Dueling Dual Realities

The parallel universes of US culture PART One

While I don’t mind getting into the fray of political discussions and punditry, I find it fascinating and useful just now to take a step back and look at the U.S. political landscape through the lens of the nature of reality. I have strong views about who to vote for and the best direction going forward and I have genuine fear about what it would mean if the other candidate wins. However, I recognize that people with views polar opposite to mine also genuinely believe they are right and genuinely fear what it will mean if my candidate of choice wins.

It is as though we have large chunks of our populace who are living completely different realities, which begs the question, “What’s real and what isn’t?”

As I’ve shared before I have a family member who sees a different reality than the one I see and we are on different ends of the political spectrum. I’ve also had many conversations with folks who believe in the QAnon conspiracy, Deep State, etc. Realizing there are a lot of people experiencing that version of reality has led me to question my own, which can be an unsettling exercise. For instance, I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to addressing climate change. What if fossil fuels really aren’t a significant cause? What if we actually could continue to crank up human consumption of nature without denuding and degrading the planet? What if there really isn’t any thread of truth and goodwill running through the American government, but instead, we’re all just being manipulated by a ruling class? What if there is no spiritual reality beyond this one short physical life?

Those are uncomfortable questions for me to consider. However, doing so prompts me to do deeper research, consider new approaches, be less rigid in my interactions, and most importantly, make it a practice to notice and question my perceptions and assumptions.