Stronger Together
Welcome to the Saturday Morning Muse - I’m Andy Temte and today is July 1st, 2023. Happy Independence Day weekend!
I encourage each of you to use the July 4th holiday weekend as a time to reflect on the power of unity that is born from constructive dialogue and compromise versus the toxic, paralyzing effects of hyper polarization and division.
We are stronger if we embrace and leverage the diverse tapestry of backgrounds, skills, and voices that populate our great nation. Infighting, exclusion, and grievance tear at the fabric of our society.
Should we always agree? The answer to that question is an emphatic no.
We learn and grow as humans when we look at a challenge through multiple lenses and take onboard information from multiple perspectives. To me, this is true freedom - the ability to learn from our mistakes, test and expand our capabilities through experiences and education, pursue individual happiness and self-actualization, and meaningfully contribute to society with our unique gifts and talents.
Should we be unyielding and caustic when something doesn’t align with our narrative? Should we bully, berate, and belittle those whom we don’t agree with? Should we blindly conform to the messages of larger-than-life public figures? The answer to these questions is also an emphatic no.
When we succumb to anger, intolerance, and grievance, this is the point when personal agency and freedom is lost. The irony is that it might feel like freedom to conform to a party line and adopt a fixed mindset, but this is a trap - a self-imposed cage of sorts. Anger and grievance blind us. They feed on well-being and suppress our purpose. They take up residence in our minds and hold hostage hope, joy, and peace.
I’m free when I’m able to think for myself and arrive at decisions without the constraints that the expectation of uniformity place on me. But this doesn’t mean I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, without regard for my fellow citizens. Indeed, freedom carries with it the cost of contributing to society and allowing the room and space for ideas and perspectives that don’t necessarily align with my own personal values and opinions.
I’ll leave you with this. Unity does not imply uniformity. We all live on this small, pale blue dot we call Earth. Once I believe everyone should look, talk, and think like me, all hope is lost. This line of thinking is a one-way ticket to the dehumanization of swaths of our population. History teaches us that terrible, incredibly wasteful things happen when we dehumanize our fellow travelers of this pale blue dot.
Grace. Dignity. Compassion.
