What If There’s Not Really an Us vs Them?

What if the divides between people are wholly artificial?Photo by Jonathan Harrison on Unsplash

Everywhere you turn, you’re shown an us vs them. We’re constantly bombarded by messages defining who is who, and both blatantly and subtly making one or the other the villain of the piece.

Conservative vs liberal. Black vs white. Male vs female. Old vs young. Christian vs atheist. Palestinian vs Israeli. Native vs immigrant. Have vs have not. Us vs them.

No matter the label you apply to any people, places, things, and so on – it’s all artificial. It’s all bullshit. The truth of the human race is that all of us, at our core, are the same. We’re all one. Yet in a bid to persuade, influence, and even control people, certain individuals create these labels and false conflicts between a false, artificial us and them.

This has become so utterly weaponized that people are acting against their best interests due to the hype and well-crafted lies. They fall for the narrative, see us vs them in faces other than the familiar, and can’t see the truth.

What’s the truth? Us vs them is an artifice designed to disempower the masses.

Distractions and disempowerment

Modern technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the connectivity and instant access to information around the globe are incredible. These tools can help us gain a greater understanding of the world around us. On the other hand, the distraction of games and social media and so-called influencers has created a new and deepening disconnect between people. It has also provided a haven for unsupportable opinions and false beliefs.

Politicians and business leaders have come to realize that weaponizing this is easy. They use it to put out messages directly and indirectly to confuse, distract, and misinform the masses.

The more confusion and disinformation they can put out there, the more they disempower. An excellent tool for that is to create ideas of us vs them, then using that to commit atrocities.

By creating artificial divides and setting us against one another, they distract and disempower the people for their own purposes.

There is no us vs them

Every single notion of us vs them is false. All the things that are used to separate and divide us are based on nothing. Whether it’s religion, gender, nationality, sex, skin color, native or immigrant status, it’s all bullshit.

How can I say that? Just look at the people you surround yourself with. Friends, family, coworkers, and so on. Even with all the differences between you, does anyone not desire to be loved? Is there anyone you can point to who doesn’t want to be treated with kindness, compassion, and empathy?

Yes, motivations vary. Beliefs, values, and ethics differ. Yet beneath all of that, humans are driven by not just survival, but a desire to thrive. And no other animal on the planet has the tools we do to be who, what, where, how, and why we desire.

Across any artificial divide, the ultimate desire of us vs them is the same. Live life. Have experiences within the years our bodies get to have. Thrive how you can. Seek and find love, caring, kindness, compassion, and empathy.

There is no us. There is no them. The divides are utterly artificial.

How do we shift away from our fear-based society of us vs them to a reason-based society of greater understanding? You start with yourself.

Photo by Nick Fewings on UnsplashChosen change is about only you

The only person in your head, heart, and soul is you. You alone know your thoughts, feelings, intentions, positive or negative approaches, and actions. There isn’t any way to get into the head, heart, or soul of another person. Even if they allow you some access to them, you can’t be them.

Likewise, they can’t be you. Ergo, you only have control over yourself. Period. Everything else is moved by forces beyond you and me.

That’s why empowerment comes from within, not without. Sure, I can share information and ideas to help you find your empowerment. But I can’t find it for you, nor give it to you. Neither can anyone else, no matter what they’re selling.

Empowerment is smaller than you think. It’s not some grandiose, all-encompassing state of being. It’s a moment-by-moment experience. You choose it at any given time.

This is done in 2 ways. First, by becoming aware of the world immediately around you. This requires engaging your six senses. Second, by becoming aware of your inner mindset/headspace/psyche self. That’s your thoughts, feelings, intentions, positive or negative approaches, and actions.  

Mindfulness, however, can be done only in the present, because the present is the only time that’s real.

Seeing the artifice of us vs them starts by becoming more consciously aware of yourself. Mindfulness is the key to dispelling the myth.

See us vs them for the bullshit it is

To see the lie of us vs them, all you need to do is look at any given us and them. Are they truly different? Is one more right than the other? Does either intend the other harm?

Some of our so-called leaders and demagogues will play on your fears of suffering and tell you that, of course, they intend to harm you. Yet, when you look past that, you’ll see no, they just want to be as free and clear as you desire to be.

The truth is that there is no us or them. We are all one. Yes, we differ in our beliefs, values, thoughts, and feelings. But beneath it all, we’re just humans, being. When you make the choice to empower yourself, this becomes clear. And with that clarity, anything is possible.

Can you see the lie inherent in us vs them?

This is the seventh-hundred-ninth (709) exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – applying mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.

I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to repost and share this.

The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out my author website for the rest of my published fiction and nonfiction works.

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