It’s been awhile since I posted anything, what with life and all. But as I confer with left-leaning friends and strangers alike about the depressing state of our electoral affairs, something has been nagging at me and I want to make a suggestion. It hardly bears repeating that we Democrats are in a state of confusion and anxiety as to who to vote for in the upcoming primary. At this late date, many are still undecided. Why? Here are the most common complaints:
No one candidate seems to have all the chops necessary to win the hearts and minds of most of the voters needed to defeat Trump.
Bernie is great but the right will scare the hell out of people with his declared status as a Socialist.
Bernie’s too intractable to ever pivot to the center, as needed, to bring moderates and independents into the fold.
Elizabeth Warren’s believable claim that she will fight like hell for the working class and her impressive command of the issues are killer, but this country doesn’t seem ready for a woman president.
Medicare for All freaks too many people out.
Klobuchar is making gains, but she seems like an afterthought (or maybe I just think that!).
Mayor Pete is smart, thoughtful, deliberate, and appeals to moderates, but he’s too young, he’s gay and he’s married, which a lot of folks may not be able to deal with.
Moderate Biden often seems like he’s about to burst into angry tears as he tries not to swallow his own tongue.
Bloomberg could probably kick Trump’s fat ass, but he’s so frickin wrong, somehow, and so uninspiring that he makes people want to weep.
So, what to do? Who should you vote for? Who should I vote for? The angst, the fury, the dispiriting hopelessness is invading our lives, our thoughts, our eating habits. Cue the chocolate and our own fat asses to follow!
So here’s my suggestion: Do the right thing. Vote with your heart. This is a basic spiritual law. You cannot go wrong if you ask yourself which candidate resonates most with your beliefs and, most importantly, your feeling that he or she is the one you like best, and the right person for the job. Forget electability. Forget cynical calculations. Forget the polls (especially the polls!). Forget who’s got front-runner status. Do not deny the truth of your convictions.
My Indian teacher of 40 years, Prem Rawat, says that life is made up of moments, and that in any moment, when having to make a decision, we only have two options: joy or misery.
If I follow this advice, even though my head says to go with Bloomberg (mysery alert), I feel really good about Elizabeth Warren. I don’t agree with everything she says and does (is that even possible?), but I love her! (Cue joy.)
I have been practicing Kundalini yoga for over 10 years now, and there’s a mantra that teachers suggest we repeat silently whenever our minds want to drive us crazy with indecision, lack of focus, confusion, noise, or stress: Sat Nam. It’s Sanskrit for Truth is my Essence or Truth is my name. It’s fair to say that 20% of Americans are having a weird relationship with Truth right now; nevertheless, Truth is Truth. And Truth, like the divine universal life force, which animates human beings and all living things, is who we are. When we walk away from our Truth, we walk away from ourselves. And there’s no good reason to ever do that, not even the horror of another potential four years of blatant grift, corruption, and mind-numbing assaults on decency, kindness, compassion, and on the health of our planet.
We can’t solve the problems of “the world.” We can only save ourselves by choosing joy and acting from there. The only way we do that is by staying grounded in what we know to be true.
So, what’s the worst that could happen if, say, Bernie Sanders is the nominee? It will mean that the time for revolution is at hand. We will rally around him, warts and all, and push for the systemic changes we know are needed, while pushing back on the elements of his agenda with which we disagree, as we would with any future president. And if the candidate we loved best and voted for is not Bernie, we will move forward without having lost our soul.
Sat Nam
Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Sat Nam! Thank you for reminding me of what should be obvious but is so often self-suppressed: the heart’s wisdom is always important but never more so than right now. Truth is from the heart. Our hearts’ truth is our identity. Where else is collective wisdom going to come from? If the collective heart of America is hate and loathing, then Donald Trump will win. But we cannot afford to give up our own hearts’ wisdom. We cannot afford to give up on affirmation of our common humanity. We cannot afford to give up on love. Last night’s debate clarified some things. Bloomberg is not the good savior on a white horse. Now we have to get back to the basics.
Right on, Carine! For me, I may still go for Buttigieg. Why? He’s smart and articulate, and I’m convinced he’d be more liberal than he can be as a mayor of a city in Indiana. His political options are constrained there (a very conservative state), and, like Kirsten Gillibrand, who became much more liberal as a NY senator than she could have been as a Rep. in a very conservative part of that state, Mayor Pete would be allowed that same pivot.
Omg I so needed this. Did not quite realize how stressed I am about these primaries. I don’t know who to vote for😩
Love the way you think… and write
Reading this 5 months late is interesting. I preferred Elizabeth also, but she proceeded to be too much, to strong, for the electorate. We must always remember this country actually voted for a woman as President by a decent margin. Only the gimmick technicality of the EC denied her. Elizabeth never had the polish of HRC. Probaly only HRC’s mostly fake (BS) baggage kept her from winning in a landslide.Biden will be ok if he doesnt stumble big and just lets The Donald keep hanging himself.Biden showed great loyalty and competence under Obama.If his energy and mental toughness holds out he can win out.