The Big Picture (Intro + .doc below)

Moment to moment, the universe hangs together. Somehow, the universe of this moment and the universe of the previous moment are both similar and different: similar, in that the present moment resembles the previous moment in important ways; different, in that it is also significantly new. The more you think about it, the more mysterious the whole thing is… (Wilber, 2002a, p. 8)

As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end. —Adlai E. Stevenson

Democracy is a great system. Arising out of the previous traditional, agricultural worldview, it ensures equality for all individuals, despite race, gender, nationality, or religion. It is the rational answer to myth-based ethnocentrism. (Wilber, 2000a, p. 239, 2002b, p. 4-5) Adapting Wilber’s AQAL Quadrants to accommodate our political current experience reveals how the untended left-hand quadrants might influence the current political landscape through inadvertent shadow projections, both individual and collective. My hypothesis is that the problems mentioned above are a direct result of traditionally-oriented individuals attempting to operate in a modern political system. Crafted by men who valued egalitarianism, individuality, science, equality, and self-governance, democracy assumes a capacity for self-authorship. (Wilber, 2002b, p. 4-5)

Developmental psychologist Robert Kegan (1994) lays out a framework describing the cognitive organization and meaning-making strategies of traditional, modern, and post-modern individuals using orders of consciousness as the metric. Third order consciousness holds traditional values, while fourth order grows out of—and includes—that previous level. Democracy is a fourth order construction, designed to function with fourth order individuals. However, as Kegan states in his 1994 book, we are In Over Our Heads. Many adults in modern Western society never make it to fourth order. (p. 335) So, here we are living, working and playing in a fourth order structure (one which sometimes even demands of us fifth order capacities) as many citizens continue to make meaning at third order. No wonder politics, economics, and foreign affairs are so difficult for us—and for our leaders—to navigate.

Fourth order is when we begin to accept our unacceptable parts, embracing them rather than waging battle against them. In other words, shadow comes online. Before that, it is nearly impossible for us to recognize our own shadow projections. This means our individual practices and beliefs—in the privacy of our homes, schools, and workplaces—influence our heated partisan political landscape every bit as much as the practices and behaviors of our elected officials. By engaging in shadow work and intentionally embracing what we see as the “negative” parts of ourselves, we will change not only our own way of making meaning, but also contribute to the humanity’s overall developmental altitude. Many contemporary writers, politicians, theorists, and leaders have embarked on this shadowy quest and are beginning to guide the rest of us towards a future full of hope and possibility. Sit back and enjoy this Integral Tour of today’s American political climate.