Obama-Warren and the “Understandment” Principle

The announcement that Pastor Rick Warren would be giving the Inaugural Invocation on January 20th, 2009, created a great divide between the far lefts and the far rights. The debate has risen to a level of controversy out of proportions to the grander issues that are affecting everyone in this Country.

It is truly unfortunate that there would be any controversy at all about a minuscule moment of time within such a historic event, which most people never thought they would witness in their lifetime. It is interesting to note that those who are divided about Warren giving the Invocation haven’t seemed to notice that a more progressive Minister, Joseph Lowery, will be providing the benediction; and many social issues that Lowery aspires to are not shared by Warren.

Our 44th President of the United States promoted unity and tolerance, and that we could learn to disagree without being disagreeable; this was not lost on election night when he promised “for those who may not have voted for me now, I WILL be your President too.” This profound statement really says it all; far left, far right, and anywhere in between, he WILL be the President of all States United.

President-Elect Obama, is showing his first step toward fulfilling his election night promise by selecting a well-renowned evangelical leader to represent the many “who did not vote for him” citizens. His decision to select Warren was made to begin the process of uniting the far lefts and far rights; not to further segregate them.

There is another way people could address differences between political parties, faiths, and cultures without discord; it is known as the “Understandment Principle.” Jeffery Quintero, founder of OurPresidency.com, coined the new word "Understandment,” which originated as part of his research on “Truth, Value, Meaning and Purpose" (2005). Quintero based the “Understandment” concept on the Integral World View as proposed by Ken Wilber of the Integral Institute. “Understandment” is characterized as level of social agreement that transcends the limits of our cultural understanding. We all have limits of understanding others around us. However, it is only through identifying our limits that we can rise above them and recognize all people share commonalities about many of “humanity’s” issues.” It is only by living the Principle of “Understandment” that we will live united, not divided.

Even though President-Elect Obama and Pastor Rick Warren are not familiar with the “Understandment” Principle, they are already modeling it. From either side of the political arena, it should not be that difficult to see that both men desire the same outcome; unity. At the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative, Rick Warren asserted that everyone, regardless of any faith, religious or secular, “have many things in common; we have concerns and care deeply about issues that affect all of us.” He emphasizes that it will only be through understanding that “we do not need to agree on everything,” to unite all people to “mobilize, and team tackle humanity’s issues and concerns that we as a people have in common.”

President-Elect Obama is modeling the “Understandment” Principle just by choosing Warren. Now it is our responsibility, all who are on the left or those on the right, those of many faiths or none, and those of differing ideologies and cultural backgrounds, to follow his example. What a great opportunity Obama has given all Americans to transcend the ideology of “us and them.” It will only be through honoring one another’s differences, while living as one people in our States United that we as a Nation, will bring to a close the great divide between one another. Implementing the “Understandment” Principle in our own lives, is a big step to enjoying the peace that comes as we unite through our common interests rather than divide us because of our differences.

The recent controversy of President-Elect Obama’s selection of Rick Warren to give the Invocation at his Inauguration, spurred a controversy out of proportions to the much greater issues our Nation faces. A new concept known as the “Understandment” Principle is discussed as level of social agreement that transcends the limits of our cultural understanding and asserts that by recognizing differences we still share common issues of humanity. Whether Obama and Warren know it, they are modeling the “Understandment” Principle by coming together in front of the whole world, in the spirit of unity, in spite of any differences they may have, to be an example of how we, as Americans, can begin to heal our Country.

Join other diverse citizens, who are already adopting and implementing the “Understandment” Principle in their lives at OurPresidency.com’ Website: http://www.ourpresidency.ning.com

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