Which America Do You Want to Live In?
The Problem
Do you want to live in an America of anxiety, anger, hatred, hopelessness, apathy, ultimatums, cynicism, and fear? In other words … disruptive, repelling and destructive behaviors?
or, Do you want to live in an America of trust, acceptance, confidence, debate, achievement, faith, meaning, and hope? In other words … creative, compelling and constructive behaviors?
Australian behavioral scientist, Wilfred Jarvis, said: “We are creatures full of energy.” Then, he succinctly divided those energies into two categories, using an accounting principle, and called them Living in the Red or Living in the Black.
Two Americas
We have heard before the phrase that there are two Americas, but a new way of seeing those two Americas is though our everyday actions and choices. America often makes its decisions based on feelings. I think, given the opportunity, we would choose to live in the creative, compelling and constructive America. I know that it is unrealistic to think we could live in that American reality all the time. We are facing tough and extremely unsettling situations at home and abroad. However, I also want to remind us all that through the centuries there has always been the worst of the worst to face. But can we predominantly live in that constructive and creative America?
The Media Doesn’t Have to Tell Us The Truth
One reason we are perpetually dragged away from the constructive and compelling America that we want is our immediate front seat to all of the worst of the worst in our country and in the world that, technologically, comes right into our homes bombarding us everyday though our TV and computer screens.
Compound that with the “if it bleeds it leads” mentality of corporate media and we may quickly find ourselves Living in the Red day in and day out and year in and year out about issues of which we have no control.
Did you know there are no truth-in-advertising laws for political ads? So, they can propagate their version of “if it bleeds it leads” to scare, manipulate and lie.
Corporate media has no responsibility to the truth and has abandoned their responsibility to provide real news. The media industry has succumbed entirely to infotainment, ratings and strategies to maximize profit which means to us that if it’s sad, depressing, scary, unbelievable, devastating and is focusing on someone else’s misery the corporate media will show it to us over and over again.
It is a cheap and exploitive tactic to achieve ratings and it works because it has the fascination of a train wreck. How can we not think our lives miserable and feel threatened when our senses are constantly assaulted in this way? Since it is done for profit, it will never stop.
We Have More Power Than Just Our One Vote
Deciding how to react to the constant and unrelenting Living in the Red energies would normally be an individual matter to decide, but when it comes to voting and making decisions about our country and, therefore, for all of us, it becomes an imperative national issue. This is one reason why I wrote America Abandoned ~ The Secret Velvet Coup That Cost Us Our Democracy In it, I offer ideas on how you may take a fresh viewpoint on our country and what your real and powerful role as a citizen could possibly be.
One fresh viewpoint is to realize that when we vote we are not just voting for ourselves. The decisions we make could also affect 320 million other people. That is an impactful and powerful responsibility.
Another fresh viewpoint is to use the concepts of Living in the Black and Living in the Red to assist us in triaging decisions that, eventually, could lead to that creative, compelling and constructive America in which we all want to live.
Sustaining or Syphoning?
In addition, another method to triage decisions is to determine if the candidates and initiatives presented to us have a track record of Sustaining or Syphoning America. Does the person, program or organization present positive Living in the Black energies of resilience, proactivity, truth and democracy and implements Sustaining activities that would benefit each of us and our country or are they Syphoning from us though panic, reactivity, lies and greed with a track record of syphoning resources, money and, in addition, infiltrating our society with negative Living in the Red ideas and actions? Each choice creates a radically different America.
They Committed Treason for Us
The minute our forefathers signed The Declaration of Independence, overnight they became traitors to the British Empire and many of them lost everything they had because of it; their ships, their land, and even their families.
Those forefathers, and foremothers standing beside them, debated, stressed and worried about what new country they had just created and sacrificed everything to give it a chance to exist. The least we can do to honor their extraordinary sacrifice on our behalf and the extraordinary country they created, is to make smart creative, constructive and compelling decisions about which America we want to live in.
Can you decide now which America you want to live in and what active role will you step into to create that America?