United We Stand - includes EVERYONE not just a few

Thomas Covey has a rule. "Win Win" the idea is that for anything; any negotiation, discussion, argument, social change, the goal is to seek "Win Win" not "Win Lose", or worse "Lose Lose". The goal is that if we work together we ALL can win. 

Life isn't a football game, it isn't red team versus blue team, it isn't them and us. Yet there are forces that seek to pit us against each other, to stir the pot, to keep us ALL living in fear, to keep us divided. The news does it, politicians do it, and religious forces can also do it. All of these forces generally resort to using Fear to control people. In Frank Herbert's book "Dune" there is a moment where Paul (a character) chants "I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer..I will fear no fear"  something like that.. paraphrased here, he is not wrong. I use this all the time, especially when facing a decision or something difficult I have to do. 

So how do we address these forces that seek to control and divide all of us? 

It starts with recognizing that this is going on, this one simple step takes the 'wind out of their sails'. Agreeing with each other that this is happening, we are being manipulated 'Unites us all'. Once we can agree that this is a real control mechanism happening/ going on, recognizing that there are forces that seek to keep all of us divided. Then... real change, real "Win Win" solutions can occur. I'm sure you experience or witness it, we all do. It sucks, its old, tiring, and its a dinosaur way of thinking about the world and the neighbor whom sits or lives next to us. Lets change it. "United we Stand, Divided we Fall" has never been more true.