The Bird’s-Eye View of an Election: Taking a Stoic Perspective

04 Nov The Bird’s-Eye View of an Election: Taking a Stoic Perspective

As the world patiently awaits the results of the 2020 elections, many are experiencing abnormal amounts of stress. This stress bears out in various forms of self-talk:

“The country will be so much worse if my candidate X wins”,

“Did I do enough to support my candidate?”

“What will we do if candidate X wins?!”

This process of democracy puts a considerable amount of emotional pressure on a country’s citizens–and rightfully so! We, the people, are ultimately responsible for the placement of our leaders in their offices. It is our generation which will be held accountable by the generations to come.

Still, it is important to maintain the proper perspective when looking at an individual election cycle. The immediacy of the media and the rhetoric of political speech train our eyes on the moment–the now, this year, the micro. But is this not an example of Charles E. Hummel’s classic, “Tyranny of the Urgent”? We are made to believe that only what is immediately in front of us matters, that we must act now on this issue or else all is lost. It is as if we are being given a pair of glasses which make us short-sighted, unable to make out the forest for the trees.

This works well for catalyzing voters, yes, but it is not natural. Human civilization and even the natural world itself moves in a more step-wise, gradual fashion.

Consider the process of natural selection. A species composed of countless individuals in countless communities iterates itself a countless number of times, each iteration containing more of those genes and qualities which make it better suited for its environment. The process is slow and gradual. Sometimes it takes a wrong turn but it is self-correcting, always moving toward macro-improvements.

The needle of human progress is similarly moved: incrementally, ticking slowly upward, often in fits and spurts. At times we feel that progress has halted altogether or that we are even going backwards. In these moments we are not looking at the whole picture. As the Stoic Marcus Aurelius wrote in his book, Meditations, “It’s best to take a birds-eye view and see everything all at once,” giving us a more smoothed and intelligible perspective. From up here we can better understand the logic of the rivers, carving through mountains and around rocky bends–things just make more sense when viewed as a whole.

A final illustration: Consider the clutch of a car. A clutch’s first effect is counter-intuitive: all forward acceleration stops. Energy is no longer being applied to the wheels, and the vehicle–albeit momentarily–coasts powerless along the road. The second effect is what matters. As the clutch is released and power reapplied there is an increased leveraging of power, allowing for even higher speeds than before.

The point is that what we initially perceive as a negative result may be only temporary, and may ultimately serve the end goal.

As you await the results and subsequently begin to process the eventual outcome, remember: this election is not the final word on progress. Whether the result is in favor of your candidate or the others’, it is a mere ‘flick’ of the needle of humanity. It is one small small movement on the gauge of our progress as a species. Take action, work within the sphere you have been given, but maintain proper perspective. Your emotional wellbeing will thank you.

Check out:

Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius – This what I consider a ‘lifetime book’–a book that I will be coming back to and re-reading, referencing, and contemplating for the rest of my life.  It is written in such a way that a pre-teen could comprehend and learn from.

Tyranny of the Urgent, by Charles E. Hummel – I first read this in college at he recommendation of a mentor who noticed how frazzled I was balancing my studies with the rest of life. It’s a classic that everyone should read at some point. It’s very short and you can probably find a free pdf somewhere online.