The entire world was stunned last week by the results of the US Presidential election. How could the wealthiest country in the world, one that professes democracy, have elected a man who runs counter to what the majority holds dear? How could we elect a climate denier, who used racist, sexist, and xenophobic language throughout his campaign?
How can we make sense of this? Is there a way we can view the election from a broad perspective that includes not only politics but also the economy and our culture, and thereby see more of the forces shaping the election?
“We have entered a watershed moment not only here in America, but also globally. It’s a moment that could help us wake up to a deeper level of collective awareness and renewal – or a moment when we could spiral down into chaos, violence, and fascism-like conditions. Whether it’s one or the other depends on our capacity to become aware of our collective blind spot.”
This is the opening paragraph of an article by Otto Scharmer, co-founder of u.lab at MIT, Senior Lecturer, and Thousand Talents Program Professor at Tsinghua University.
In his article, On The Making of Trump – The Blind Spot That Created Him, Scharmer discusses the Economic Divide, the Political Divide, and the Cultural-Spiritual Divide that resulted in Trump as the President-Elect. This is the most thoughtful, thorough, uplifting, and helpful response to these questions that I’ve read.
Scharmer also leads an international online program with over 75,000 people worldwide having participated. His insightful, free course is designed for collaboration and guides participants to create solutions for their specific situations that serve our “Emerging Future”. There are 29,000 people registered in his current course! This is a great opportunity to participate in a powerful, uplifting and global training. If you’re intrigued, consider participating!