In October, 1973 my wife and I were in Venice for a few days. (We had met in New York during our first year of pediatric residency, 1972, and would be married in 1974). Arriving at the hotel with a sense of awe after marveling at Titian's Assumption of Mary at the Basilica di Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, our mood soon changed from delight to disgust. The world of thorns and stingers had returned. We had turned on the TV and learned from the BBC that Nixon had just fired Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor in the Watergate investigations. It felt as if the train of everyday politics, which is noisy enough, had derailed with a deafening screech before my mind's eye.
The mood of the country, however, was one darkened by shock and disappointment, rather than by implacable fury. Yes, many of us were still angry at the wanton destruction of the war in Vietnam, but in this instance the bloodied hands belonged to Democrats as well as to Republicans. Very few thought that Nixon and his entourage as persons were filthy and feculent, like fleas on rats that had to go lest we all come down with the plague. That was a long time ago.
For instance, Podesta referred in one of his hacked e-mails to “cheese pizza,” which was taken to be a code word for “child pornography”. Several restaurants in Washington D.C. began to be harassed. On 12/14/2016, a young man from North Carolina traveled to Washington D.C. and fired shots into one of the restaurants imagined to be the center of the sex-slavery ring. He later repented when he discovered that the rumors were false, which indicates that he wasn’t crazy, or perhaps only slightly crazy, to begin with, but had been driven to commit a mad deed by poisonous disinformation on social media.
If you think that hate-speech and political violence—recall the difference between Trump’s and Clinton’s rallies, for instance--are more prevalent on the Republican side, you are basically right. But not absolutely. On June 14, 2017, sixty-six year old James T. Hodgkinson, a Republican-hating Bernie Sanders supporter with a history of domestic violence and who had been living in a van, shot and seriously wounded a Republican member of congress and three others, who were at a baseball practice for an upcoming bipartisan game.
What is wrong with us? Why are we unable to separate the deeds, however nefarious and murky, from the pristine, albeit hidden, images of God that perform them? Why are we at each other’s throats while, even in matters of passionate disagreement, we should almost never refuse to shake hands? How do we contain the fire that threatens to consume us?
2.
There is traditional loving kindness or metta meditation in the southern branch of Buddhism called Theravada. This practice enjoins thinking kindly of oneself; of one’s teacher; of one’s relatives; of one’s friends; of those to whom one is indifferent, and finally, thinking kindly of one’s enemies. One sits quietly in the half-lotus position on the floor—sitting on a straight-back chair will work as well; one subsequently recites the mantra slowly to oneself, (it takes about four minutes), then repeats it. This should be done for about twenty minutes.
May Rush Limbaugh be happy, healthy and peaceful.
May no harm come to him, may no difficulty come to him, may no trouble come to him.
May he meet and overcome the inevitable problems, sorrows and failures in life.
I advise you to conduct an experiment. Perform this meditation with sincerity for five to twenty minutes twice daily for a month. You will be surprised at the results. If this meditation works for you—and it will—pass it on. Its practice is sorely needed!
The mood of the country, however, was one darkened by shock and disappointment, rather than by implacable fury. Yes, many of us were still angry at the wanton destruction of the war in Vietnam, but in this instance the bloodied hands belonged to Democrats as well as to Republicans. Very few thought that Nixon and his entourage as persons were filthy and feculent, like fleas on rats that had to go lest we all come down with the plague. That was a long time ago.
Let us fast
forward forty-two years. It is the summer
of 2015; Nirmala and I were again on vacation, this time on a river cruise on
the Rhine and Danube rivers. At the information desk onboard, a sweet, young
German girl was ready to answer any questions we might have. I don’t remember the question I never asked;
I do recall being on line behind a burly fellow with white hair. He informed the young lady that he was an
engineer from Tennessee. He then begin
to excoriate President Obama. To him, the
President was nothing more than a piece of black trash which needed to be picked
up with gloves, crumpled up and tossed into the garbage. Those were not his words, but they accurately
describe his fury; he was seething with hate for a man, whether you agreed with
him or not, was--and is--a decent human being. No sense arguing with him, I thought, as I left the line in
disgust.
Things have gotten even worse since then. The highest percentage in six decades, over 60%, view the policies of the other party to be “so misguided that they threaten the nation’s well-being”. More families than ever, especially among Republicans, would be upset if their child marries a member of the opposite party. 81% of Democrats viewed President Obama favorably, compared to 14% of Republicans—the widest gap in presidential approval in six decades. What makes matters worse is the genuinely fake news found on social media. The internet, in addition, is replete with truly vicious comments about anyone one disagrees with. Cyberbullying is, unfortunately, a widespread phenomenon.
It seems to me that voters can be divided into two categories. The first use their frontal lobes to analyze data and come to a decision; the others use their brain stems to snap at the members of the opposition like crocodiles. The latter are interested only in news that reinforce their prejudices. Social media provide such news in abundance.
Things have gotten even worse since then. The highest percentage in six decades, over 60%, view the policies of the other party to be “so misguided that they threaten the nation’s well-being”. More families than ever, especially among Republicans, would be upset if their child marries a member of the opposite party. 81% of Democrats viewed President Obama favorably, compared to 14% of Republicans—the widest gap in presidential approval in six decades. What makes matters worse is the genuinely fake news found on social media. The internet, in addition, is replete with truly vicious comments about anyone one disagrees with. Cyberbullying is, unfortunately, a widespread phenomenon.
