AMY on TEXAS FAITH: Can Obama and Cruz learn from each other?
TEXAS FAITH: What can Obama and Cruz learn from each other?
Question by
You’ve read the coverage in the paper or online, followed the play-by-play on television news and probably even heard chatter around the water cooler about the government shutdown. So, I don’t need to replay the details for you about the last few weeks in Washington.But, for this week’s discussion, I would like you to draw upon your training and/or beliefs to offer some advice to the two most identifiable people in the latest budget drama: President Obama and Texas’ own senator, Ted Cruz.For them, and the country, to move ahead, some kind of breakthrough in human relations needs to occur. For that to happen, they need to understand each other better.Of course, many major religions emphasize understanding “the other,” even welcoming the stranger. So, here is my question for this week:What one strength of Ted Cruz’s would you suggest President Obama appreciate? And what one strength of President Obama’s would you suggest Sen. Cruz appreciate?
Read on for some surprising answers. Continue reading
from my answer:
AMY MARTIN, Director Emeritus of Earth Rhythms and Writer/editor Moonlady News Newsletter
The strength of humanity is our brain. Both gentlemen should avail themselves of the full repertoire of cerebral goodness that using the entire brain provides.
Sen. Cruz should come to realize that the prefrontal cortex is his friend. While he rejects that part of the brain where discernment arises, it’s also where the ability to compromise resides. The limbic system of the brain he relies on is mired in polarity: flight or fight, win or lose, live or die, us versus them. That was essential when we were a tribal people. But we are global now.
President Obama should learn to love his limbic system. It is the seat of our deepest emotional reactions. Many people feel more than they think and that’s valid. He should recognize the fears that many in the Republican Party have about a nanny state run amok and government assistance undermining personal responsibility and address them directly, rather than dismissing them.
