Category Archives: politics

Politics

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Ooooooooo [rubbing palms together ambitiously]… HOW to write THIS one? [devious facial expression] I feel lighthearted about it and don’t want to offend anyone by minimizing issues and work that mean so much to them. I write with respect.

Here we go.

How do I do politics well already?
–I have stopped watching the news and reading political opinion. I am informed enough and much less agitated and confrontational. This gives me the space to consider current events from the more distant standpoint of my core values and how I wish for our systems to work optimally, rather than getting swept up in the the latest bombastic thing someone said or last atrocity perpetrated by one armed force or another. It is NOT that I feel no empathy or compassion for those affected. When moved, I look for and support agencies that advance causes I care about.
–In the workplace, I play no games. Honestly I don’t even know what the games are. I show up all me, all in, straight forward. I am honest, respectful, and diplomatic. I give feedback based on objective facts and how I interpret them, rather than assuming that my perceptions are facts themselves. I ask for feedback often. I hold relationships first and check in regularly for connection and shared goals.
–I seek and lead conversations around disagreement. I ask a lot of open ended questions based on curiosity more than judgment (imperfectly, but I try my best), and I usually end up listening more than speaking. I get riled up about some things, but even then I my rants are short and core values based, and I can still engage productively. I always learn something valuable in these conversations.

How could I do better?
–I guess I could be more ‘active’? I have written postcards to voters in the past, donated to candidates and officials whom I believe do good. Right now other things take precedence; my attention is fininte.
–When I engage in politics again, I plan to improve my local issue and personnel awareness. Because that is where my attention and action is likely to have more impact.
–When I start consuming political media again, I will be more discerning and look for long form pieces and sources that are clear and open about their biases, and do my best to read widely and divergently.

How does society do politics well already?
Baaaahahahahahaaaaaaaaa Sometimes ya just gotta laugh, if only to keep from crying. Okay, okay, let’s see—

Shit still does get done. We may complain every day and rail at the most visible and anonymous folks who ‘run’ things. But when I look around, roads get repaired. People have healthcare (imperfect and frustrating as it so often is). Decisions get made, rules change, and the changes get executed. Then they change back and that gets executed, too. We are able to move–the world does function.

We haven’t descended into total anarchy yet. For most people I know, daily life is still pretty routine, despite the broad and heavy sense of global doom and gloom. It’s not easy, and there are definitely health consequences for many, but life as we know it is not fundamentally threatened. Huh. The more I think about it the more paradoxical it all feels–the sky is falling and life goes on as usual. So there must still be hope, right?

How can we do better?
Holy cow, this may be the most optimistic thing I write all month:

Policy ahead of Power. Here is where the electorate needs to step up and act in a concerted countermovement. We need candidates to nominate and elect who found their campaigns on what they will do for the people, the causes they are for, ahead of those who can only criticize and belittle the ‘other side’ the most derisively, fanning our basest ‘us vs them’ emotional flames. We must understand that in order to get shit done, leaders need excellent interpersonal and communication skills. We need negotiators in office, not mercenaries and tyrants. We need people driven by ideals, not status, greed, or power.

Elevate and reinforce civic participation. In order for the electorate to do this, it needs to practice staying informed. Who has time for that? We need systems that make it easier:
—Transparency and ready access to real, relevant information. This is done well by some and not others. Voting records, brief memos on rationale, clear and consistent communication on relevant issues are all fundamental requirements for effective political leadership. Campaign finance needs to live completely in the light, full stop.
–Hold the press and media accountable. Easier said than done, and profoundly important. “Fake news” is such an incendiary phrase anymore; then again, if we consume less ‘news’ in general and engage in more thoughtful discussion not around daily events and soundbites but actual political ideals and execution of policy in daily life, maybe we can train ourselves into elevated conversations? So, huh, would that diminish the relevance of the media itself? Or maybe shift its focus from click bait to thoughtful discourse? **shudder**
Like I said, I may be high on optimism right this minute…
–Make it easier to vote: national holiday, longer voting hours, whatever it takes–lower the threshhold, get more people informed and participating.

STOP engaging in and amplifying ad hominem. Just stop. When Politician X spews inflammatory accusations, personal attacks, and otherwise acts out, ignore it. Give it no platform. Every time an obnoxious behavior garners clicks, clips, broadcasts, and engagement, the behavior is reinforced and will be repeated. When your kid throws a tantrum, what’s the best way to get them to stop? Ignore them. When they display good manners and healthy skills? Praise them. Adults are no different–how many times in the past week have you compared a public figure to a child? Media and citizens reinforce public political behaviors with attention and amplification. If we do this more strictly and only for actions and words that advance ideals and policy, and not those that dehumanize and incite, our politics could shift more toward productivity.

