The US Election and the Real Energy Crisis in America

It is with a sigh of relief (of sorts) that I see the current election campaign coming to an end in America.

It has been the most partisan, nastiest, information-less, information-twisting, spin-filled, hate-filled campaign that I have witnessed in my stay on this planet.

This campaign has truly brought out the best and the worst in many citizens in the great nation that is the United States of America.

It is also a reminder to me of the real energy crisis in America.

I hear that we need to be more energy-independent, that we will have an energy crisis if we don’t figure out more ways to be self-sustaining.

However, the real energy crisis is in how much negativity we are embracing and spreading, in this election campaign and in Life in general.

A shortage of petrol is not our issue.

A surplus of vitriol is the issue.

And as long as we drive our selfish wants and needs first and foremost and we are willing to beat people physically or verbally in order to drive our agenda with little respect for the opinions, ideas and needs of others, our situation will continue to get worse and not better.

“Democrat or Republican – A Difference Not It Makes” – Yoda

As Americans go to the polls today, it doesn’t matter if the winner is Democrat or Republican.

To think that one man with a few specific party ideals will magically transform the nation overnight is naive and dangerous.

2008 should have taught people this.

The country has an inertia that cannot be changed by the actions of a few people on the Hill.

It’s like a swimmer deciding that they can change the direction of a cruise ship by swimming up to it and pushing against the bow with their pinkie finger.

What matters is that the winner, either the incumbent or the challenger, put personal and party needs behind them and do what is right for the nation.

And that we lay our personal wants and needs aside, stop yelling and hurling insults at each other and work together with our lawmakers, regardless of party affiliation, to create a stronger nation and a stronger world.

Because if we don’t, our future looks far more uncertain than our present and may include some very real, very frightening scenarios.

Are you prepared to allow that to happen?

Are you willing to condemn your children to such a future – a future that you created because you couldn’t get past your disdain for the beliefs of your countryman in order to create a better world?

I didn’t think so.

But words are cheap.

Let your actions be so loud that no one can hear what you are saying.

Why wait for others to create a better world and be constantly disappointed in their efforts when we have a better chance to create one by working together and holding each other accountable and responsible for a better result?

It’s not up to “them” to create a better world.

It’s up to us.

All of us.

Create a great day – because merely having one is too passive an experience.

And if you live in America, get out and vote.  It is a privilege that many in the world will never have the opportunity to experience.

A privilege that should be the foundation of something to build a brighter future upon instead of something that divides us.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

Mitt Romney, Bullies and Red Herrings

As news of acts of alleged bullying carried out by Mitt Romney almost fifty years ago makes its way through the media, once again we set an example to our children by demonstrating that acts of hatred in our past are best answered by messages of vehement hatred in the present.

And once again, we never have a dialog around the real issues since getting our opinion (especially negative ones) expressed is more important than getting to core truths.

Especially if the core truths ring closer to home than many of us want to admit.

As a kid growing up just outside St. John’s, Newfoundland, I was bullied throughout school and college.  In the early years, it was the typical pushing and shoving, the verbal taunts and the occasional torn item of clothing and such.  I lived in fear of my bullies and did everything I could to avoid situations where they would be.

In high school (Queen Elizabeth Regional High School in Foxtrap), the bullying took on a new flavor.  From 1978 to 1981, I was routinely mock raped at the hands of fellow male classmates, usually in the changing room prior to and after gym class.

In these mock rapes, seven or eight boys would hold me down while others would take turns “humping me”.  Sorry – there is no easier, less graphic way of describing it.

I never reported it to anyone – it was too humiliating to admit it and this is the first time I have admitted it publicly.

The boys who did this to me for years are now well-known, successful businessmen in St. John’s, Newfoundland and area.

Don’t worry guys – I’m not about to out you.  Revenge is not a dish that I savor.

As a young boy (and young man), I felt many emotions – fear, shame, anger – all tangled up in a ball that took a lot of years to unravel and understand.

In speaking to someone “in the know” a few years ago, it was revealed to me that many of these boys were the victims of verbal, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their fathers.

And this revelation gave me a different perspective.

While it would be easy to look back upon the events that Little Harry was experiencing and feel hatred or the need for revenge (after all, it would be easy to name the antagonists here and watch their lives fall apart), I now look upon the antagonists, I feel their pain and I see the reason for their actions.

They were finding outlets to release the pain they were accumulating at the hands of someone else – outlets that weren’t fair to me but it was the best they could come up with at that stage in their life development.

