What we inherit and what we choose
By Michelle Jenck, M Ed
I have a general theory that Republicans want people to change, and Democrats want Republicans to change. It’s tempting to think all our problems would go away if only this one person or set of beliefs would change.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Deeply held spiritual beliefs, cultural norms, and worldviews get handed down from one generation to the next. The idea that we can unravel that skein to stitch a new social fabric overnight is naïve.
It is also presumptuous to suggest these “other” people need to adopt a different worldview than the one bestowed on them by their ancestors or that they have adopted because of a lifetime of experience.
There are reasons traditions and values take hold and persevere. They are serving a purpose or else they would have long disappeared. The question is whether these traditions and beliefs still support us or if they may now be getting in the way.
The key is to understand one’s own set of generationally induced values, beliefs – and biases – for what they are. Not to assign moral rightness or wrongness but to understand where they come from. What purpose did they serve? Survival? Connection to a group? A sense of belonging, of being valued?
Human beings are wired for these things. Frankly, this is why we have political parties and increasingly polarized views. Everyone wants to be on the winning team. We want to be right, respected and have our beliefs reinforced. If I am right, then someone who believes differently than me must be wrong.
So, where did my worldviews come from and how have they shaped my political views?
My grandparents were all hard-working, God-fearing folks. I always felt a closer kinship to my grandfathers although I didn’t get to spend much time with either of them.
My paternal grandfather worked in the timber industry, made and lost fortunes and literally scrapped his way out of debt. He was still alive when I moved to Tillamook at the age of 26. As soon as people heard that I was Art’s granddaughter, they would share their admiration for him. He was considered a man of God and of his word, known for his strong work ethic, integrity and generosity.
My maternal grandfather, born in 1899, immigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1923. He came with three of his 11 siblings – almost all boys – like so many at that time, to pursue the American dream. Sponsored by extended family in Tillamook, he made his way to the West Coast to work on their dairy. It wasn’t long before the crash of 1929 that he was asked to leave. There wasn’t enough food or resources to keep him on. He’d have to find his way somewhere else.
Working his way down the Pacific Coast, living in drafty cabins, he too scrapped his way toward the American dream. He made it back to Tillamook with enough to start his own dairy, which he retired from in his 60s. He then started his own landscaping business, which he ran until his death at age 81.
My recollections of him were that he loved God, his Catholic faith, and Swiss music. Later, going through his belongings, we found a postcard written by him to my then teenage sister asking her if she read the Bible daily, suggesting it was a practice that would help her navigate life struggles. This was something he modeled, with his ever-present Bible on the kitchen table, notes scribbled in the margins. After he died, we found dairy farming “101” books written in German, which he had used to teach himself, having no prior experience to draw from.
These men, my parents and so many before them and around me as I grew up, influenced my beliefs. I am Christian. I am a practicing Catholic, attending weekly Mass. I pray the Rosary nearly every day. I believe we receive gifts from God that we have a responsibility to use in the world, to make it a better place. I had the good fortune to see this modeled throughout my life. These are beliefs I hold. They also contain bias. God is good. And so is a strong work ethic.
I also love to learn. I love being capable of doing hard things and teaching others how to discover what they are capable of. These traits may have been influenced by the people in my life, or may simply be a part of my personality, or some combination thereof.
My love of learning and self-improvement have led me to explore mindfulness practices, Yoga, Tantric philosophy, Buddhism and stoicism. It astounds me how these have tempered my temper in ways that my Catholic faith never has.Delving into these practices has helped me balance my body, beliefs and biases.
I’ve come full circle politically. I first registered as a Democrat in college and then to Republican during my early adult years. In more recent years I have gone from being a registered Independent to Unaffiliated.
I have decided the pigeon-holing nature of political lines of belief no longer serves me. I can do more to improve the world around me by doing more to improve the world around me, just as so many have done before me.
Thank you for your interest. Follow more of my work on Substack at The Tao te Mitchy, PQ Initiative, and Divergent Ideas.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