Breathe deep and take the long view. Yes, landmark decisions and legislation change our lives quickly. And yet, human history does not move linearly. There will always be tension and exchange between divergent and opposing ideals and forces. This is not necessarily a bad thing; how we manage the tension matters most. Mutual respect, shared humanity and core values, honesty, civility, effective interpersonal skills–these are key for a peaceful, productive society, from elected leaders to the general public, even when the majority of conflicts will never actually be ‘resolved’–just like marriage! We will all always be in relationship forever, we humans, and no ‘side’ will ever vanquish any ‘other’. We’ll all be better off if we learn now how to interact more effectively, in private and public alike.

Huh. Looks like I still have a lot of thoughts about how things could be much better on a large scale. I need to write this book, darn it.

Flexibility

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Speaking of… I write this from the emergency department, where Daughter is now observed for an anphylactic allergic food reaction (she’s okay now). *sigh* We do what we’ gotta do–will be here at least another 4 hours.

How do I already do flexibility well?
–I have an agile mind. It freezes occasionally, but most of the time I can assess a fluid situation and work out effective solutions on the fly. Every day in executive health is different and unique, with schedule disruptions from new symptoms, exam findings, test results, and events in other departments. The team, physicians and staff alike, move like gears shifting and sliding amongst one another, keeping the machine running as smoothly as possible.
–I have a low threshold to question and challenge ‘how we have always done’ something, especially when it’s no longer relevant or useful. This includes assessing my default assumptions, especially negative ones, about people. I don’t always do this readily, but more often now than before.
–I can change personal plans without much distress, as long as circumstances allow. I am seldom married to any given itinerary; my greatest sadness is when long awaited meetings with loved ones fall through.

How could I do better?
–I know there are situations where I am rigid, attached to my default assumptions, and not aware. Even when I am aware, I still resist flexing. I’m human. *sigh* So: more mindfulness… Polarity management… Perspective taking… Hmmm… I’m really glad I’ve written these posts this month–they will be a helpful handbook of skills and reminders going forward.
–Sometimes I may be too flexible, which can lead to indecisiveness and meandering. Wide collaboration and flat leadership hierarchy style have pitfalls. I think this is a minor weakness, though. I can sense pretty well when I need to decide something; and since most decisions are two-way doors, my openness to flexibility is still rewarded.

How are we already collectively flexible?

Freedom of expression; innovation. Conflicting opinions notwithstanding, American culture is pretty tolerant of widely varying manifestations of individual and group identity. We are relatively open, I think, to new ideas and creativity. We may not be the most flexible or open, but I think the number of innovations in many domains that originate in the US is a testament to our ability to flex…in technical and commercial areas more than social, in my non-evidence-based observation.

How could we do flexibility better together?

Cull bureaucracy. This feels like chasing a better balance between centralized and decentralized government/management, affording better local responses to acutely changing circumstances and needs. How would this work? Off the top of my head:
–Crystal clear vision, mission, values, goals common to and bought in by all locales
–Concrete, relevant, direct, attributable, and achievable metrics–adjusted to local specifics and still clearly aligned with global mission/goals
–Effective accountability and regular assessment, feedback and remediation as needed
–Balanced interdependence between nodes of the system; stakes for each unit in each other unit’s success

Promote experimentation, pilots, start ups. We facilitate flexibility when creativity and innovation is low risk and low cost. Manage sunk cost biases, apply iterative learning, practice seeing more doors that swing two ways. Collaborate and integrate between disciplines.

Stop punishing the masses for transgressions of the few. Regulation is complex. At least in medicine, the vast majority of practitioners make an honest living, making occasional accounting mistakes. My impression is that sporadic examples of fraud, admitedly severe, incite layers of global stricture on billing and verification, strangling all of us with at least as much time spent on paperwork as on face to face patient care, fueling burnout and alienating patients from their care providers. David French has written that it is not the severity of punishment that deters crime; it is the assuredness of it. I will park illegally if I think I won’t get caught, even if the ticket is $100. But if I know I’ll be charged $20 every time I do it, I won’t. So, maximize accountability and optimize systems for members to self-regulate effectively.

