Us vs. Them

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32UsThem
U.S. elections are always the same. People get entrenched in an “us versus them” mentality. “We’re good, they’re bad.” “We know what we’re talking about – they don’t.”
It just doesn’t work that way, people.
We have this tendency to create dichotomies in our lives – to separate ourselves from those whom we believe are different from us, and therefore, wrong. Psychotherapist Melanie Klein referred to this as “splitting.”
We lament:

  • “Things would be great if only they would stop acting that way.”
  • “Life would be better if only they agreed with me.”
  • “All problems would be solved if only they changed their behavior.”

Spiritual-religious news flash: there is no “they.”
The problem isn’t with “them” – it’s with us. It’s you. It’s me. And us.
We are the problem.
If we want change, we must work from the inside.
Until we start treating everyone with compassion – including them – nothing will ever change.
Spiritual-religious advice:
Realize you are part of the problem.
With love,
i best

Way Through

✧✧✧ Hugh’s dad died a few weeks ago. Hugh is a dear friend and Presbyterian minister in Waterloo (just west of Toronto), Ontario, Canada. I call, we small-talk for a while, and then I ask, “How is your heart?” “I appreciate you asking. My heart is heavy and sad.” ✧✧✧ I love Hugh.I mean, how many people do you know

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Flash Bang

✧✧✧ My buddy Marc meets me near my house at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon so we can bike to the small park named for Elizabeth Caruthers. I looked her up as I started to write this article. Elizabeth Caruthers was an early pioneer woman whose Supreme Court case led to the 1850 Donation Act—ruling that a woman, married or not,

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Hiawatha Johnson, JR.

January 2026 — Portland, ORE Hiawatha Johnson, Jr., a mentor and friend died. Summer 1985 — Magic Camp Oakdale, Long Island I’m 15. He’s 30. He wears a dashiki. He uses a walking stick. I’m prepubescent. I listen to comedy cassettes on a Walkman. I’m in awe. ✧✧✧ I perform a rather banal magic act that year — me narrating

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77% Weekly Newsletter
77% Weekly Newsletter