So instead of feeling hatred towards them, I feel sadness for the pain that they were feeling then (and possibly still feeling) and I offer forgiveness.

The Bottom Line

My point is that oftentimes, we see the bully and their actions and we immediately begin thinking of punishment and retribution.

Instead, if we examine their activities with a true understanding of cause and effect and we really get to know what is feeding their actions, then we will get to the core reasons for their behavior.

Maybe when this becomes our focus, we will then be able to cut the cycle of violence (and the long-term negative impact) that makes up the world of bullying and allow healing to take place for the bully as well as the bullied.

The truth is that many (perhaps most) bullies have been victims in their lifetime also.

I can’t speak to the Romney situation.  As with 99.999% of people who have such a strong opinion on the matter, neither they nor I were there when the incidents allegedly took place and so our opinions on THAT matter are irrelevant.

However, instead of putting our energy into the red herring that is that event, let’s take a closer look at what is going on around us (or perhaps within us).

And let’s do something about that.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

PS Many of the boys described in this blog are gay.  They were closet gay then but openly gay now.  Their bullying behavior had nothing to do with their orientation but came as a result of being abused at home.  When I see legislatures describe the need to protect LBGTQ people from abuse by others (especially in schools), I counter with this thought:

All people should be protected from abuse by others, regardless of the attributes of the victim or the antagonist.

To set aside one group as being especially vulnerable lifts that group to special status while suggesting that other victims of abuse don’t matter.

And as in my situation, the original abuse of the bully occurred at home – abuse that they replayed on others in school.  Legislation targeted at schools don’t reach people at home where the seeds of encouragement and destruction are equally prevalent and relevant.

Respect transcends all differentiating factors.  When we get used to seeing each other as human beings without “special designation”, we will move closer towards respecting each other as human beings overall.

Democracy–Be Grateful For It

Watching the Alberta election unfold and the US election get into high gear and seeing the highlights and lowlights of the various leaders and candidates, one thing comes to mind for me.

For all the warts in the political system; controversies, disappointments and other things that drive us crazy, make us angry and everything else, democracy is still a pretty cool process to watch in action.

Despite all the stuff we like to complain about in coffee shops, on blogs, on call-in programs or in social media, we are still very fortunate to have choices and to be able to openly explore and discuss those choices.

When the Occupy Wall St. movement was going in full swing, I was told by a number of people that our system had become either too fascist, too socialist or some other “ist” word.  They fail to realize that if we were one of those “ist” societies, they would have been jailed or shot long before they could have complained about it.

Meanwhile, Albertans today and Americans in 7 months or so will go to the polls and dutifully select the candidates and parties that they think will lead them.

And while we like to complain about how a lot of politicians let us down routinely, when I think of the alternatives, I can only bow my head in gratitude for the system we have.

No system is perfect, not even democracy.

Regardless of who we elect, even the ones that disappoint us, in the end they are their because we had the opportunity and the freedom to put them there.

THAT is a pretty awesome power to consider and with it comes significant responsibility.

And so whether tomorrow provides Albertans with Premier-elect Smith or Premier Redford (apologies to the other guys who won’t make it) and whether November provides Americans with President Obama (round 2) or President-elect Romney, the power is still ours to determine the future of our province, state or country and ultimately our world.

Having made our choices and regardless of who wins, we must support the leaders and their plans to make our world a better one.  Undermining them in office prevents all of us from creating a stronger society.

If in the end we don’t like who we have chosen and what they have produced, we can change our mind again in a few years and hopefully get it right (or at least better).

This power is ours and unless we screw things up really badly, it will always be ours.

In a world where many people couldn’t dare to dream of having such power, who wouldn’t be grateful for the opportunity to have as much opportunity to change the world as we have with a single vote.

Let’s make sure that the world we create with such power helps more people see the unlimited potential in the world and their unlimited opportunity to contribute to that world.

By doing so, we will have leveraged democracy to its ultimate potential.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

Addendum: April 24th

Ms. Smith’s comments after a significant loss to Premier Redford and the Progressive Conservatives are a sign of what makes some people cynical of the system.  The correct response after losing would have been something along the lines of “We look forward to serving the people of Alberta, keeping the Redford government honest on behalf of the people of Alberta, etc” and leaving it at that.

Instead, her closing comment “We look forward to defeating the Conservatives in 2016” shows a naïve dismissal of the next four years or a focus on winning an election instead of accomplishing the best things possible for the people of Alberta.

And you know what they say about wishing your time away.