I hope you all had a Thanksgiving that fulfilled at least some hopes of communion, connection, and joy. Living with high risk medical conditions, when sudden and severe episodes trigger acute, indiscriminate, and impactful changes in plans, makes us even more flexible than we may already be. It’s useful, if painful, training. I am always grateful to walk out intact on the other side.

Commitment

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Okay friends, last third of the month! How’ ya doin’, bored to tears? I’m having a BLAST! 😀
This is such good training for a daily writing discipline, sitting down with a skeleton plan and only a little flesh, healthy but stringy. Each writing session lifts some weight, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, and over time muscle appears, strengthening some part of a larger body of message. Ooo, maybe I can set a mental vision for the BFHP (book)… acorn to oak tree? Clark Kent boy to teen to Superman? 7th grade to varsity volleyball team? Or ooo, Queen Lenora from Emma Chase’s Royally Series Collection–princess to queen great grandmama… Anyway, motivation and energy to complete the book has persisted and accelerated for about five months now, which is exponentially more than at anytime in the last 8 years. Yay! So, onward, my peeps, 8 more to go and beyond!

How do I commit well already?
–It may take me a long time, but once I decide to do something, I usually follow through. Piano, med school, marriage, parenthood, leadership, blog, and now book. When one commitment conflicts with another (eg leadership vs parenting in 2021), I can usually prioritize pretty easily.
–I have clarity about my commitments. I reconcile them with core values, ethics, goals, relationships, and circumstances.

How could I commit better going forward?
–Focus. I was just thinking today how Husband has very focused and stable interests. Me, I have serial obsessions, often more than one at a time… A victim of FOMO, some might call me. But everything is just so interesting!! So I can essentialize; I’ll have to if I want to get this book written.
–Establish routines. Ethos workouts are now a solid 2-3 sessions per week, on set days and times with flexibility as needed. I have a bedtime alarm set, and Steve West on the Sleepiest app waiting to tell me a story or guide a meditation, so I’m motivated to get to bed, yay! Ooo, I could find set times to indulge in social media…FB and IG limits, here we come, boo hoo. It’s a looooong shot, and probably worth another try…
—Accountability. Posting a writing photo on IG every Sunday and then logging daily activity for the following week in the comments has been fun! I can look at my IG gallery and see the laptop with a different mug each time, and I look forward to reporting. My mugs are meaningful, and now I get to share them. I’m keeping a public log, but it’s not in anybody’s face–so it’s mostly for me and I also know anyone can call me out. I think it could work!

How does society do commitment well?
Honestly having a hard time with this one, my friends. Trying to think of what, exactly, we are committed to, as a collective? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? How does that manifest, for everybody? For every potential value or goal that comes to mind, I can think of some who are committed and others who oppose–or at least apparently so. These days it feels like the only thing we are collectively committed to is being right, proving others wrong, and winning whatever fight engages our attention at the moment.

So maybe we need to scale down the question? What commitments do you and your overlapping cohorts uphold well right now? What are you committed for and/or against? What are your committed objectives, short and long term? Why? At the end of your life, how will you be at peace with your commitments? With society’s?

…Then again, maybe science? Medicine? Social programs? Diplomacy? Justice? Lots of people are committed to these things, which I admire. So maybe I need to reframe–maybe it’s too optimistic to expect, or even wish for, any universally shared collective commitments?

How could we do better together?
But maybe it’s not too optimistic. At the end of the day I sincerely believe we all want the same things for ourselves, and for one another, to varying degrees. Right now it seems like too many people tell the story that the pie is too small, and if someone else gets more then I and mine necessarily get less. That’s an oversimplification, but it’s not wrong–except in premise–humans are remarkably creative; we can all get what we need. There have been historical periods of shared collective commitment, such as World War II and post-911 (somewhat). The Civil War and 1960s, and now, feel like epitome periods of division.

25% of the way through The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe, written in 1997, I actually feel better about the future of humanity than I did last week. I’ve been thinking that we are all now headed straight to our inevitable collective demise, but these authors posit that every Unraveling/Crisis period feels like that, and we always come out of it into a High and then an Awakening, in recurring cycles about every 80-100 years:

“First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history.
“Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.”

I withhold judgment on the authors’ conclusions so far, but their thesis seems plausible…

In the end, I suppose we each/all must decide what goals, activities, etc. are worth our precious time, energy, and resources, both individually and collectively. I have no illusions of actual world peace. I’d just like a little less hard core, mindless, violent, local and global conflict, maybe in my lifetime? So: What commitments can we each and all make, in our nested and overlapping cohorts and communities, to get closer to that?