This Oregonian is voting for Hillary in North Carolina

Want to defeat Trump but not vote for Clinton?

Consider the deal I struck up with my sister Kate.

I’m a resident of Oregon; she lives and votes in North Carolina.

We were both avid Bernie Sander’s supporters during the primaries, but after Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination, I decided to swallow hard and back Clinton.

(I’m the little-known founder of “Nose-holders for Hillary.”

My sister is a die-hard Sanders backer. The other day she told me she was writing in Bernie’s name on her North Carolina ballot. (I have a cousin in Washington state who has taken the same vow.)

Add to this electoral equation my sister’s learning recently that her step-son, who also lives in North Carolina, is voting for Trump.

She and I had a little back and forth on the phone recently exploring the political landscape and our “consciences.”

She asserted that in all “good conscience” she can’t vote for Hillary. I asserted that in all “good conscience” I couldn’t see how she would pass by cancelling out her stepson’s Trump vote.

We agreed that True Blue Oregon is going for Hillary and that North Carolina is still a question mark.

So we struck a deal. She’s voting for Hillary “for me” in North Carolina; I’m writing in Bernie “for her” in Oregon.

Sound interesting? Do you fit into a similar scenario? Are you looking for a vote swapping partner?

There’s an app that can help you find one.

Its web site is http://apps.trimian.com/nevertrump

For Republicans who want to block Trump but can’t stomach voting for Clinton, there’s help here:

http://www.r4c16.org/steps-1-1-1/

Both help you vote without violating your conscience.

Yes, you can defeat Trump without voting for Clinton.

Making 'conscience' and 'consciousness' one

Some words in pairs invite joint consideration because they are so close in appearance and because they so strongly suggest new meanings by their proximate definitions.

“Experience” and “experiment,” “myth” “and “mystic” are two such pairs.

The other day I found myself meditating on the attraction between “conscience” and “consciousness.”

I felt an almost magnetic pull, but when “conscience” and “consciousness” neared, the polarity seemed to reverse, reach stasis and freeze their meanings in respectful, yet unfulfilled, proximity.

In the palpable space between “conscience” and “consciousness” emerged a new meaning. No word I know signifies that meaning (suggestions are welcomed!), but if you hold “conscience” and “consciousness” together simultaneously, you can feel it.

A power emerges between the two.

Out of my consideration came a notion that took the form of two questions:
Can we be fully conscious if our conscience hasn’t been engaged?

Can our conscience be fully engaged if we are not fully conscious?

“Conscience” and “consciousness” in full rely on each other.

Of course “fully” is impossible because there is always more. We are evolving as individuals and as a species. Our conscience and our consciousness are growing.  All existence is dynamic.

As a result of my meditation, I am certain growth of consciousness is informed by conscience; and the growth of conscience relies on a widening and deepening consciousness.

Perhaps conscience and consciousness are kept separate because they are represented by distinct words. Without a word that defines their attraction and, yes, their oneness, are we doomed to keeping them apart?