Sacred America, Sacred World

Part One: Developing a Sacred Worldview

This first part is devoted to the deepest level of change in our country’s worldview, which in turn drives our values, visions, and policies. The task of evolving a sacred worldview is at the core of evolving a healthier, happier, and more prosperous country that serves as a beacon of light for the world.

Psychologists have shown that individuals pass through many stages in their moral, emotional, and intellectual growth from birth to adulthood. Our country is no different because it largely reflects the growth in our citizens as a whole. Through our daily choices, words, actions, and votes, we sculpt a world in alignment with our vision and values. Thus, as our consciousness lifts, so does our country.

In this part, I explore the sacred worldview that I see emerging for our country. A sacred worldview is one in which all are honored and treated with dignity, regardless of ideology, party, philosophy, race, or identity. It is a global worldview that sees us as one human family.

Sociological evidence from researchers such as Dr. Paul H. Ray describes the emergence of a new value system in the last fifty years that he named the Cultural Creatives.

These values reflect that America is beginning to evolve beyond the worldview that has been predominant for many decades—the rational-individualistic-materialistic paradigm. We are evolving a more integrated view of systems, a more inclusive philosophy, and a more compassionate global understanding. These emerging values ultimately support a sacred worldview in which we all find common ground. A sacred worldview is built on reverence and respect for all.

The emergence of a worldview based on reverence for all is thus the bigger theme of this part of the book, which lays the groundwork for the rest of the societal changes I believe are required for the next evolution of our country.

Chapter 1: America 7.0

If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.
— Martin Luther King Jr.

When our Founding Fathers risked their lives to sign the Declaration of Independence, America became a free country. It was a truly historic moment. From that point forward, we Americans have had to rely on ourselves to govern, regulate our economy, pass laws, and organize a common defense, as well as protect the rights and liberties of our citizens. In other words, we had to build a new “operating system” for our country, which we can think of as the foundational assumptions, laws, and social institutions that allow us to operate together.

The first attempt to organize our activities involved the Articles of Confederation — a way for states that were at the time highly suspicious of any centralized power to form a loose national confederation while retaining most of their power. In the language of software operating systems, we can view this as America 1.0. Looking in the rearview mirror of history, the Articles of Confederation seems to be an exciting triumph. In practice, it proved to be a mess. Interstate traders had different currencies to deal with, as well as tariffs that drove down the profitability of trade. There was no way to raise money for a national army, which left the newly formed United States of America poorly defended. And there was neither a national executive to make decisions nor courts to which states could appeal disputes.

The poor performance of our 1.0 operating system led early American leaders to almost immediately begin thinking about an upgrade. The Constitutional Convention faced all the problems and inefficiencies created by the Articles of Confederation and devised our Constitution, which was ratified in 1787 to create the current federal system, which balanced power better between the federal government and the states and laid out the balance of powers between different branches of government in a clear way. This upgrade to a 2.0 operating system for our country was an enormous advance not only for America but for the world, which received a new template for democracy.

Our Constitution continues to shape every aspect of our current American society. However, it was designed such that new laws, protections, beliefs, and values can evolve on top of this core, a process that has distinct parallels with building new operating systems on top of the original base of code. In many ways, each upgrade of the operating system represents a deeper application of the sacred principles built into America from the beginning, which we’ll be exploring more throughout the book.

Historians differ in what they see as the major fulcrum points in the history of America, often choosing to focus on wars or presidential administrations. I see America’s growth through the lens of the evolution of new levels of consciousness that expand our respect for the freedoms and rights of others and which are then institutionalized in the form of law. This view of our history does not dwell on lateral expansions, such as the addition of states, or on external wars, which reflect how we engage with other countries. Instead, I see the deepest and most enduring activities as those that lead to an evolution in our worldview and the societal systems that support it. To help understand these, again, I use the metaphor of the evolution of computer operating systems. Here is my list of the major upgrades to the American operating system in the last 240 years:

1. America 1.0 (1776–1787): Nation is born; Articles of Confederation

2. America 2.0 (1787–1865): Constitution and Bill of Rights

3. America 3.0 (1865–1920): Slavery is abolished

4. America 4.0 (1920–1933): Women included as voting citizens

5. America 5.0 (1933–1960): New Deal legislation expands role of government to create safety nets

6. America 6.0 (1960–2000): Civil rights movement and women’s movement expand full inclusion of more citizens

7. America 7.0 (2000–present): Emergence of truly global era, with globalized Internet, trade, travel, and movement of finance

To be continued in the next issue of Catalyst...

Click on the following to read:   Installment #1   Installment #2   Installment #3   Installment #4