I came across an article this morning by Dennis Sanders entitled Attention must be paid: the electoral lessons of the working class:
Trump exposed something that we Americans are loathe to talk about – class. As hard as it is to talk about race in America, we like to pretend class doesn’t exist. But the fact is, it does and it shows itself in how middle and upper income Americans look at low income Americans, especially those who are poor and white. The well educated in American society tend to view the working class, especially the white working class with contempt.
… and earlier in the article:
When you are always outraged, when you believe that we are at the tipping point where American democracy is lost, you tend to miss a lot of other things that gets the electorate mad.
We must practice compassion to heal. This means being fully present and insanely curious about what others are thinking and feeling. This is with full presence and without judgment. We must provide safe spaces for others to let their shields down, to expose their true selves, in order to collectively heal.
I agree that attention must be paid. It must be paid to everyone. We are all equal, whether we choose to believe it or not.
When we practice generating compassion, we can expect to experience the fear of our pain. Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allows ourselves to move gently toward what scares us. – American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön, The Places that Scare You