Staying Centered in a Polarized World
The headlines are loud, emotions are raw, and everywhere I look people seem more convinced than ever that they’re on the right side while others are dangerously wrong. Some even say we’re on the verge of another civil war.
I am not here to debate politics or take sides because that’s exactly what has us in this mess. Nor am I avoiding speaking my truth. What I want to share is a framework that has helped me make sense of what I see in the world, and also in myself.
It is a way of recognizing patterns, without collapsing into blame, and finding a path forward that allows me to take a grounded stand for my truth and values. And also it also helps me find a way to reconcile accountability and compassion.
Positive and Negative Polarity
The framework is simple. Positive polarity leans toward transparency, freedom, and service to others. Negative polarity trends toward fear, coercion, and control.
These polarities are not about political parties or national borders. They are about the underlying quality of energy behind an action or a system. Positive polarity expands freedom, trust, and connection. Negative polarity contracts into fear, coercion, and control.
You can see this everywhere once you start to look. In a family, positive polarity might show up as creating space for a child to make their own choices, while negative polarity might look like enforcing obedience through guilt or fear. In communities, positive polarity can be open dialogue and collaboration, while negative polarity can show up as exclusion, censorship, or scapegoating. Even in ourselves, the same choice is always present: do I act from love and openness, or from fear and the need to control?
Which means that even when I believe I am standing for the “right side,” I can still slip into negative polarity if I act from blame, wanting vengeance, or needing to convince or “save” others. All of those are just subtle forms of control.
That realization has been humbling for me. It’s harder, but more powerful, to turn the finger inward and ask, “Where am I feeding the same cycle?”