Let’s say you are at a baseball game. When you watch a baseball game, it is easy to tap into the energy of “everything matters”, and yet “none of it matters”:
This is a good way to be. Part of our human experience is about getting involved. Diggin in. Rolling up our sleeves. Caring about something. But on the other hand, when we get too involved, we dig too deeply, we lose focus. We lose perspective. We get lost. And this is when, often, much suffering ensues.
Our Baseball Example Expanded
Who cares which side wins? Who is invested in the outcome of the game?
The players care. Their careers and their salaries have a lot to do with whether they win or lose.
The owners of the team care. Advertising dollars and stadium attendance has a high correlation to the win/loss record.
The fans care. To support a “winning team” is inspirational. It creates connection. It reinforces “belonging” and “inclusivity”. It really matters.
Yet, from a larger perspective – like from that of an entire country, who really cares? One region/city wins, and yet another one loses. In some respects, it is a zero sum game. The result is somewhat neutral.
From the perspective of an entire country, “nothing really matters”. Because, on some level, all invested parties are able to tap into this larger perspective when the want to or need to, this makes it easier for any of the “invested parties” to walk away from the game. Go home. Get some rest. And live to experience another day. Regardless of the outcome of that particular game.
“Picking Sides” when “it doesn’t really matter” can have some significant benefits.
On a positive note, when we “pick a side”, as in watching a baseball game, we connect more with the players that we are supporting. We rise and fall emotionally alongside them. We live vicariously. We learn something of what it is to “walk a mile in their shoes”. It does, in fact, create human bonding and connection. Not just with the players. But with “like minded” fans. This is part of the human experience. This can be a very good thing.
Have you ever tried to watch a sports match without “picking a side?” What aspects of the game do you focus on? How connected do you feel to the game, to the players, and/or to the other fans? Yes, you can focus on the individual athletes and simply admire their incredible athletic ability, regardless of what team they are on. You also can use this as inspiration and motivation to pick up a bat and ball yourself and give it a try. And this is all good. But sometimes, when you don’t “pick a side”, you feel a little “lost in the crowd”. You don’t get that “connection” that we all crave.
“Picking Sides” when we don’t have access to the larger perspective can be costly
Often, we “pick sides” because we believe something to be “our fight”, when perhaps it is not. Perhaps we lack the full picture. Indeed, the world is full of people who spend a great deal of time and energy rallying others to “pick their side” and “help them fight” whatever the oppression of the day is. Because it benefits them personally to “win”.
Often, in the circumstances where we jump on someone else’s bandwagon, we personally end up spending our own time and energy fighting what turns out not to be our battle at all, and we end up alienating other important friends and allies around us in the process. It ends up costing us dearly … sometimes even our life…. and we find out far too late that the gains of our toil were never going to be ours “if we won” anyways.
Let’s Take an Historical Event to Illustrate The Potential Costs of “Picking the Wrong Side” When You Think You Are, in Fact, Picking “The Right Side”.
One of the ways to get people to do things they wouldn’t normally do is to keep them isolated from the “bigger picture”. For example, when they were building the nuclear bomb back in the 1930’s, the process was very compartmentalized. Most of the scientists and labourers believed they were doing something very important for their country. They “knew” it needed to be “top secret” because they understood there was the potential for spies, and for the “wrong” information getting into “enemy hands”. They “trusted the plan”. And they were very proud to do their part for the war effort because they believed they were “on the right side of history”.
Very few people knew what the final result to their “project” would be. And yes, even today there are many who still believe dropping a couple of nuclear bombs on Japan and annihilating millions of people was a “necessary evil” in order to stop the war.
But the more important question is, for all of those humans who participated in the creation of those bombs, and all of those people who participated in their “delivery”,… if, at the time, they were given the complete picture about what was about to be done, would they still do it? Would they do it again today? If people had access to a greater perspective, could anything like this ever be done again?
