To the editor:
There has been a lot of talk about voting strategy on the campaign trail leading up to the election. There are only two strategies that matter and the outcome will be determined by voter turnout.
Divide and conquer is a strategy used by those who have aspired to power for millennia. Divide and conquer pits one against the other with predictable results for power mongers. Race against race, rich against poor, religion against religion, environment against economy, just to name a couple of popular divide and conquer strategies. In today’s world the divide and conquer strategy has reached new heights, or lows depending on your point of view. Dog people vs cat people, chevy vs ford, coke vs pepsi, stocks vs bonds, etc vs etc.
Divide and conquer exploits the differences between humans. We get suckered into discussions, decisions and actions based on who is superior to who, or what is superior to what. The tools of divide and conquer are nothing if not inventive, laws, regulations, secret negotiations, police, military, rules, trademarks, copyrights, bullying and more, all designed to promote and protect the right to divide and conquer.
This divide and conquer mentality has managed to creep its way into every facet of our lives. We live in fear, disgust, shame, guilt and are forever looking over our shoulders to see who has it in for us, or how we are going to be screwed over in new and inventive ways. Colonialism and capitalism are the poster children for this dysfunctional way of living. Government and corporations are particularly adept at continually reinventing the concept of divide and conquer.
Commonality is the other strategy, the practice of discovering what we have in common, as opposed to what separates us. We have reached a point in history where humans around the world are searching, searching it would appear, for peace in a chaotic world. The language of commonality is very different from the language of divide and conquer, softer and questioning as opposed to hard and authoritarian. commonality seeks to find ways to pull together to achieve a greater good.
Distinct lines are being drawn in the sand at this time in history. There is a weariness in the land with the divide and conquer approach and the toxic way of living it promotes. People want something different and are beginning to realize that the only way to bring about change, especially where government is concerned, is to get involved and work towards common and sustainable goals.
The divide and conquer side absolutely depends on a low voter turnout, an apathetic and frustrated electorate whose majority will remain silent, a proven recipe designed to retain a strangle hold on power. The other side of the coin is a strategy that would bring people together in new and unprecedented ways, a strategy of commonality to tackle the unprecedented challenges we face in todays’ world. Just listening to the language used during this election will tell you on which side of the line candidate’s stand. On Oct. 19 the story will be told. Will we wake up to a divide and conquer way of life for the umpteenth time, or will we have chosen to stand together with the promise of sending a healthy and vibrant planet to future generations?
Bob Purdy, Kelowna
