A Plea for Post-Election Empathy From The Intellectuals

Here are links to two brilliant articles addressing the change we are seeing in our country – exemplified by our current presidential election.

Cracked: How half of America Lost its Effing Mind

HBR: What so many people don’t get about the U.S. Working Class

They are brilliant pieces.  One written before the election and one after.

I have to say that as someone who studies Culture for a living, I saw this coming. A lot of us did and have been talking about it. I just didn’t want to believe the ultimate result.  

But what Trump/Pence represents is a necessary recognition of our “shadows” (or demons) as a country. We cannot move forward as a unified population in the spirit of light and love if we don’t first acknowledge, accept and neutralize our darkness and fear.  

A lot of us have been living in an echo-chamber with our intellectual, socially forward ideals. Too few of us have actually been seeking to understand what’s at the root of the fear we fight against.  

But what IS at the root are human beings who have been carrying burdens that have existed for generations- in many cases in fairly isolated communities. They have seen all these messages from the world on media painting pictures they don’t recognize – because they don’t reflect their community. And most people are scared of what they don’t know – at least for a little while until they find a way to conquer that fear.  

And – like a lot of us on the other end – when you live in an echo chamber it’s hard to hear opposing points of view.   

What is happening in our country now is a desperate cry to be understood from every human. Let’s truly start to listen so we can move forward into the light.