Let’s Pick a Current Geopolitical Issue to Illustrate Another Example on the Fallacy of “Picking Sides”: South Africa
At this moment in history, white farmers are being chased off of their land. Often violently. Murder, rape, torture, of these people at this time is not unheard of.
Perspective 1:
These white farmers shouldn’t have been there in the first place. They invaded a land they were not entitled to. They should leave. The land should return to its rightful owners.
Perspective 2:
These farmers have been there for generations. “They”, the ones currently residing there, were not the ones who invaded the lands. They were born into this situation. They, personally, have committed no crime.
What’s Really Going On Here?
Society could argue these two points forever and never really get anywhere. Because there isn’t an answer that would please everyone. But the problem is, as people are arguing this point, something much, much bigger is going on.
A Larger perspective.
Regardless of what side you choose in the above argument, there is a much larger game at play here.
Like it or not, at this time, the white farmers are in control of a very important industry that is important to all the citizens of that country, and it is detrimental to everyone, black and white, to destroy it.
They are farming. It takes many years to learn how to farm well. You can’t just kill off all of your farmers and then hop in and take over. It takes knowledge. It takes experience. Without the operation of farms, the citizens of the country are going to be very hungry, and are going to be beholden to “outside” sources.
One does not have to look very far to see an example of how this plays out. While there are many other examples through time (Somalia, Ethiopia to name a few), Zimbabwe is a perfect example of this unfolding in real time (now).
Years ago, Zimbabwe kicked out their “white” farmers. Today, they are begging the World for food aid for 1.1 million starving people.
Rest assured. Help in on its way. China has graciously offered to provide food to the starving country. And they have made what they consider to be a very generous offer to the people of Zimbabwe in return for “saving” them from starvation .
At What Cost?
All China is asking for is that these great citizens of Zimbabwe allow some Chinese companies to come in and “teach” them how to extract their fair resources for a (small) percentage of the cut. A win-win, is what they say.
The problem is, of course, when one is starving and begging for aid, one has a very difficult time standing at the bargaining table negotiating what is “fair” in terms of who gets what when it comes to the plethora of natural resources buried beneath your feet. And, for that matter, the land that you are standing on that you just fought so hard to recapture.
Be Careful What You Ask For
When we are in distress, we often “pick sides”. We want to blame someone. We want relief from our pain and suffering. But often we attack what we think was the cause of our misery, only to find out that it was all a distraction. The real culprit is hidden from us, laughing as they play with our puppet strings.
The lesson from many, many sovereign nations through time, is that by fighting internally, attacking those closest to us, the entire country becomes vulnerable to attack by a completely unanticipated “vulture” who has actually been spending quite a bit of time and effort “fanning the flames” of our internal wars.
The 1960’s and 70’s were interesting times indeed
There was a revolution in the 60’s and 70’s, of sorts. These were very important times. Much was accomplished that was very positive for out planet. But much was lost as well. These were both expensive, and expansive times
In terms of the “obvious” conflict, where people picked sides and made enemies with those closest to them, we need to look no further than our youth of the day: There was the “long haired freaky people”. Drugs. Sex. Love. Peace. And then there were the soldiers.
Perspectives and Beliefs Became Very Entrenched. Battle Lines Were Drawn.
Back at this time, the draft was in place. If your name was on that list, you had but a few choices if you didn’t want to go fight in the war: – develop a terrible injury, become a student in a university, be declared an “essential asset” (i.e. family farm), or high tail it off to Canada. It was a time of confusion. Those who avoided the draft were viewed as “traitors” to their country. Those who went to war were viewed as “traitors” to humanity. There was plenty of fear and anger and name-calling to be had.
Some joined the military actually believing that “the man” wouldn’t lie about the importance of this war to the freedom and safety of the United States of America. Many believed they were doing something great for the country.
Back at home, the youth “left behind” knew something was terribly wrong. They could feel it in their bones. They become restless. They rebelled. They called out “the man”. They refused to conform. The sang songs. They created art. They roamed the country “looking for a home”. They created communes of “like minded” people. To many, of course, they were viewed as the “good for nothing generation”.
