You Probably Think This Piece Is About Mitch McConnell. It Isn't

Issue 74

americanindependent.com

I literally shudder, or something, at the sound of his voice. His visage elicits a visceral response in my own physicality every time so, yeah, something is up. It’s up in me, to be clear, in case that isn’t obvious, because it’s never about the other person and this is most definitely not about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

So what is up in me? Am I sitting in judgment of this man? It may appear that way but no, that’s not it. Conscious politics practitioners insist on being compassionate — not judgmental — and part of being compassionate is acknowledging and accepting that each and every one of us are spiritual, eternal beings having our unique human, physical experiences. Namaste. All of us are here on purpose for a purpose and the senior senator from the perpetually poor, federally-subsidized state of Kentucky — to which federal dollars are literally and routinely redistributed from wealthier states run largely by Democrats but don’t call it socialism — is no exception. He’s here on purpose for a purpose just like me, just like you. I have no resistance to or judgment about him or that whatsoever.

When he rails against “socialism” or gun reform or boasts that one of his proudest moments was saying to Barack Obama, “Mr. President, you will not fill this Supreme Court vacancy” after Justice Scalia died in February, 2016 or when he opposes unions or the minimum wage or climate change mitigation or campaign finance reform or affordable health care or gun reform or anything I support, it isn’t personal. It never is. For the record, all that is filed under take responsibility. Check.

Visceral reactions and responses to things other people say and do are filed under inspiration, also known as gut, intuition, guidance, message, and feeling. It’s chock full of information about us for us and we are admonished to listen to it. Listening to inspiration boils down to identifying what we’re feeling and choosing to act upon it. (Or not.) Upon reflection, my “shuddering” today is actually two identifiable feelings: constriction and agitation. I see and/or hear the personage of the the minority leader and immediately feel constricted and agitated. Hmmm. Something is disturbing my peace. Something is out of alignment with who I am and what I want. That’s what those feelings tell me and living in the new consciousness means being guided by those feelings.

I also believe there are no accidents, which means he’s on my radar for some purpose as evidenced by what’s evinced in me when I encounter him, so I use him. I use the fuck out of him.

Out in the world, nothing about this man would bother me — at all. It is only in the context of my being an American citizen who advocates for conscious politics that I even know who Mitch McConnell is. It is only my role as a citizen advocate for an America that has recommitted to being a mature, self-governing, healthy, democratic society that works for everyone, replete with a high-functioning Congress whose members are steeped in reverence for our constitution, compassion, and integrity and who trust one another to adhere to basic norms, rules, and principles that makes it matter to me that the senator, objectively, stands for none of these things. That’s his right and that’s why seeing and hearing him — because of the power of his position — is akin to fingernails on the blackboard. It’s not judgment, it’s a message. So what’s a conscious politics practitioner to do?

In addition to listening to inspiration and taking responsibility and being compassionate, you mean? Well, there’s also being present to the reality that is. He was reelected, again, by Kentuckians in 2020 and reelected, again, by his Republican colleagues to lead them in the senate and there’s not a thing I can do to undo any of that. I don’t resist, nor do I fight. I also believe there are no accidents, which means he’s on my radar for some purpose as evidenced by what’s evinced in me when I encounter him, so I use him. I use the fuck out of him. I springboard directly from what it seems to me he stands for and use what I see — e.g., duplicity, disingenuousness, hypocrisy, self-promotion — to become ever more clear about the America in which I want to live, see above. The law of attraction is always on so instead of investing any of my precious time and energy in anything that stands in opposition to that, I invest it in what I’d prefer to see and experience. Genius, I know.

Inspired by the senator, as it were, I focus my attention on younger Americans who, as citizens and officeholders, will not countenance the concept of powerful lawmakers in thrall to corporations and billionaires. I focus my attention on America doubling down on and reclaiming its commitment to being a truly self-governing, vibrant, dynamic, healthy democracy — that whole thing. I advocate for policies and proposals that make life better and level the playing field for those who have been left behind — in poverty, in un- and under-employment, in food deserts, in the streets, unhoused, without health care or quality education. I advocate for Americans who otherwise feel oppressed, unsafe, and left out because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or previous incarceration. I support candidates and campaigns everywhere whose values I share. I write about conscious politics to offer my fellow Americans a different perspective of life on our political landscape. I envision the Congressional Conscious Caucus coming to fruition.

When I do any or all of this, I feel excited, enthusiastic, and eager. Now inspiration is telling me, ahhh, I’m back on track. We are all connected so you’re welcome for supplanting constriction and agitation with excitement and enthusiasm. And to complete the circle, I tip my hat to the Republican leader and thank him with my attitude of gratitude. Because whether I needed it or not, who the senator is has helped me to be even more of who I am. And with that, I bless his ever-lovin’ heart.

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