I am worn out. Frazzled. Slick. What have we learned? Anything? Perhaps we have learned that it is not nearly so simple as us vs. them. Perhaps we have learned that it is a multilayered entanglement of factors including acknowledging fear and past or future focus and wealth and power and ego and education and perceived entitlement and urgent intensity and empathy.

If I laid out each of these nine factors as a spectrum with a lower end and an upper end, I believe that the mish-mash mix-up of where an individual falls on each spectrum might provide a clue to their political leanings in this nation's ridiculous division of only two political choices. But I don’t believe that one could objectively determine where an individual falls.

We are all afraid; though many will not admit to being afraid, nor do many of us recognize or acknowledge the manifestation of our fear.

The past is misremembered. The future is uncertain; unknown.

Wealth is a continuum from zero to billions.

Power is directly related to wealth but also influenced by belief and perspective, perhaps moreso than I thought.

Ego is directly related to power but also influenced by the entanglement of the multilayered entanglement of factors.

Education is one part what we have learned (and/or what we think we know), and one part how we have learned (and how we continue to learn). Does it make sense that those with a focus on the past emphasize what and those with a focus on the future emphasize how? Does it make sense that those who are also on the lower end of wealth and power simply do not have the resources (including time) to focus their continued learning in a way that will enable personal progress? Does it make sense that this lack of resources is a consequence (intended or not) benefiting those on the upper end of wealth and power?

Perceived entitlement is a continuum from – each and every individual is as necessary as each and every other individual -to- I am the sun and each and every other individual revolves around me. I believe that as a human it is essentially impossible to act purely from one extreme or the other.

Urgent intensity is a personal intense sense of urgency in which the ultimate objective is unidentifiable, just out of sight and just out of reach, and surrounded by an aura of blurred, semi-recognizable aspirations (still often just out of reach) such as health and wellbeing and opportunity and comfort and security and justice. Those who find or believe these pursuits to be clear and readily attainable are less likely to exhibit any formulation of urgent intensity.

Empathy is urgent intensity as an intense sense of urgency ascribed beyond oneself to others, in a continuum from a significant other or very close family and friends to all of humanity.

The challenge lies in the fact that we lie; not only to others but also to our self.

I am hesitant to admit to others just how afraid I am, and for the sake of my sanity I suppress and ignore that fear. Many claim to be concerned about and working for the future, but our trajectory (actions and results) shows that we are still modeling the moment after an idealized past with very little thought for the future. Wealth and its ever-increasing gap is a lie that speaks for itself. The inconsistencies from words to actions to results exposes the lie in power. It is the ego’s job to lie. We don't know what we think we know, and 'how' is a question that should only be answered by interdependent cooperation. To feel entitled is to work to deceive justice. Urgent intensity (and by default, empathy): again, words, actions, results.

So, in the midst of all of these lies, we find the truth of complexity; a complexity that has created the uncertainty surrounding our future, resulting in a spiraling unpredictability of individual behavior adding to the complexity of the entire circumstance. I interpret the added complexity, the uncertainty and the unpredictability as an overwhelming plea for the simplicity of results; a simplicity that will unfog health and wellbeing and opportunity and comfort and security and justice and ultimately allow us to see a possible future.

I believe it is the complexity of our bureaucratic capitalism that has created this monstrous circumstance, and I believe that it is the words-actions-results lie of urgent intensity (and empathy and future focus) seen over and over again from those with power that perpetuates this monstrous circumstance, and as is, I don’t see that this circumstance will become any less monstrous, so I can only believe (predict) that the unpredictability of individual behavior will become more and more unpredictable.

Enough divisive rhetoric! For the sake of Humanity, it is time for the simplicity of results…