Our entrenched views within our circles of friends and families, and entrenched views within government and community structures, without adequate room for active listening and discussion, are now posing a threat to the health and freedoms of Americans.  Whether it be differences in our decisions and approaches to healing and health care, or differences in our political views of how to protect our freedoms, polarization without adequate dialogue and problem solving can cause hostile conflicts and even wars. 

As Americans and citizens of a country with a government of the people, we know that we need and benefit from healthy discourse between views. Our country was founded by great debaters. And they architected a system in which differences and dialogue could take place in an organized fashion within the branches of government. Even within that framework our history has involved extreme challenges, conflicts, and civil war. 

The question now is, “Have we matured to survive the long hall?” Can we, in this century of advanced technology, with its capability of threats and the manipulation of messaging to an entire populace, have the needed discussions about health and about freedom? Or will a broad range of truthful discourse be suppressed, oppressed, and treated as a danger instead of being recognized as the essence of freedom and our founding principles?

NHFA and NHFC have both been, for many years, in the throes of the debates regarding health freedom. We have aggressively advocated for access to all kinds of health and healing practices, practitioners, products, and information, and we actively oppose government mandates that would rob a person of their right to make health care decisions for themselves and their family members. This has been in opposition to a dominant culture of limited access to types of practitioners, products, and information, and government and corporate mandates regarding health options. We continue to press on, working to rise above dominant power structures and messaging.

But each year Americans have to dig deeper to learn who to trust and to get to the source of information that resonates with their values. In today’s world it is easy for wealthy information outlets, whether government or corporate, to flood the market with messaging to support their goals, creating an almost propaganda-like atmosphere to influence the masses. Founding father, Thomas Jefferson, was known by some for his support of an educated public as a defender against the encroachment of an overzealous government. But one wonders whether he ever imagined a day when either the owners of technology or government directors of advanced technology would be able to create an environment where a small group of people could promote fear and suppress truthful information and flood the information network in order to attempt to “educate” the people in their desired views and agendas.

As the potential for suppression of information increases and polarization rises, differences even within families can turn into hostile tactics and conflicts. Bringing this home to our daily lives, we now need to ask, can we as Americans find ways to protect and promote listening, problem solving, and public discourse and freedom? Can we discuss and honor the views of our friends and family members when it comes to health, health care decisions and choices? Can we debate and find ways to protect our personal freedoms, including the bodily integrity of our people without government and corporate mandates?  Can we listen to each other and find ways to honor each other overall when we have different views and values? 

We need this skill in our private and our public lives to be able to survive as a people and as a country. It is becoming more urgent every day that we all become active and help to protect our grand vision: personal freedom within a larger community of harmony and peace.

Tonight, I am thinking of the words in “Christmas in the Trenches” and Francis Tolliver: 

“My name is Francis Tolliver, in Liverpool I dwell. Each Christmas come since World War I, I’ve learned its lessons well. That the ones who call the shots won’t be among the dead and lame. And on each end of the rifle we’re the same.”

1984 Lyrics by John McCutcheon