Oct 28 2018

(My editorial note: Due to the unpredictable nature of news related to peaceful leadership, Peace Matters will no longer come to you on a specific day each week, but I’m still committed to a weekly release, sometime between Thursday and Sunday.)

I’ve lived in America long enough, and watched news coverage of its hate-fueled crimes often enough, that this week of deadly attacks could have been one more mind-numbing moment in the uptick of violence.

But instead of turning away from the dark news, and the even darker sentiment that fomented such violence, I keep leaning in. This is not a time for us to tune out or give in to the darkness. And after months of vain hopes that current elected officials will speak up for us, the time has come for us to rally each other. It may be voting season, and our votes do count like never before, but being an active citizen includes so much more. This November, I’ll be hosting workshops to guide us into that more active citizenship, and I’m inviting you to join me.

As The World Turns

Pioneer or anarchist?

This week’s pipe bomb threats and synagogue shooting have re-ignited the debate over social media, free speech and political expression. Should a social media network be held to account for a murderer who posts on it? Does free speech mean any and all speech, anywhere and everywhere? What counts for welcome vs unwelcome political expression?

In a democracy like America, the lines aren’t always clearly defined, and it’s up to those of us who live here to define them. The synagogue shooter reveled in his anti-Semitic speech on the new and lesser-known social network called Gab. I got curious about its reason for being, and found this declaration on its crowdfunding page:

“The internet belongs to We The People. Period. Together we can preserve something incredible for generations to come. A human achievement so great it challenges the status quo and power of the global elite: the fundamental human right of expression.

We believe there is none more powerful in this world than the storytellers. No amount of money, human resources, or time can stop them or their ideas. The goal of censorship is to silence the storytellers, the truth seekers, the contrarians, the artists, those who question the status quo. We cannot stand by and watch this continue to happen.”

I’ve heard this refrain many times, from many a (Silicon Valley) startup. It’s been the stuff of tech legend, of the genius lone wolf engineer who battles the powers that be, so that we can all be free of their tyranny. Tech and entrepreneur magazines have lauded this desire to question the status quo. I, too, being a contrarian and storyteller in my own right, succumbed to this allure, and spent years working for and in the tech industry.

But 2016 happened. Things changed, and I changed even more.

Foreign agents meddled in European and American elections. The utopia of free speech online was now tempered by the reality of interfering entities, hellbent on sowing discord and confusion among well-meaning voters.

And even if, for the sake of argument, the founders of a social network like Gab wanted to create a utopian space for free expression instead of becoming a sanctuary for extremist views, platform providers can no longer shirk their role to help maintain the fragile fabric of civilization.

Om Is Where The Heart Is

Our Tree of Life needs more shared roots

The universe seems to send us cryptic notes, even in a week of death and destruction. So…of course the synagogue, where 11 devout Jews lost their lives in their moment of peaceful prayer, would be called the Tree of Life. As this site explains, the Tree of life is considered to be a map of the universe and the psyche, the order of the creation of the cosmos, and a path to spiritual illumination.

And as the Mayor of Pittsburgh so eloquently put it at a press conference today:

But, more than any elected official ever could, this Pittsburgh resident and graphic designer created a #strongerthanhate image to rally his community, and all of us, to keep leaning in and staying resilient. He posted it on Facebook, and wants us to use it as a win for love and a strike against hate.

News and Views

Find, and use, your voice as an active citizen

Here’s a question for ya. What are you doing to exercise your citizenship?

If you’re an American, I’m not (just) talking about casting your vote in these November 2018 midterm elections. Yes, it is one of the most consequential elections in a generation. And yes, many want to install checks and balances against the Republicans who hold all the levers of power. So yes, voting matters.

I’m talking about #afteryouvote. How else do you use your voice as a citizen – of your community, country, and the human race – to build a more just and peaceful world? What exactly does it mean to use your voice anyway? How can you fit it into a life and schedule that’s already packed to the brim? And how will you know you’re doing the best thing as a citizen, for the issues you care about?

All through November 2018, I’ll be hosting workshops where you can examine these questions and much more.

Click here to sign up for the workshop(s), and step into the next chapter of your active citizenship.

In the next issue:

I’ll share some final thoughts on the US midterm elections, and what it spells for America’s domestic and foreign policy future.

Till then…

Live well and lead large – Maya