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In the days immediately following one of the most consequential, and potentially calamitous, elections in American history, it’s natural to ask why something so obviously (to you perhaps) unwholesome could come about. Why did so many people, given the facts available, choose to vote for someone whose desires, intentions, and track record promise so much suffering for so many—including the very people who voted for him?

To search for why something terrible is happening is an expression of grief and loss, and seeks wisdom, but is primarily a self-protective instinct, as our nervous system seeks the source of the danger we feel threatening those we love. Who should I be enraged at right now, my heat-seeking confusion asks? The people who voted for an amoral narcissist? The propaganda machine that fed them lies so overwhelmingly that they no longer live even close to the same narrative as most of the rest of the world? The commercial interests that fund propaganda that supports profit over truth and kindness? Maybe, yes, and absolutely, but the Dhamma asks us to look deeper, toward a more impersonal understanding of people’s agency and choices.

At the heart of democratic process, like its sibling the capitalist marketplace, is the idea that individual people have a right—and crucially, an ability—to choose their leaders, who function like products. A group of people works to convince the voting public that their person or policy is best, and then the public chooses to purchase one product or another with their vote. This idea, and most of how we think about politics/shopping, rides on the view that people have agency—free will—and some amount of independent intelligence they bring to consideration of the possibilities. It’s not coincidental that Rational Choice Theory—the idea that people consider the options and act coherently in defense of their own interests—was proposed economist Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations in 1776. Modern democracy and modern capitalism are twins.

But “rational” choice falls apart in practice as easily as the “open” market falls apart, and for the same reason: people are not independent, rational beings who do a cost-benefit analysis of their prospective purchases and then soberly choose that which seems likely to bring the most well-being. We are impulsive, emotional, wounded, erratic, inspired. We are tribal, affected strongly by social inclusion and belonging. And most devastatingly, we are not the independent thinkers we feel like we are. We live and survive in coalitions created by stories, and our choices are not just limited by the extremely constrained options on offer in a highly centralized empire, but by the stories and information that influence our choices. Stories are how we educate and organize each other, and it is from stories that we as seeming individuals find the perspective we need to make any choice.

SEAN OAKES
Sean Feit Oakes, PhD (he/they, queer, Puerto Rican & English, living on Pomo ancestral land in Northern California), teaches Buddhism and somatic practice focusing on the integration of meditation, trauma resolution, and social justice. He received Insight Meditation teaching authorization from Jack Kornfield, and wrote his dissertation on extraordinary states in Buddhist meditation and experimental dance. Sean holds certifications in Somatic Experiencing (SEP, assistant), and Yoga (E-RYT 500, YACEP), and teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, East Bay Meditation Center, Insight Timer, and elsewhere.

LINKS
Website: seanfeitoakes.com
Community Page: In It To End It
YouTube channel: In It To End It
Spirit Rock: spiritrock.org/teachers/sean-oakes
Insight Timer: insighttimer.com/seanoakes

GIVING
All of Dr. Oakes’ independent teaching is offered on the model of Gift Economy, in the Buddhist tradition of dāna, inspired giving. Support of our teaching and community is gratefully received. Thank you for your generosity.

Donate:
seanfeitoakes.com/gift-economy

Blessings on your path.