Greetings, my friends... and welcome to my first solo creation of 2020.

It’s an election year here in the US, and I’ve been sitting on this song for a week now, trying to figure out a positive message that wasn’t too politically or socially drizzled. I hope I succeeded.

My favored mantra these days is to try to keep to the middle path in all my choices; and if I can do it from a place of love... bonus points. But I think we can all agree... the last few years have been bizarre at the best of times, and frightening at the worst of times. It doesn’t matter which side of any issue you stand on... we all seem to be very worried about our individual and collective futures. In fact, on Election night in 2016, Steven Colbert shared an alarming statistic... more than 50% of both parties (Democrat and Republican) fear the other half. Think about that. More than half of the US fears the other half of the US. Now that is scary.

Therein lies the unexpected impetus behind this song. This isn’t an attempt to change your views on even a single divisive political topic. I know all of you have invested a respectful amount of time and consideration, reaching your own conclusions. And I truly respect those individual opinions.

This song is actually about questioning how we got here in the first place, and I have a theory worthy of consideration. It falls under the recognizable phrase ‘Divide and Conquer’, defined as: ‘the policy of maintaining control over one's subordinates or subjects by encouraging dissent between them’.

I found an interesting article by businessman Gustavo Razzetti, entitled ‘There are Two Ways to Lead People’, summarized here:

"There are two ways to lead people and drive impact: to divide, or to unite.

Dividing People: for conquerers, the ultimate objective is gaining and maintaining power by breaking up groups into smaller and less powerful ones. Conquering, winning at-any-cost, is all that matters.

Uniting People: for creators, a shared ambition inspires people to join. The journey to create something bigger than ourselves, the desire to leave a legacy unites people. Creators see doing what’s right as a win; and  outcomes include making the world a better place too."

As I decide who to support going forward, I ask myself the simple question... is this (person, group, organization) about dividing or uniting. Is their language designed to perpetuate that separation, or is it designed to inspire us to work together? If someone wants to keep me afraid or angry, they probably don’t have my best interests at heart. And every leader deserves to be scrutinized in this regard. Our power is in our ability to think for ourselves, and it’s up to us to be cautious of anyone opposed to that idea.

This is definitely one of my heavier messages, but these are trying times. I would love to see people reach out to one another across all our imaginary lines in the sand, and say ‘enough is enough. Our opinions may differ. But you are not my enemy.’ If we can break down those communication barriers (find middle ground, and start the conversation there), I assure you... the Divide and Conquer folks lose their power. And that sounds like a very worthwhile pursuit to me. :D

I hope you enjoy my latest creation ‘The Great Divide.’ :)