Unctuousness and the American Election
Thursday 17 Nov 2016
I would like to give a Buddhist perspective on the disbelief at large following the results of the American election. Even though it may not be obvious, we have once again received a reminder that, natural influences control the world, feeding back balance and perfection constantly, even if we do not experience it like this. Generally we live our lives unaware of the larger perspective at play. Epistemologically this event is a wake call for us to realise we cannot ever really make truthful predictions about the world when we are enmeshed in it. We only ever have “just our feel of the elephant”. Nature gives us feedback as it moves and shifts, reading the demands that ALL consciousness makes. We tend to read this feedback only from our point of view.
The vagaries of my own mind are apparent when I look to try and imagine a perfect society and how it might be achieved; I see a condition in me that I recognise in both sides of the American election debate. This condition is “unctuousness”. This is a malady that causes us to put the best spin on what we believe without it necessarily being founded in any truth. Unctuousness means sloppiness with truth, the dictionary adds the word slippery and I have even heard “trying to fit square pegs into round holes”. All this can be done with the best of belief and intentions, but in the end, reality shows that all worldly progress and achievement is ultimately flawed because it is not based in reality. Having said this, it is not to say that we should not keep trying to make our world the best that we can.
The Buddha saw the truth of this “flaw” in the world after trying to make himself a perfected human being by first living his life with plenty as a Prince and then later with asceticism. He eventually realised his own unctuousness and began to see a reality in the world that he called “Dukka”. This is a Pali word that when translated means “suffering or dis-ease”. When he saw this Dukka he realised that the world could never be made perfect. He went on to discover the way to Enlightenment on a path he called “The Middle Way” --- a perfectly balanced pathway between extremes.
It is the way we condition unctuous spin that has set up the bad feeling and angst for the Democrats and the press in the American election. They had, in effect set themselves up to believe in a result that they “knew was right”. From this perspective they had the best policies and economic plans, while the Republican side was so wrong and crass! 
They had no policies; colleagues were leaving the leader and he had more or less admitted tax dodging! He denies climate change, is “Misogynistic, Sexist, Racist and a Buffoon”. It was beyond belief that a majority of the people might not vote Democrat. Everyone could see Donald’s shortcomings. He was exposed warts and all. While the Democrat leader had a few issues of her own, it was in no way comparable. Everyone knew it was in everyone’s best interests to vote Democrat, even powerful Republicans agreed!
It was a shock that people voted differently than expected. They had pretended to pollsters to intellectually embrace the Democrats and the politically correct thinking abroad, but their emotions were shifting to the reality of what they felt. Nature was balancing heads and hearts, (Intellect and Emotion). The reality of what people really felt started to come to the fore. Even being labelled “deplorable” could not stop the rot. Their personally perceived realities and circumstances cut through to elect the unelectable. They chose to “drain the swamp” instead of buckling under to the thinking and stresses imposed by the political correct classes on both sides. The result shows that nature is not interested in spin, only the reality of circumstances in the moment. The happy winners will confabulate their own high minded and unctuous views to justify themselves like we all do. It is always a personal perspective.
These unexpected results have indeed changed the elation and disappointment resultant from one side to the other. But nature’s duality remains in place, as it does at all times! At this moment, those that feel the elation may not see the Dukka as clearly as the disappointment camp, but things do change and nature is constantly feeding back. Dukka is always in our minds to see, just as it was for the Buddha 2600years ago. He called it the first noble truth and it was and is the foundation of his teaching.
This world cannot be made perfect. It is just natural. The Buddha said, “The house of self is on fire; get out as quickly as you can”. For those who try to understand what the Buddha’s enlightenment means, Dukka must be understood. When it is seen and understood, the Middle Way path starts to become visible.
