When I introduced Listen. Lead. Unite. several months ago, I knew we’d be a work-in-progress—just like our nation.
Some changes and updates:
Though we don’t regret our original Mission Statement—to heal our country’s political traumatization by bringing together communities and elected leaders—I believe our new Mission Statement, below, honors the goal of healing, but is more ambitious:
To heal America’s political traumatization and continue the perfection of our Union by building diverse pro-democracy alliances, and telling original, inspiring and challenging stories about our history and national mythologies.
You may have also noticed a name change for this newsletter, from “America, Heal Thyself” to “Perfecting Our Union.”
Mythologies and stories, I’ve come to realize, are necessary to healing; necessary to effective leadership; and necessary to understanding why we all have settled on our beliefs and opinions—and how mythologies shape our views and interpretations of history and democracy.
With that said, here’s our latest article, in which I present The Republican Political Traumatization Mythologies Meter; most likely, this meter will undergo some fine-tuning in the months to come. Let us know if you think some changes are warranted, and why. Thank you to Salon for the opportunity to publish. And, rest assured: in the spirit of bipartisanship (or, should I say, nonpartisanship?), we’re at work on a Democrat meter.
1-2: Garden-variety partisanship; standard-fare fear-mongering;
3-4: Utilization of trigger words and phrases, such as, but not limited to: "culture," "values" and "parental rights"; these are often incorporated into rhetoric about sex, LGBTQ and "states' rights";
5-6: Overt yearning for when America was "great," i.e. the 1950s or early '60s, when the ruling class was Caucasian, heterosexual (at least outwardly), male and Christian; undermining the value of education and science, especially from the Ivy League-educated;
7-8: Whites are being replaced by brown and Black foreigners; law enforcement is weaponized against Republicans; Big Tech "censors" Republicans; teachers are making our kids gay; Democrats are coming for our guns; citing of Barack Obama by name;
9-10: Elections are rigged, unless won by Republicans; political violence is legitimate political discourse, warranted when Republicans lose; use of guns, as the preferred holy war weapon, to intimidate; Christian theocracy and nationalism; and the will of God.
And here, again, is our November article about GOP mythologies and democracy; thank you to The New Republic.
Lastly, if you celebrate Hanukkah and/or Christmas, Listen. Lead. Unite. wishes you a blessed holiday and Happy New Year.
Thank you, as always, for uniting with us, as we do our part in the pursuit of perfecting our Union.
Rich Logis
Listen. Lead. Unite. founder