Rounding out the special series Uniting 2020, I had interviewed some very powerful voices. All of them lean left however, just like I do, more and more each day. This is in contrast to my conservative upbringing. And thus, it seemed proper to bring a conservative voice on the podcast and interview. Not an easy task I imagined, of the space that would need to be held to really honor their perspective without condemnation. As most of us know, talking politics with people who think differently has become harder and harder. Have you unfollowed anyone of FB recently? It’s hard not to get upset at someone else’s ignorance or naivety when the repercussions hold us back as a society. As much as we need empathy and to simply listen and allow someone to speak their truth, it has become difficult within the webs woven which polarize us as a nation. As it turned out, finding a conservative to interview on Dom U was also challenging. One of the people who was lined up even back out, convinced her job security would be at stake if her employer found out she was a conservative.

This saddened me as I hold the person mentioned in high regard. This was not the type of person deserving of cancel culture or any other karma. But being a conservative in California was something she did not feel safe being public about. Under these circumstances, I was determined to find a way to build bridges. It didn’t seem proper to not extend an invitation to hear other’s political perspectives with all the energy I had put into politics this year. For more on that listen to Ep. 48 Birth and Rebirth or the Act Daily Blog.

Enter the survey. Somewhat impulsively, I decided to create a political survey aimed at understanding the more granular details of why conservatives think the way they do. I compiled a list of questions meant to be objective and not like a liberal wrote them. I sent them to every vocal Trump supporter on my FB page. Shortly afterwards, it felt right to send it to my liberal friends in addition.

As the surveys came back I was treated with a wealth of information. Each survey provided a window into people’s political psyches’. I could see the connections from thoughts to beliefs to ideology. People impressed me though, even the people I disagreed with. Everything made sense in regard to how they had formulated their opinions. I realized then that so many conversations I have had in the past were futile. Walls come up easily and it’s hard to maneuver into productive conversations. Some people did lack empathy though in certain areas, speaking as objectively as possible. However, their rational made sense. It was hard love compounded by the way the media spins it.

There was a lot of crossover, however. That was the liberating thing about it. This crossover between conservatives and liberals provide the details that should be discussed in making policy. Actual policy isn’t discussed nearly as much as it should be, especially as one group bashes the other and so on. People are often raised with their allegiance to a particular party. Often times that allegiance has more to do with disgust for the “other” rather than actual earned loyalty. I saw that in the surveys as well, classic descriptions of the “others” as described in polarizing media.

In charged or potent conversations sometimes, it feels like you’re up shit creek without a paddle. Our ability to listen is central to riding the current of progress. We must be mindful of the ego, no matter how woke you think you are. The orientation of rightness and the tendency to defend our own beliefs, is engrained in our survival instincts. Asking questions can be an artform however. The right questions can manifest the paddles needed to maneuver through difficult conversations. It can crack away at the darkness, allowing the light to break through the defensive faculties of our conscious minds. One of the biggest wins of this “social experiment” if you will, was that I didn’t have an agenda other than to make people’s voices feel safe and welcome. I had and have zero objective to convince them of my beliefs. My ego was put in time out. Two, as I carefully formulated these questions I did so to understand the ideological foundations. In answering these questions people had to open up to their own voice, their own inner thought process. This is core to self-understanding. Especially when you articulate yourself in writing, you get to strengthen or challenge yourself. It becomes a mini mindfulness exercise like journaling. A lot of people really enjoyed filled out the surveys. Multiple people described it as fun.

Funny though, I didn’t do the survey myself. No one asked me to. Yet without even giving my opinion, I feel like I am the one most rewarded in this experience. It was a treat to read every answer of every survey. It fuels my sense of duty as a citizen of the US to remind us that Washington works for us, NOT the other way around. Most of us feel disconnected from the “system” and forced to choose from the lesser of two evils. But it is that way because we allow it. We allow this 2 party system to rule America. We allow bought and paid for, career politicians. We allow the agendas to blast into our consciousness from propaganda machines. And we allow ourselves to be divided. But WE have the ability to transform our world. It may take time, it may take effort, persistence, but the power will always belong to the people. If it didn’t, why would so much energy be spent dividing us…

Below you will find some of the questions and answers submitted. Special thank you to everyone who participated. FJR