Observations From the Spectrum

We live in a circular world but spend so much time exploring it through the lens of a flat one. In America and World Politics, it is time to bend the political spectrum creating a circle that unites those on the edges of both sides. This does not mean the sentries, the intolerant or the racists; this means uniting the poor and working class of both sides to create a better future for those who need the most help.

So much time is spent educating all of us that things are linear. It’s Us vs Them. Coke vs Pepsi. Apple vs Samsung. But maybe we have it wrong. Maybe we think everything is linear but really everything revolves on a sphere.

This already happened once. Western humanity believed that the world was flat. Some thinkers and innovators of the time did not. They believed the world was round. That if they sailed west, they would arrive in the East. 

Just imagine the type of thinking that needed to happen for hundreds of people to get on ships to go west to get to the East. It was a shift in consciousness and a proverbial jump off of the cliff for glory. They won.

Now, I am not here to debate the horrors and tragedies that have occurred because of this shift in thinking. I am here to explore how it has shaped the now and how the now can help to reshape the future. 

I am a voice of Hope. I believe that the future is not as bleak as some believe, especially if we come together as a herd. 

Which brings me to the big idea. What if the Left and Right in American politics was bent to meet as a sphere? Who would be at the new connection point? What group or people would emerge as a connected group instead of opposing ones?

Seems to me that if we look through American politics through this lens, that the Establishment Democrats and the Republicans are very similar sides of the same coin. They are not at the exact same point but they are certainly neighbors. 

On either side, as the sidekick or the right-hand person, I think lives the lackeys. To the Left of the GOP are groups like the Proud Boys and the rest of the Alt-Right. These are those who have little power and are indoctrinated to the party. They believe it is do or die for the GOP. They are the sentries. January 6th was their day in the spotlight.

To the Right of the Left are the anarchists and brunchers. They want nothing more than what they want when they want it. They survive by believing they are right and everyone else is wrong.

So who is left and at the new connection of the ring? I think it’s the rest of us. The working class and poor of both sides. Colored. Gays. Lesbians. The Sick. Small business owners. Strippers. Prostitutes. Waitstaff.. Those that make up the marrow of the nation. Those that are not brutalizing each other from either side. 

But because we are branded to be opposing teams, we continue with this type of thinking. It is outdated and unproductive. All Americans are Americans like it or not. And this moment is the NOW. It’s perfect as it is because there is nothing we can do to change it. We can only work towards creating a better version of the Now tomorrow.

And yes, there are racists, criminals and drug addicts. And no, no one wants evil as a neighbor. But if those who are helping us to define our neighbors breed hate, then we are supporting evil.

I don’t care if my neighbor hates me. I care that they don’t act on that hate. Maurice taught me that. He hated me as a person but respected me as a colleague. We were never friends. We never had a beer but he also never punched me in the teeth.

I don’t care if my neighbors are criminals. I will still treat them with respect as fellow human beings. They are. It’s why the sidewalk outside my house in Denver was always shoveled when it snowed and the plant that was stolen, reappeared the day after the local gang met me and found out I was a teacher in the rough part of town.

I don’t care if my neighbor is a drug addict. I will help them through recovery if asked, and I will work for #UBI and #M4A so that they can receive the medical care they need or have the money to afford their drugs.

I will end on this note. No matter how I work America and world politics in my head, there is no positive solution that helps those that need the most help without having the ability to put our differences aside to come together to demand that the future works better for more. If not, we will just continue to fight against ourselves and systemic change will be as elusive as the Loch Ness Monster and BigFoot. It simply will not exist. It is our choice to make it happen and connect the ring.

• All works at Observations from the Spectrum written by Dylan Netter
• Observationsfromthespectrum.org
• OFTS.blog 
• On? a third point of view – book of Essays
• Marinehippie.com podcast w/ Docstodden.com – dialogue exploring politics and musings of life 
• Horizoncoaching.org – English Tutor and Guide
• beehiveplus1.org