Do humans all want the same things? Do we all know good from bad? When we look for explanations, for meaning, do we all find the same answers, and feel the same sense of wonder? It is my experience that we have much in common.

In Search of Unity

A critique of Our Time Now is that too many are finding too much fault and see too many divisions. Where is unity? 

It is easy for me to find My Tribe and to describe The Others. My tribe consists of the ones who believe that all species deserve a chance and we learn to operate from that principle. Often, we feel apart, too few. We despair to see the Monterey Bay’s most special places disappear to poorly planned development, approved by bureaucrats who feel that their jobs are to strike a balance. We believe humans are capable of better, but that money and politics bend to special interests, eroding the quality of life for future generations. We know what is lost in the real world of biology, deep in the fertile healthy soil and along the ancient paths of wildlife, cannot be regained.

Then there are The Many Others, who have other principles. Many are just ‘getting by.’ A great many just want to have fun. Then there are the ones who worship money above all else, and the ones who believe that technology will somehow keep us alive and well after the loss of most of Earth’s natural biosystems. I have met these people, we have spoken about such things. These people are not strangers, they are not abstract. Can anything bring us together? 

Falling Apart, Together

One unifying theme I see is a widespread belief that things are falling apart. My Tribe is unified in understanding that humans’ relationship with Earth is increasingly critically imperiled due to poor collaboration, greed, and despotism. Many others believe that humans are doomed to extinction, perhaps sooner than later. We see that a great many people believe that things have already reached a critical state, requiring absolute destruction. There is ample evidence to support all of those positions.

Somehow, through this varied cacophony of hopelessness, a stolid force has held up a belief that everything will be alright.

Coming Together, Naturally

Another unifying theme I experience is widespread trust that everything will turn out fine. We get in our cars and drive sometimes very high speeds among thousands of strangers expecting to arrive safely at our destinations. We go to the store and find almost everything we expect to buy. Our bank accounts are secure. The weather doesn’t go to wonky extremes very often. Most of us can get food and find a safe place to sleep, largely thanks to a society that works due to trust and routine. When things don’t turn out how we expect, most people believe that humans are working to make things better, that we will have solutions to the world’s great problems. There is ample evidence to support those beliefs.

Many people simultaneously hold positive beliefs alongside much more despairing ones. How do we reconcile such disparate world views? 

Discrepancies

I have noticed many people struggling with holding opposite world views, unresolved. Most notably, I’ve seen people simultaneously decrying the inhumanity of the US ‘justice’ system and yet lauding it when it turns out favorably to their beliefs…all the while with an inability to detail even rudimentary synopses of legal arguments used in judgements. I’ve also witnessed people believing governments will find a workable solution to climate change despite local, national, and international decisions to the contrary. And, individuals celebrate trickle down economics when evidence strongly contradicts such approaches. In each case, it seems to me that there has not been enough smart talk, enough curiosity, to resolve these discrepancies. We need more smart talk.

Howdy!

After the hellos and beyond the weather, we must find things to talk about to bring us together. This will take getting personal, kindly. We might practice quickly arriving at the question of ‘what do you want to be remembered for?’ Or perhaps, ‘who has done the most good for you, personally (and why)?’ Asking people about how they are feeling is a good idea, too, but perhaps go more deeply than ‘how’s it going?’ Prolonging topics and conversations is a skill I’m seeing as important.

Carry It Forward

The most liked people remember things. Politicians remember names and faces and a few facts about many people. Every social network has someone or some few who recall many more personal things. Your circle is held together by shared memories, by long conversations lasting years. We build community by carrying conversations based on memory, respect, and kind curiosity.

What if we all make it a point to have more caring conversations, taking them as far as seems right each time we see each other? What if we take those conversations to people on our periphery, to build larger communities, to make a more peaceful society, to sustain Life on Earth? We must turn those conversations over and over in our minds, curiously seeking understanding, coming up with the next questions, and bringing those cherished questions back when we reconnect. This is what will bring healing.

-this post originally published on BrattonOnline, a weekly blog featuring some of the greatest minds of California’s Monterey Bay area on current events, news, and philosophy…from the Left of Center.