that thing that Donald Trump said. Some sources seem balanced, while others seem more weighted towards one side or the other.

BUT.

You are presented with lots of different articles from lots of different places to begin doing your own research on the topic.

And that?

Honestly?

Feels like a much better approach to important topics than seeing someone outraged on social media, being moved by their outrage, becoming outraged myself … all the while having very few (if any) details about what I’m actually outraged about.

This new approach (new for me, anyways) has forced me to …

Be more curious.

Ask more questions.

Not jump to reactions because I’m triggered by the “name” or “topic” associated with the story - Trump, Harris, Immigration, Guns, etc.

… And try to become more informed so that if something does make me outraged, it makes me outraged for valid, real, actual reasons that I can vocalize, articulate, explain, and provide sources for.

Here’s an example. The other day I overheard someone at the grocery story talking about an executive order that Trump signed that would limit IVF treatments. I hadn’t heard anything about it (for reasons I stated above) so when I got home I opened ChatGPT on my computer, asked a question, and was presented with a bunch of sources (screenshot below). Some info came from the NY Post, some from the Guardian, other places … but I felt like I was getting a wide variety of insights from various places on the political spectrum that helped me better understand the order and (therefore) formulate an informed opinion.

Anyways, my friends.

My point is that we live in a world with powerful people who (I think) benefit from keeping us divided. And so pursuing Oneness? Unity? Trying to be more curious about “the other”? Refusing to demonize and shame and see one candidate or group as the Savior and the other as the Devil? These are acts of resistance.

And so, may we resist.

Much love,

PS - I wrote more about these ideas in a previous post, “WHAT IF WE’RE WRONG ABOUT THEM?” The ideas here are an extension of the ideas I shared there.

Glenn Siepert