I have been thinking about the two sides squared off in the US right now. Red states, blue states; Republican, Democrat: right, left; label them what you will. Lakoff in The Political Mind suggests that they are aligned with two types of family models and that most of us have both sides in us.
His two family models are “authoritarian” and “empathetic.” The authoritarian model is one that is based on the father guiding the rest of the family with his wisdom,
the empathetic is one based on compassion and equality.
I can see both of these in myself. Sometimes when I speak I sound so authoritative that you might think God whispered the truth in my ear. This is probably not a nice part of me. But I also think that my search for coherence and logic comes from this kind of thinking as well. I tend to seek out “authorities” about subjects.
The empathetic side is the side of me that I consciously cultivate. Here is where I try to put myself in other people’s shoes. Also I have a strong value that everyone should be respected and have opportunities to take care of themselves. My sense of fairness might come from this side of me as well.
I also believe that we are responsible for who we are.
The only person one can really change or answer for is one’s self. This seems to combine aspects of both family model philosophies.
These ideas do help me a bit when I see people so angry around distant political and moral questions. But I think it’s important to mostly look inside myself.
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Historic Chelsea Hotel Closes to Guests – NYTimes.com
” … Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen and Robert Crumb roamed its halls… ”
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Biased but Brilliant, Science Embraces Pigheadedness – NYTimes.com
Examining bias as part of truth seeking.
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Samuel Barber and William Schuman, Awaiting Their Due – NYTimes.com
Some anecdotes from these men’s lives in this article.
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I LOVE the navel gazing!!!! Love it. So perfect. I liked the rest of this blog and related to it as well. But the navel gazing really stood out for me.
Thank you, Cindy! Hope things are going well in Ohio!