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Men, still trying to work out the new paradigm of the #METOO movement? To begin the process, push back against misogynist, predatory, and racist candidates. Help stop the abuse of people and people’s rights now.
Off year races matter.
These off-year races are telling. It’s not that the President is failing to push his candidate through. The biggest surprise is the closeness of the races. We can do something about that.
First, let me thank the black women of Alabama for their commitment to their community and all that’s decent, for their dedication to getting out the vote and defeating Roy Moore.
Next, take a look at the Alabama exit polls compiled by the Washington Post. Overall they show. In short, just under 50% of Alabama voters, predominately white, regardless of educational level, were prepared to elect misogynist, pedophile, and racist – not so different from our current president. And these voters are invested in the Patriarchy, which often encompasses white privilege and white supremacy.
Unleashing sublimated hate
In the 2016 campaign, the male candidate for President unleashed all the sublimated hate in this country. The heretofore unspoken rose out of despicable dark recesses into the light. White people who buy into our Patriarchal society and belong to groups with demanding cultist leadership just shrugged. SHRUGGED!
Men scored higher in this regard than women. However, there were plenty of white women who voted for the Presidential candidate and Moore. Why: Because these men embody the men they lived with growing up and married. The general intolerance has been normalized over centuries. Living in the most educated country in the world has not brought many Americans into 2017 thinking.
Appalling.
Far above any another possible excuse is that we are all human beings, capable of free will. It is not okay to abuse anyone. Not children. Not women. Not people of color. Nor any animals or other living sentient creatures. None of us are more special than any other. To preach otherwise is strictly self-serving and divisive.
We’ve had a rocky first year of the most conservative, self-serving leadership ever. Every single executive order has put some part of this country up for sale and/or taken away human rights, including the right to health coverage, clean air, clean water, and protections for our most vulnerable populations.
Washington Post poll showed college-educated white people, men and women of Alabama overwhelmingly voted for Moore. These citizens have had the opportunity to learn and develop critical thinking. What happened?
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is not just a college course. It’s a skill that must be employed on a daily basis. It’s how we process information: what we teach our children, and how we support our communities individually and through all levels of government.
There are a number of reasons to abuse another person, including it may be exciting, or a need to restrain someone to save a life, or a form a manipulation, or a momentary way to achieve a goal. The reasons don’t make it right.
However, the result is that abuser while executing the abuse feels powerful and in control. This may mean feeling smarter, stronger, and/or more important. But while feelings are real, they are not the same as reality. Living a life that causes pain to others is a poor excuse for existing at all.
Your life is not about you.
Paraphrasing David Flood’s video, definitely worth watching: Your life is not about you. It’s about all the people you [positively] impact, and all the people you can [positively] influence. Your life is all the people you love, and all the people that love you. The meaning of your life comes from what you can do for those around you [home, family, community].
As human beings, we are defined by how we act, how we treat others, and how we contribute to our community and the world at large. Power taken is rule by fear. Power and leadership given and acknowledged is real true power. It shows collaboration with a first-rate team, where each member is allowed to excel in their strengths, given the tools to work, and the time and space to accomplish their goal. As a reward, everyone gets paid enough for their family to thrive.
Humankind’s abilities and contributions are not limited to any one culture.
Humankind’s abilities and contributions, which have enhanced life throughout the centuries and all over the world, are not determined by our skin color, gender preference, our culture, or our religion. Our physiological make-up – blood, bones, muscle, tissue – is the same. We feel pain, love, and sorrow. Our basic wants and needs are the same.
We are perceived at our best when those around us are also at their best.
Because the Patriarchy is supported by powerful, the message is strong. Men, who see the world differently and want to be able to change it, often suffer from an Identity Crisis: “How can I be the man as defined by the Patriarchy and still follow my own heart?”
Answer: The Patriarchy is dying. It doesn’t work. It enslaves people and ideas. It is a manipulation mechanism for mass control. The new Paradigm: be the man you want to be, that feels right to you, that embraces ideas, emotions, empathy, kindness, support, and equality for other humans. Period.
Five simple steps to embrace and promote change:
- 1. Give the power to succeed to others and you will become powerful and successful.
- 2. Stop, by word and deed, diminishing, subjugating, demeaning, or abusing humans around you. And, stop others from doing it also.
- 3. Encourage Small Humans (children) to explore their emotions, opinions, questions, and energy.so they can embrace all aspects of their personality and abilities. This shift will give them the emotional and intellectual tools to be happy loving responsible adults able to engage in and sustain fulfilling relationships.
- 4. Always have CONSENT before putting your hands on another adult human being… be it casual or inviting. Also remember, no one under eighteen can legally give CONSENT.
- 5. Finally, reject any candidate for an elected office that is immorally and/or ethically corrupt (proven or under indictment). This is not about religion. This is about right and wrong. This is not about skin color. This is about intelligence and heart. The is not about money. This is about best serving your entire community and their entire constituency with their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We, the people
We, the people, must decide for ourselves what kind of person we want to be and what kind of a world we want to live in. Together, we will make it happen. That process starts now. 2018 must be our year of change if we are going to stop our slide into a totalitarian government.
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