Faffing with an Open Mind

faffing: 1) to aimlessly waste time doing useless tasks. 2) my new favorite word.

I returned last night from a week's worth of climbing in the desert. While I take a brief hiatus from the newly-blooming flowers and warming temps, I will heal my bruised hands and feet, file my quarterly taxes, and check in on the non-progress of purchasing a short-sale property (you may be doing well on the stock market, Wells Fargo, but your ability to process my offer sucks big time).

Okay, truth be told, I will also log some Facebook time, catch up on Lost (enjoying it, but sort of over it, too), get in on the new season of Glee (when no one is around), watch video clips (SNL, thank you for bringing back Tina), and read all of my friends' recent blog entries.

Now that I'm somewhat of a blogger myself, I enjoy reading ruminations about life, climbing, medical conditions, house renovations. In particular, I enjoy my friend Pat's blog. His latest entry compares a newsworthy event depicted on both the NYT and Fox News web sites. As I faf away here in the land of electricity-that-doesn't-require-a-generator, I decided to check out Fox News' home page myself to check it out first-hand.

In the headlines, I was thankful to see Obama's name in the headlines. I noticed earlier this morning on Google News that every story under 'US News' was graced with a picture of Sarah Palin. I started to wonder if leadership of our country changed hands while I was unplugged in the desert.

Next, I noticed, in extra large print, Terror Plot Details Revealed. Again thinking I'd missed some important event of epic proportions, I opened the story with interest. The 'details' were pretty thin (lacking when this attempt at terror actually took place), so I looked for other stories. Turns out this mega-headline on FoxNews.com is a follow-up to a story from May, 2009. Important news? I suppose. Breaking news? Hardly. Maybe it's a slow news day, but it seemed like the story was there more to remind us to be afraid than to impart any real information.

Then I took the 'How can the govt expand revenue' quiz and found that start to finish, this was an excellent demonstration of how to skew data. For those of you who know me as a dirtbag climber with a mystery job, I do a lot of this in my work (i.e., create surveys, skew data). I'll spare you the details, but 'tax the rich' seems laden with sarcasm. To be fair (and balanced), FoxNews disclosed that this was not a 'scientific poll.' Um, yeah.

I found a section called Fox Nation, which seems to hold their opinion columns. Maureen Dowd may have a deserved reputation for antagonism in her musings, but she's got nothing on the anonymously-written articles here. Today there are two new columns: 1) why Obama is the most naive president ever, and 2) Obama might be insane. Thanks Fox, this now concludes my morning on your web site.

While it may not sound like it to my Fox-loving friends, I have put a lot of energy into approaching today's divisive political world with an open mind. In addition to reading some of the apocalyptic propaganda in my inbox and viewing Fair and Balanced news without Jon Stewart's interpretation, I had the most productive political debate I've ever had in the Creek yesterday.

The lasting lesson of my desert discussion was to have correct intentions before you open your mouth. With the intention to listen openly and to seek understanding, the entire conversation took on a different purpose. Yesterday was an experience in self discovery that also led to a deeper understanding of the topic at hand in a way that no red herring, circular debate about Obama's birth certificate could ever be.

Once everyone gets out of the dualistic us/them mindset, leaves the rhetoric behind, and gets genuinely interested in what others have to say, there is so much to learn. Not so much about the topic of healthcare or the topic du-jour, but understanding how our unique life experiences shape how we see the world.

• I want healthcare reform, but I can also relate to the person with a five-figure tax bill who doesn't want to subsidize it. Imagine freeloaders eating your food, drinking your beer, and sleeping on your couch. Forever. Legally mandated.
  That said, I think you can also argue that healthcare is already costing us a ton. That same taxpayer already subsidizes it. The freeloader is already on your couch - reform isn't letting him in, it's giving him a blanket.
  
  
• I see the cracks in a system that works for healthy people on group policies, but not folks in the fringes. (Ironically, it seems to work especially well for our citizens on Medicare.) We have a system built on assumptions of how people live their lives. I was one of those mainstreamers for over a decade, and back then I wouldn't have understood what it's like to play insurance defense like I do today. In a recently purchased insurance policy, I was required to complete three surveys to reveal anything that would allow them to deny me coverage later. (I was told this was standard policy.) Does this sound like good customer service to you? Does it sound ethical?
  
  
• I've also spent my consulting career trying to help people cope with change - realizing that change is not easy under the best of circumstances and real change develops over generations, not in days or weeks. We are a society with extremely high expectations and no patience.

Wow, that's a rant. Sorry. What's my point?

I guess it's that I am trying to find my voice and my own perspective in this national debate. I feel surrounded by dualistic, divisive stimuli (e.g., Tea Party... sorry if you're a tea partier, but 'we need to reload' is basically divisive by definition). Intimidation, fear-mongering feels like noise to me and it shuts me down. I find the irrelevant, sour-grapes debates about the legitimacy of Obama's presidency unworthy of my energy. (You didn't vote for him. You don't like him. I get it.)

However, yesterday opened my eyes to a new way to engage. Genuinely seeking greater understanding of yourself and others by exploring these huge challenges we face as a nation - now that is rich. It's less divisive - and ultimately it is far more useful. If we could replace some of the noise with some more of this, I have some hope for us all.

'And that's just about all I have to say about that.'

Pat, please don't write about Glenn Beck... I think he'd raise my blood pressure and I'm not sure when coverage for that kicks in with this new insurance.

Thanks for listening. Could someone please give me a hand off this soapbox?