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Whew! We are at the end of the political season! It has been stressful or exciting; dull or entertaining; fearful or hopeful, all depending upon your perspective. But as the dust settles, what lives on in our hearts and minds-and which gets our votes-the politics of fear or of hope?
In the past few election cycles we have witnessed an unprecedented assault on our national equanimity. Negative campaigning, attack ads, mudslinging-call it what you will. Its objective is to bring down the opponent(s) and hence improve one's own chances by raising concerns in the minds of the voters. This is nothing new. History tells us that negative campaigning has always been part of the American political fabric to some degree. But I think that we have reached new heights in the ability to unsettle the minds of American voters, if for no other reason than for the sheer amount of money, media and time devoted to it. There are very smart people with many powerful tools to make us angry and afraid. They are going to succeed at it.
You might wonder why I bring this up in a blog devoted to resilience and relief from anxiety. Why would a holistic psychiatrist wade into the arena of politics? It is because there are consequences to our actions, and I believe that the intentional manipulation of our collective fear is one of the many reasons why Americans are suffering from an epidemic of anxiety and depression. I also believe that the inflaming of fear or anger makes it even harder for us as a nation to confront the legitimate concerns of which we are all too aware. A frightened or angry nation is not a very resilient one.
I can understand why politicos seek to create such worry among the electorate, and why it will continue for the foreseeable future-because it works. It gets people elected. If it became ineffective, the practice would stop. But why does it work so well?
Perhaps it works because our brains are so strongly wired for fear. Like the experience of physical pain, the sensing of fear is essential to our survival. It is therefore very easy to activate fear and the stress response. But the problem that so many of us have with stress is not simply because life is stressful. The damage to our body comes when we are unable to shut down the stress response after the threat has subsided. Is the body politic really so different? When we are constantly bombarded by fearful messages, they become woven into our minds. The political machines which intentionally engendered collective fear may find that it is not so easy to shut it down again.
What, then, can we do?
There is a Native American story that points to the possibility of a wiser response on our part:
A young boy of about 5 years of age spends time with his grandfather, a tribal elder, in the summers. The boy adores his grandfather, and he watches him closely as he goes about his day. The boy notices that each morning, near sunrise, the old man kneels before his simple altar and removes his necklace. After a few minutes of silence, he puts the necklace on and goes about his day. Each evening, at sunset, he repeats the ritual.
After a few days, the boy can no longer contain his curiosity. He asks, "Grandfather, what is the necklace that you take on and off each day, and what are you doing when you are silent?"
His grandfather shows his necklace to the boy and replies, "You see here the heads of two wolves, one good and the other bad. The good wolf is kind and generous and is motivated by love and concern for the whole community. The other wolf cares only for himself. He is driven by fear, and seeks his own good even if it is at the expense of others. I sit quietly with the ancestors to remember about these two wolves."
"Why do you need to remember this?" asks the boy.
"Because both live in each of us, and they are fighting a great battle for control of us."
Wide-eyed, the boy asks: "Which one will win, grandfather?"
The elder smiles and says, "The one we feed the most."
Modern political campaigns know that the one that wins is whichever one we feed the most. Unfortunately, we have not come to grips with the lasting consequences that come from such a short-term vision. Fear might win an election, but at what cost? So long as fear and its close cousin anger continue to drive us, we will not be effective in facing our very real problems. That is true whether we are talking about ourselves as individuals or as a nation. We face enormous issues together, and we desperately need a unity of purpose. That is impossible when we are divided by fear.
I take heart in knowing that fear and the stress response, while essential, are fairly primitive reactions on the part of our bodies and brains. They can be over-ridden by the higher parts of the brain. We humans are capable of reason and learning; compassion and wisdom; love and caring-not just for those closest to us, but for our whole community, however large we define it.
We need leaders who can over-ride our baser instincts and unite us not just with hope, but also with determined action toward resolving those things that we all know must be faced. We yearn for such leaders, but we must do more. We must turn inward to feed the good wolf inside each one of us, and we need to do so patiently and often. And we must actively find and support those leaders who show the courage and vision to speak to our own wiser selves. We must not become mired in the fear or anger of the moment, but remain capable of being inspired and drawn with purpose toward a healthier future for all.
We must be mindful of that which we are feeding, both within our individual and our collective minds.
