What is Really Happening?

Morning Coffee with my Husband Matt and I have been discussing politics over morning coffee, which always gets me to think and reflect about what is happening in our own country during the last few presidents. I am not one to get into the fire of political debates. It is just too hard on my nervous system. Yet I have seen a trend in this country, through news casting, social media, and the politicians, that make me pause for reflection. I ask the question: what is really happening here? I have seen a country that has presented issues that are so emotionally charged that it has separated us to the point that we automatically go into emotional reactivity. When we are emotionally triggered by life's threatening issues such as: Covid, War in the Middle East, Ukraine/Russian War, the War against the Environment, just to name a few, one becomes so emotionally reactive that we actually stop listening to each other and take one side or the other. When a news reporter prints half truths, or begins their articles with the phrase "this is what the candidate is really saying," That type of reporting is an interpretation and can even be a projection. When interviewers are talking about heated political situations, these situations may have no easy answers and/or no immediate solutions. When they fire their questions off without giving spaces for a response, then it is time we ask ourselves what is really happening here? What is taking place? Most people these days are working full time just to pay their rent, mortgage and put food on the table. They only have time for a quick news feed which is most often a one-sided viewpoint. Newspapers and News media outlet that we once all trusted have been bought up by multi billionaires that have an agenda. Social media is now controlled by sophisticated programs that can control people's sharing depending on one's political view. So to dig up the real facts that are backed up with science, that is not being funded by a corporate world agenda, is difficult to find. Yet it is possible, but it takes time, it takes research and thinking out of the box. It also takes one to step back and witness our own emotional reactions, take that pause, to reflect, "What is really happening here?" The people of this country have been divided purposely in these last few years. We have forgotten the simple phrase that began this country " We the People." A divided people is much easier to conquer and manipulate when we become lost in emotional reactivity. When we stop questioning, we lose the openness to hear another's point of view. We close down and make up our mind without actually taking the steps to investigate both sides from reliable sources. No candidate is perfectly spotless, for we are humans and we learn through the mistakes of our human experiences. The question here is: "Has this person learned real wisdom from their experiences?" No candidate will be able to fix all the difficult problems we are faced with in our country, let alone other countries' problems. Are we being led down an endless maze of rabbit holes to forget the real issues in our own country that need to be addressed? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves through our own self reflection, that comes when we are not in emotional reactivity. 1- Are we staying open to both sides of the coin? before we make a conclusion. 2- Do we do our research directly from the horse's mouth and not from a reporter's own interpretations of what has been said. 3 - Are we questioning reporters' motivations, when they have lost the courtesy to allow space for the interviewer to answer the questions asked. These are some reflections I have over conversations with my husband during morning coffee. Matt's wife