Blaming, Shaming, and the Illusion of Control

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The United States has a projected next president. With more certainty than we had in the days approaching the election, you’d think that the tension would be waning. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While some of us have moved on (or never went there in the first place), others are still pointing fingers, blaming, and shaming. This behavior is happening on all sides of the spectrum. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sometimes you’ll even hear influencers talk about unity in one breath. Then, in the next, they refer to people who disagree with their particular political stance calling them “socialists” or “white supremacists.” Whatever happened to unity? What about tolerance? </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You don’t have to look too far to find common ground. So why are we not focusing our attention there?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a word — it comes down to fear. The powers that be — on all sides — are playing on our fears like a virtuoso plays the violin. When we’re uptight and scared, we’re easier to control, more likely to do what people in power or perceived authority ask us to do without question. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Who benefits when we act out of fear? You guessed it. Not me and not you and not your next-door neighbor.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) has taught me that everyone is doing the best they can with their resources at a point in time. When you can recognize that, it’s easy to be tolerant of other people’s points of view. When you can look at the world from their perspective, their choices and decisions will make sense.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And you will feel respect for them and their position. Name-calling would be out of the question, and not even a consideration. </span></p> <p><strong>What the name-call