Who won the actual war?
Well, somebody got very, very rich selling drugs. Indeed. Over in Vietnam, drugs were plentiful. Many, many soldiers developed a severe dependancy, believing it was the only thing between them and going insane. Back at home, drugs were also freely available, The youth “left behind” experimented extensively with everything they could find.
Certainly the people selling weapons and ammunition came out ok as well. Nothing like a good war to pad the bottom line.
How did that turn out for “the people”?
There were many casualties. On both sides of “the people’s war”.
Many, many soldiers died. If not during battle, from suicide or accidental drug overdoses once they came back home.
Many of the “hippies” died to. From drug overdoses. And many, if they didn’t die, ended up frying their brains so badly they were never the same again.
But there were things gained as well.
Did We Gain Anything From This Experience?
We gained wisdom and knowledge from this experience. And hopefully, as we move forward through time, we can reflect on some of what we learned during this period and apply it to our present day situation. Both sides had a point of view. Both sides brought forth compelling arguments. And both sides were right about a lot of things.
What did we learn from those “lazy, good for nothing hippies?”
We, as humanity, were forced to look deeper into our souls. Who are we? Why are we here? These are questions many humans had not really taken the time to contemplate at such a deep level.
We witnessed an incredible revolution of self expression. Art and music exploded and thrived. We realized that this is something so very important that humanity was suppressing. That we had “bottled up” inside.
Indeed, the songs of the 60’s and 70’s live on today. They are raw. They are real. There was no “autosync” back then. And the lyrics were pure poetry. The words painted pictures. They told a storey. Stories that live on through time. Stories about humanity.
What did we learn from the soldier’s Stories?
We learned that “we” were angry at the wrong people. We realized that that soldier who just came home from war was not a traitor. Indeed, most soldiers were forced to participate. they didn’t choose to go there. Many saw such intense tragedy and suffering. And yet, if they did manage to survive the horrors of the war, they were in fact ostracized by their own peers when they got back home. Sometimes this was even worse than the war itself. And, to coin a phrase, “war is hell”.
The soldiers are our warriors. They are our action-takers. While the “hippies” were off singing and praying and protesting, the soldiers were off fighting for their country, their families, theirs and everyone’s freedoms.
If we look back and say, “hey, but they were so misguided. What was done in Vietnam was wrong! And these soldiers participated.”…….
But how about this perspective? What if, on a different day, all of these soldiers were not misguided? What if both sides (the hippies and the soldiers) had been able to get together, compare notes, agree on a plan of action, and “do the right thing”? Imagine where the world would be today if everyone who truly wanted the world to be a better place were all on the same side instead of being reduced to fighting amongst each other?
Where are we now?
“May we live in interesting times.”
I believe we are currently in the midst of a revolution not seen since the 1960’s. People are restless. People are angry. People are speaking their minds. And yes, “the people” are fighting with each other again.
The “hippies” are once again angry at the “soldiers”, …. in effect forgetting that, at the end of the day, anyone who indeed has a heart and a soul, – they are all on the same side. They all want change. They all want freedom. They all want peace. It may not seem that way when one is stuck in the trenches warding off attacks. But it is true.
What Advice Should We Give Ourselves?
Don’t get so distracted that you can’t see what’s really going on. Try not to lose perspective. Try to look up every once in awhile and remember why you are here.
In order to understand what is going on during this period in time, sometimes it is important to “pick sides”. It is important to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”. It is important to connect. To try and understand. To create a bridge.
But try not to get so invested in “the game” that you can’t look up and see beyond the game. Contemplate the planet. Contemplate humanity. Contemplate the universe. And then bring it all back home. Contemplate your own reason for being. Always ask yourself, “is this a hill worth dying on”?
“The sun will come out. Tomorrow.
When I’m stuck in a day
That’s grey and lonely
I just turn my head and say,
The sun will come out. Tomorrow”
(Annie Lyrics)