On Convergence: Political Turbulence & the Process of Coming Together
What if American polarization is being caused, not by a great splitting apart, but by a great coming together?
Over the last few years, there is a message I have heard echoed across separate corners of the States. I have heard it from conservative Christian farmers giving food to the poor and from progressive activists defending human rights.
From Californians and Floridians. From Midwesterners, Southerners and Northeasterners.
I have heard it when everyday Americans look at economic inequality, climate change, social issues, gun violence, the invasion of Ukraine, and the delicacy of our democracy.
The message is: We have to take care of each other.
We all say it. With a shudder or a far-off look. With our heads hung low or turned to the sky. With resolve or with heartache. Or both. We have to, we say again.
What if we are not as far away from each other as we think we are?
What if we are not as polarized as we perceive?
What if the fight feels so hard right now, not because we are splitting apart from one another…
…but because we are finally seeing one another up close?
Could it be that close proximity is what's making our differences seem so extra damn large?
What if we have, each of us, been walking for a very long time from separate and very far away corners on paths that have been winding their ways to a meeting place?
To a point of convergence.
Simply defined, convergence is when two or more things come together. For instance, this year (2023), Ramadan, Passover and Easter converged around the same time of year: early spring in the northern hemisphere.
Sometimes convergence causes a new whole, a new union, or a new unity. For instance, Spanglish is a convergence that blends, twists, turns and alternates between English and Spanish.
The poetry of convergence writes itself.
This phenomena is happening all around us - in astronomy and art form, in geology, cultures and ecologies. On and on, convergence goes producing new creations, mirrors, movements, and resonances out of meeting places.
Before we romanticize this Life dynamic, though, let us note one other truth about it:
Convergence can bring turbulence.