Political frustration and creating collective support
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I am disappointed about the law that was passed in the United States to take benefits away from those who need them so that millionaires can make more money. It is an indication of moral bankruptcy that helping rich people accumulate more riches is the primary objective of our currently elected American government, regardless of how it hurts others who don't have the resources to influence the money-infested electoral system. Here are a few links that I've been saving to remind me of the realities of the current inequitable system:
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- My therapist can't save me from capitalism. Michell C. Clark starts this post by writing "Selfishly, I want [my therapist] to tell me that if I just process my childhood trauma more thoroughly, develop better coping mechanisms, and practice more self-care, I can be exempted from the chaos of this world. But the silence stretches on because we both know the truth: there's no amount of therapy that can protect us from systems designed to exhaust us." He shares that he sees "two fundamentally different approaches to therapy: one that helps me cope with broken systems, and another that helps me understand why those systems are broken in the first place. The first approach keeps me functional within dysfunction—teaching me breathing exercises while the world burns, offering me individual strategies for surviving collective trauma. The second approach does something more dangerous: it helps me see clearly, think critically, and imagine that the way things are is not the way things have to be." That second approach aligns with one of the key lessons from my book that we can't effectively change the world around us until we accept the current reality, in this case that American power structures are designed to benefit those in power and sacrifice everybody else.
- What if we called them violence workers? Toi Smith shares a thought experiment to replace the word police with violence workers: "Instead of saying, 'I’m going to call the police,' say, 'I’m going to call the violence workers.'" as a reminder of "how deeply police are embedded in the fabric of our lives, not as neutral helpers, but as the enforcers of a violent system. ... we’ve been socialized — trained — to see police violence not just as normal, but as necessary. We’ve been taught to believe that without the police, the world would fall apart. That violence is what holds things together. That force is what keeps us safe." But the "function [of the police] is not to protect people. It’s to protect the state. Its values. Its property. Its racial and social order." But what's the alternative? "We have to stop outsourcing safety to people trained in force, and start rooting safety in care and relationship."
- I like Garrett Bucks's similar response to the hopelessness that many people feel in response to the passing of this new law: "Raise hell and build power" and "Love harder than the fascists can hate". If the existing power structures have been so thoroughly captured by the rich and the powerful, let's find ways to build local community support to help the people who will now fall through the government safety net. And let's organize at the local level and the state level to build distributed power while making those who supported this monstrosity feel the consequences of their actions. And do it from a place of love, because hate is what led us here.
- One bright point amidst this hopelessness is Zohran Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primary election for New York City mayor. Despite a smear campaign from all the existing power brokers and corporate elites (both Democrats and Republicans), he prevailed anyway, because he spoke to what people truly wanted: “taking on corporate power, lowering the cost of living and building an economy that works for working people.” Matt Stoller examines Mamdani's victory through an anti-monopoly lens if you're curious to learn more.
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I just finished a 3-day workshop on developing secure attachment offered by Steve March who created the Aletheia Coaching approach. It feels a bit indulgent to invest in personal development when there's so much chaos and misery in the world, and yet this workshop feels like a necessary and important part of my path forward. We collectively created a safe space where each attendee contributed to the support and learning of others, while also creating more security for themselves by accessing new capacities within. On the last day, I went from sobbing openly in front of the whole room in the morning because I felt so deeply unworthy of their attention, to connecting with another human in a profound and secure way in the afternoon.
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Each of us will take our similar experiences of connection back to our daily lives and hopefully pass on what we've learned by creating more security for others. And if more people felt secure in themselves, then the fear-mongering and hatred that drives divisive politics would no longer thrive.
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That may be too idealistic, but I believe that each of us creates outward ripples with our behaviors (I have seen this in coaching and mentoring, where a single conversation can resonate and change behaviors years later). We are each role models for others, and by acting in accordance with our values, we create the world we want to inhabit. This weekend's workshop was proof that a group of strangers can create a space of collective support and security if they all show up with an aligned intention. Going forward, I will look for opportunities to create and facilitates more such spaces, and if we each commit to that, perhaps we can change the world to be more loving, one supportive space at a time.
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And now for the normal personal development content…
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LinkedIn: These are ideas that have helped my clients (or myself), and that I share via LinkedIn to help a wider audience, and archive here.
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I haven't posted to LinkedIn because I've been on vacation!
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Thanks for reading, and see you in a couple weeks!
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While visiting Bulgaria with the family, we stopped by the church of Asen's Fortress, with Plovdiv (the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe) in the background.
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This is the Too Many Trees newsletter, where I share what I’ve been writing and reading in the realm of leadership and personal development. My executive coaching practice is centered around the idea that we are more effective in moving towards our goals when we become more conscious and intentional in focusing our time and attention, and learn how our unconscious patterns are holding us back. If you know somebody that could benefit from my perspective, please forward this to them or let them know they can set up a free intro chat with me.
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