I hope this is something
we can all remember as this disappointing election season nears its welcome
end. It is what we all do on November 9 that matters the most. Read on.
Ever been betrayed? I
have and quite frankly, it sucks. Betrayal, in its true definition, can only be
inflicted by a person who has been given our trust.[1] You cannot be betrayed by
one of whom you expect nothing. Of a friend or family member, for example, your
relationship is built on trust and respect; unfortunately that is all too often
one-sided. As empathetic humans, we tend to project our feelings onto others.
If we care for a person, we expect the same depth of affection from that
person. All too often, the loyalty we feel towards our friends and family is
not reciprocated and we become the victims of betrayal. To sum it up, it
happens when you care more than the other person. When you project your
feelings of unflinching loyalty onto another and that person has no such depth
of allegiance, you can be betrayed. I’m not saying the betrayer is an evil
person, they just don’t care as much as you.
Now, let’s talk about how
much that hurts. You, on a daily basis, sink your heart and soul into a
friendship only to be shown by another’s actions that it just doesn’t matter.
Ouch, that stings. Your heart is tattered, your mind races, you deal with pain,
anger, and ultimately forgiveness. Then, you start to question everything and
everyone in your life. Perhaps, you build walls so as never to feel that most
devastating pain again. Don’t do that! Trust again, open your heart and mind,
forgive and mend relationships; however, do not ever, ever forget. Apologies,
real apologies, must be accepted but do not be so naïve as to trust your
betrayer again. Nothing will ever be the same. Your goodness; however, must
prevail. I want everyone to remember this as we near the end of this
disappointing election campaign.
I believe we are all of
the depth of wisdom necessary to understand campaign promises, regardless of
your political affiliations. They are the party’s platform and the hopes of the
candidate. More importantly, they are made to garner a vote. The candidate may
have some very good intentions but making a promise come to fruition in the
lobbyist controlled congress is a difficult task indeed. As politically aware
members of society, we know what politicians say and what actually happens are
often very different, yet we somehow throw our whole hearts and souls behind a
candidate and put our trust in those promises. We want so badly for the
candidates to believe as we do, that our word is our bond, that we project our
ethics and morals onto them. We believe they care as much as we care. This sets
us up to be destroyed by betrayal.
As with a friend, we can
be betrayed by our potential leaders. Does anyone believe that both candidates
are capable of keeping their promises? Or that the loser will accept defeat
with humility and grace so as not to embarrass our nation? We want to, boy do
we want to, and that is how we will be hurt. That day will come and when it
does, we need to react as we would with any other betrayal; we lean on our
friends. Yes, we will need to lean on each other across the aisle. We complain
that politicians do not engage in bipartisan politics yet it is clear, now more
than ever, that we are in great danger of becoming a house divided and we must
not let that happen. We, the people, are capable of reaching out to each other,
of “binding our nation’s wounds,” and supporting one another when we do feel
that betrayal. We must not lash out at one another, no matter who we vote for.
Hillary supporters hate Trump supporters and vice versa. Hatred will not treat
a betrayal. Only friendship, true, honest, compassionate, and loyal friendship
can do that.
I don’t limit my calls
for friendship to solely the United States. We are one world. You get that?
There is one, and only one planet Earth and we are here together. We can either
help or harm each other, the choice is ours. When we are betrayed by our
leaders, we have each other if we will only reach out with compassion and
open-mindedness. Who here has not been betrayed? If you raised your hand,
consider yourself extraordinarily lucky as it is the most painful experience
you will endure. For those of us who have, we know the emotional and psychological
devastation that must be suffered and surmounted. How do we overcome that hurt?
With a little help from our friends. Maybe I’m sounding a little hippie-ish,
but you know what, maybe that’s not so bad. Maybe we can start today with baby
steps and look to our loyal friends to do the same. Perhaps we can reach out to
one, just one person, who is on the other side of the aisle, and just let that
person know that you’ll suffer the inevitable betrayal with her as a fellow
countryman and human being. One person. Is that so hard?