It seems to me that voters can be divided into two categories. The first use their frontal lobes to analyze data and come to a decision; the others use their brain stems to snap at the members of the opposition like crocodiles. The latter are interested only in news that reinforce their prejudices. Social media provide such news in abundance.
Take the
example of Edgar Maddison Welch. During
the 2016 presidential campaign, a conspiracy theory that had gone viral asserted
that e-mail leaks from John Podesta, who was Hillary Clinton's campaign manager at the time, contained code
words that revealed that Democrats were involved in sex slavery.
For instance, Podesta referred in one of his hacked e-mails to “cheese pizza,” which was taken to be a code word for “child pornography”. Several restaurants in Washington D.C. began to be harassed. On 12/14/2016, a young man from North Carolina traveled to Washington D.C. and fired shots into one of the restaurants imagined to be the center of the sex-slavery ring. He later repented when he discovered that the rumors were false, which indicates that he wasn’t crazy, or perhaps only slightly crazy, to begin with, but had been driven to commit a mad deed by poisonous disinformation on social media.
If you think that hate-speech and political violence—recall the difference between Trump’s and Clinton’s rallies, for instance--are more prevalent on the Republican side, you are basically right. But not absolutely. On June 14, 2017, sixty-six year old James T. Hodgkinson, a Republican-hating Bernie Sanders supporter with a history of domestic violence and who had been living in a van, shot and seriously wounded a Republican member of congress and three others, who were at a baseball practice for an upcoming bipartisan game.
What is wrong with us? Why are we unable to separate the deeds, however nefarious and murky, from the pristine, albeit hidden, images of God that perform them? Why are we at each other’s throats while, even in matters of passionate disagreement, we should almost never refuse to shake hands? How do we contain the fire that threatens to consume us?
2.
I have a
solution, a solution of sorts. It’s not
that it won’t work—it would; the problem is that few people will follow my
advice, especially those who need it most.
It is an
adaption of a Buddhist meditation.
Buddhism has a very dim view of anger.
A legend relates that once a misguided person hurled insults at the
Buddha. He remained unfazed. 'How can you listen to that and remain calm?' a disciple asked. Buddha replied that
insults are like garbage in a pail; one can set it down before you, but you don’t
have to pick it up.
Research
shows that meditation is an effective way to rewire the brain for the
better. If what I propose is followed and practiced with sincerity, animosity will be significantly reduced.
There is traditional loving kindness or metta meditation in the southern branch of Buddhism called Theravada. This practice enjoins thinking kindly of oneself; of one’s teacher; of one’s relatives; of one’s friends; of those to whom one is indifferent, and finally, thinking kindly of one’s enemies. One sits quietly in the half-lotus position on the floor—sitting on a straight-back chair will work as well; one subsequently recites the mantra slowly to oneself, (it takes about four minutes), then repeats it. This should be done for about twenty minutes.
I am a Democrat,
I admit it. Rush Limbaugh, as one
might expect, makes me angry. An example
of what I consider to be hate speech: after Hodgkinson shot the Republican
congressman, Limbaugh stated that the would-be assassin was a “mainstream Democrat,” implying that we are all pathological murderers at heart.
The meditation
is a way to continue to oppose harmful things a person says or does while maintaining respect
for the person as a person. To the former one says, regarding deeds or statements deemed to be harmful, 'No way!'; to the person saying and doing them, one replies with an inner namaste, as it were, thus honoring the godhead in that person.
What
follows is the mantra, adapted from a Buddhist meditation, using Rush Limbaugh
as the person to which one directs loving kindness:
May Rush Limbaugh be happy, healthy and peaceful.
May no harm come to him, may no difficulty come to him, may no trouble come to him.
May he
always follow his conscience.
May he meet and overcome the inevitable problems, sorrows and failures in life.
That’s
it. Feel free to keep on repeating this,
or substitute the name with that of a scurrilous politician or that of an Trump-supporting Obama-hater of your choice. (Yes, if you’re
so inclined, God help you, use the name of a liberal of your choice. I
practice the mantra by using the names, in turn, of every cabinet member President Trump has
chosen. Yes, I'm reluctant to do it, but I do it. It has significantly increased my serenity, while not diminishing my opposition to issues I consider to be deleterious to the nation and/or to the world).
I advise you to conduct an experiment. Perform this meditation with sincerity for five to twenty minutes twice daily for a month. You will be surprised at the results. If this meditation works for you—and it will—pass it on. Its practice is sorely needed!
Let me know
your progress; let me know if you have influenced others to practice this meditation of loving-kindness. I would be pleased
if you would comment on this article; I would be delighted to answer any
questions you might have. Start
practicing! Reducing political hostility and incivility begins with you.
Note: you
might want to read the following articles on my blog. Simply google the titles along with my name, Thomas Dorsett:
Ramana
Maharshi and the Five Skhandas
Buddhism
through Pictures: The Four Noble Truths
Why Meditate?
Ramana Maharshi and the Rabbi
Ramana Marharshi's Near-Death Experiences
Help Self, Help Others: A Reinterpretation of Leviticus 19:18
Ramana Maharshi and the Rabbi
Ramana Marharshi's Near-Death Experiences
Help Self, Help Others: A Reinterpretation of Leviticus 19:18
May they
help you help others as well as yourself.
No comments:
Post a Comment