I can’t take it anymore! I’ve been holding my opinion throughout the political campaign, listening to the candidates and the pundits. I’ve laughed, shouted, called a few people stupid and found some unspent passion that I didn’t even know was there.
I’m really tired of Trump and the unexpected things that come out of his mouth. And I’m also tired of all the email and foundation scandal surrounding Hillary. Trump trying a new way to play the game, Hillary hoping that her way of doing business doesn’t get in the way of her success.
I will admit that my vote will go to Hillary. Trump scares me as it relates to foreign policy and his words about African-Americans most recently just make me shake my head.
We are witnessing the usual banter that goes on between candidates every four years as we go through the political campaign process. This year it just seems to be a little more interesting. But none of this is what I can’t take anymore. And I’m getting frustrated.
My frustration is because in spite of all the bantering back and forth, the promises of each candidate, the pundit speculation and criticism, and the surprising ways that the candidates promise to ‘change’ the system, none of this will make a difference. It’s all band aids.
The suggested solutions remind me of the optic of a single person attempting to plug multiple water leaks. As soon as he gets his hand over one leak another one pops up, then another and another. After a while the man doesn’t have enough limbs or fingers to stop all the leaks.
This is what I see. Lots of band aids being applied to gaping wounds and the band aids are just not enough. I’m reminded of the health advice that we receive – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The band aid cures that the politicians are suggesting represent pounds of cure that will be essentially ineffective because the root of the problem, the ounce of prevention is not being addressed.
What is the root of the problem? It has to do with our values as a nation. What is the primary value that our nation represents? Other than the ten commandments and the constitution, what do we have that we agree upon that guides our daily lives, our values, how we treat one another?
If we take our cue from TV we learn that violence is the way to solve any disagreement. This also occurs on children’s cartoons. If it is so prevalent on our entertainment screens, how can we not expect life to reflect the screen?
Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is a concept I learned four decades ago in college and confirmed by multiple studies along the way. This means that if you show people violence you are going to get violence, especially when you expose violence to young children. Children become what they are exposed to.
No band aid can heal decades of values that glamorize violence, applaud greed, align with discrimination and belittle those who were born with the least. Until politicians are willing to address the root of our growing problems as a society, no amount of band aid is going to fix a problem whose roots are decaying.
Will we ever become a society living in collaboration rather than the constant banter that divides us? Will we ever be able to engage in passionate yet evolving communication that builds upon itself rather than keeps us separated? Will we ever find a way to live in harmony, agree on common values and build a society based on something we all agree with?
The longer I live the more I doubt it.
What I do know is that I can make my life as authentic as possible. I can remove all band aids that I find and look for the root of my issues. Some roots I can adjust and others are so much a part of me that I don’t think they will ever change. For those that I can’t seem to change when I know change will be good for me, I can find ways to fill the gap and eventually remove the band aid.
It is my responsibility to live my life to the fullest. But we all have the responsibility to help our society reject violence and greed, collaborate, respect each other, raise children to be solid citizens, embrace peace and be more authentic. What will you do?
Norma Hollis is an authority on authenticity as it relates to self-awareness and communication. After researching authenticity for over 30 years from personal, professional and spiritual perspectives, Norma developed the Authenticity Assessment and the Authenticity Grid, all part of her Authentic Voice System, a process for deep self-awareness. She uses these tools to develop authentic leaders, communicators and teams as a consultant, speaker, trainer and coach. Take her Authenticity Assessment at www.AuthenticityAssessment.com.
You can reach Norma at Coaching@NormaHollis.com