American the Regressed?

  I had an “integral moment” last week in which I had the sudden thought that perhaps one reason we have become so divided among ourselves and so uncivil to each other in America is because many or most of us have developmentally regressed in some way or in some specific developmental line.  And yes, I see myself as part of the problem.

    One reason I thought this idea might be interesting from an integral point of view was that I first noted my own (and others) regression during a long committee battle at work and it troubled me (Subjective, Quadrant I), so I consulted with the nurse I work with (Intersubjective, Quadrant II) as well as several other people and they had also noted the same phenomenon among themselves.  We then looked at the behavior of the political system in general (Objective System, Quadrant IV) and we concluded that this regression appears to be happening on a national, perhaps global scale.  Then, of course there are the cultural aspects (Quadrant II) of this problem.

   While I had had some previous thoughts along this line, because of my own recent transient (I hope) regression due to frustration, I suddenly had a better insight into what was going on in the minds of people who listen to a lot of Right or Left Wing talk shows.  I think chronically listening to shows like this creates anger and frustration, which in turn, creates regression.  When people regress from Green to Amber or Amber to Red, more “enemies” are created, since with each level of regression, the “tribe” gets smaller.

  Looking at it this way, I no longer see Congress as merely dysfunctional, but as a microscopic representation of the macroscopic problem of the people in the United States.  When Red and Amber tribes form, they elect Red and Amber Congress-people.  Since there often appears to be little or no overlap of the belief systems of the regressed tribes with the people outside of these tribes, when these elected Congress-people try and negotiate with each other, there is no longer any significant common ground for them to negotiate from.  They have regressed too far.  This results in the strict party line voting we now see: “Not in my tribe?  You don’t get my vote.”

  Yes, this is an over simplification in order to make a point in a short essay.  I’ve left out the Wilber “conveyor belt effect,” for one thing.  However, I think its partial truth gives a perspective that will allow certain things that are going on today to be better understood, plus it also implies a solution.

  So, what is the solution?  Well, the easy integral answer is “development.”  The hard answer is that to heal this chasm, the system needs to develop a way to reverse this regression or counter it.  A stalemate will continue until this resolves and since “Evolution Happens”, change will occur.  However, whether this is a conscious change or a shadow change depends upon us and what we do.  So, I ask, what do we do?  Please have an “integral moment” and let me know your ideas.

Thanks,

mb

PS: I still think we're beautiful!