Politics: A Gateway to Meditation
Different kinds of experts are the First Lady and I
Now that the clickbait’s out of the way…which I’ll explain later.
The point of this is not the usual political persuasion one is tempted to avail oneself of, given the slightest opportunity, and granted that civic matters claim arguably more attention than those of serenity, even for many blessed with delicate spiritual awareness.
Ii occurred to me after reading two stories last week, each related to a leading presumed presidential nominee this November (talk about synchronicity). I don’t need to symmetrize this comparison by suggesting the cases or their importance were of remotely similar weight or impact on me; nor do readers require the diplomacy or pretense from me of a Sophie’s or Hobson’s choice of the angst or suspense of a dilemma.
Those who know anything my values or worldview will know I approach the choices and advocates very unequally, and anyway it would distract from the quiet mind this article suggests to strive to conceal any bias — an expectation we might hope to have ideally from journalists, educators, spiritual advisors, or other vaunted pillars of society (but one that seems more pragmatic to less lofty advertisers, who see nothing to be gained from creating opponents). Plus, it might make my aspirational request more accessible if I’m frank about showing my more banal temptation nearly all of you might share regardless of actual values.
A while back I subscribed to a news site, which I later came to realize was more sensationalistic than others I have come to prefer. Nevertheless I hadn’t stopped inviting its emails, so Tuesday I received a notice about a scandal related to the president’s five-year-old granddaughter — a salient current event if one ever was [/end sarcasm]. While immediately aware that the subject skewed heavily toward red meat for haters of him rather than deep policy, I “knew” the was no harm in letting the appeal access my mind. Those air quotes are also a form of clickbait by implying low-grade horror-movie suspense muted for readers of a reverent topic, but the subliminal awareness actually led elsewhere…
The story opened with mention of the widely-known report that the First Son had just become a “convicted felon” (the site was apparently determined that political opponents boast no monopoly on such an ad hominem claim). It then immediately launched into details about his daughter and her mother, Lunden Roberts, and how she revealed in a Piers Morgan interview they had never been contacted by Joe or Jill Biden. (Hunter, the girl’s father, established a Zoom relationship when ordered by a court to contact her after DNA testing proved he was the father.)
Fans of President Biden may well at least think his detractors at least have infinitely more compelling reasons than the conduct of his adult son to blame him for. But there was one thought that stood out in the relative stillness of my mind…a stillness perhaps occasioned by the contrast between a human interest story and drier or more complicated ones:
Even his harshest critics think his handlers — including his wife — are guilty of elder abuse in their keeping the administration under control. Maybe those in sympathy with his work would rather credit him with sheer competence…despite his Attorney General’s assessment otherwise given his dismissiveness regarding prosecution. But as remote as the above may be to core issues, what does the First Lady bring to the mix? While the purpose of this story may illustrate a textbook case of reaching, it seemed to rise beyond blatant partisanship at one point:
It’s not like “Doctor” Jill, who received a doctorate in education, doesn’t know the mental, emotional, and developmental problems experienced by those deprived of connections with their own family.
However much one may throw up their hands when they — or another — ask themselves try to gird themselves for a detailed analysis of an actual political policy, the greater accessibility of such a stark claim calls itself to attention on par with the difference between the varieties of thought-stirring politics and noticing the silence in the flow, just as one might during a concert.
She gave greater priority to politics than she did to being a positive force in the life of her husband’s grandchild, or untold quantities of Americans and others who might be inspired by her example, no matter the Biden administration’s impact on their economy or quality of life. How many who are muddled by policies won’t let their awareness stay under their radar August 20, when Roberts’ memoir is released.
Now onto the other side of the aisle
Just Thursday an unusual answer was offered on quora.com. Most of their questions are about dealing with employers, businesses, neighbors or the law, or go unanswered if they’re about atheism or living in Los Angeles and so on. So it caught my attention when a query was headed “When did you realize Donald Trump was bad?”
While I didn’t feel the need to follow news reports that mirrored ubiquitous mainstream sources or what I repeatedly heard from so many of my associates, friends, and family (especially as a Californian), this topic aroused my curiosity and potential expectation of something not boilerplate. Here’s the crux of the answer I read…and to other sources seemed to back it up:
Trump and three of his kids were guests on Howard Stern’s radio program when the subject of math somehow arose, leading to a question that was not horrendously difficult, but that most people wouldn’t attempt without a calculator. After hearing the four Trumps debate the answer until Donald (wrongly) asserted that his was right, what the writer took away was how no one thought to check a calculator, but that Donald bullied his way to declaring the correct answer — even when Stern repeatedly told him it was wrong. While the criticisms of Trump’s policies pale for me compared to the ones of those in charge now, I share the writer’s dumbfound in this case.
While I personally would not need an assistive device for that level of mathematics where most would avail themselves of one, I can relate to being able to prove a correct answer to others, whereas so much related to policy is open to endless debate. My expertise with numbers in contrast to the expertise others would expect of Jill Biden created the subtitle for this article. While the aforementioned similar timing of the two publications caught my attention, that was enough to underscore their similarity amidst so many differences.
Even Trump fans would have to agree that his more bellicose and less deliberate style makes his gruff numeric approach just seem more natural for him than it would coming from others. And these topics could link to so many others, which critics might glom onto as ammo, no matter how remotely. When you read that Jill Biden was a doctor of education, you might have thought that the only other time you’d seen that title was it being the one of the star of the “Cosby Show,” but no need to go there… regardless of your thoughts on advanced education — the growth of which pundit Michael Savage has clearly compared to a real estate bubble. I just bring that up to show how busy the mind can get again.
Perhaps one call of a quiet mind is to face its choice, or simultaneous calling, between what strikes you as the need for what you might label peace — or many other appellations of tranquility — versus one of the greatest responsibilities we may be called upon to express with its apparent opposite, the busiest mind one can muster. Or at least welcome and say you were willing to meet a varied share of the attendant traps along the way. Can I go now?