The Surprising Chasm Between Progressive and Conscious Politics

Issue 79

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I look forward to when conscious politics is a far less nascent, much more entrenched endeavor, widely seen as neither left/liberal nor right/conservative. Anyone? I don’t and won’t hide truth, ever, and it’s true that more often than not, I personally align with policies, practices, and legislation that cluster on the left-leaning, progressive side of things. But it’s not because I’m a progressive, quote unquote, or because I’m a Democrat. I’m not. It’s because I’m a conscious politics practitioner, which somehow translates into policies, practices, and legislation that happen to align with liberal/left/progressive politics in America today.

For example, we belong to the planet, not the planet to us. That means what we do to it, we do to ourselves. Conscious politics-wise, that means prioritizing the health and well being of the planet over the health and well being of corporations, shareholders, and industries. I’m not anti-oil, I’m pro-planet. The oil industry harms the planet so conscious politics says no oil industry — certainly no government subsidies — because of that harm. It’s not complicated. In certain circles, this classifies me as a radical leftist tree-hugging progressive socialist whacko who hates America and kills jobs. OK, but I support the ideas in the Green New Deal because of conscious politics, not because of that.

For another example, be compassionate. That means everyone is treated equally. Conscious politics-wise, that means prioritizing listening to every category of American — especially those who cry out that our society doesn’t work for them, never did, and often works against them by design — and making sure they’re heard and served. Also, we are all connected so none of us are served when any of us struggle to thrive. Universal basic income (UBI) garners my support, then, because it’s a proven method for leveling the playing field and aligns with what a conscious, compassionate society would do. That’s all.

But surprisingly, none of this simpatico with my progressive compatriots translates to agreeing on how to approach politics. Not at all.

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a lightning rod for all manner of political derision, is a Democratic Socialist who has twice won election as a Democrat. Reading an interview she did with David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, published last week, I saw and felt the chasm between how an unabashed progressive Democratic Socialist like her and an unabashed conscious politics practitioner like me approach, in this case, the concept of political hope. At one point she said, “if we have a democracy ten years from now,” which prompted a follow-up from Remnick about the current talk of a brewing civil war in America: What might “bring us to that degraded point?,” he asked.

If you ask me, her response was nothing like how a conscious politics practitioner would respond. She said, “Well, I think it has started, but it’s not beyond hope. We’re never beyond hope.” She went on, in an otherwise unremarkable, boiler-plate kind of way, to clearly articulate how, paraphrasing, White nationalism is gaining steam and that our risk is a return to Jim Crow and a country that calls itself a democracy but really isn’t. She hopes it doesn’t happen but waxes on with all the ways it has happened and could happen — also known in certain circles as a missed opportunity of gargantuan proportions.

Conscious politics practitioners know this. Watch what happens when progressives know this, too.

A conscious politics practitioner in her position would not talk in terms of hope and how there’s always hope and how we’re never beyond hope, but. She would instead educate her audience about the difference between hope and intention in light of how the law of attraction works. She would train her audience’s attention upon and enlist their support for her version of the equitable society she envisions that works for everyone. She would organically change, move, and elevate the conversation from an old-consciousness, us-vs-them, we-gotta-fight-like-hell footing into the juicy place of creating what’s desired. Intentionally. She would shine a national spotlight on the vast array of energy already aligned with, working toward, and succeeding in establishing inclusive, diverse environments in all 50 states. She’d advocate for connecting and networking them, enlisting more national support for them. She would be resolute in her refusal to fight with a minority of Americans who would supplant our fragile democracy with an autocratic, White nationalist society that is literally predicated upon subjugating and negating the experiences of broad swaths of fellow Americans. She would directly address the 35% of Americans who ostensibly support not-democracy with an invitation to help create a society with room for them, too. She would highlight and promote the work of every American who has successfully left the anti-democratic life and the teams and organizations with whom they work. She’d announce her intention to see their support soften and their numbers reduce to 25%? Twenty? Much less? She would introduce legislation putting the prosecution of domestic terrorism on a par with that of foreign terrorism. She would proclaim her abject unwillingness to fight a physical war with weapons and violence and replace it with good, old-fashioned battles of ideas.

Whether or not every single policy created by conscious politics practitioners would ultimately align with progressive, liberal, Democratic policies remains to be seen. I’m eager to see what happens when both conscious Republicans and conscious Democrats are viewing any policy through the same lens. But it’s hard to see how we get there without an entirely different approach to politics that transcends the us-vs-them, fight-like-hell dynamic.

I have no beef with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and am grateful for what she sparked in me. It’s not a new discovery, this chasm, I just want to bridge it. To be sure, it’s good practice to be hopeful, particularly when it comes to others. It is essential, however, to be intentional when it comes to ourselves. Conscious politics practitioners know this. Watch what happens when progressives know this, too.

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