2nd Presidential Debate: Battle of the Egos.

Lourdes Joan Loubriel Luna
Oct 12, 2016
3 min read

I watched the 2nd Presidential Debate Last night... and there was nothing presidential about it.

The community forum, intended as a way for Americans to ask questions to their candidates, became instead nothing more than a boxing ring... where both opponents faced of in a vicious punching match as if trying to win by knockout. And, unfortunately, much like a boxing match, I perceived it as a display for our entertainment, instead of a serious display of wisdom and leadership.

It became apparent to me only after a few minutes into the debate, that this was instead:

The battle of egos between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

My worldly eyes were watching a reflection of my own ego. This tit-for-tat, back and forth, the "yes I'm sorry for what I said, but she said was worse" rhetoric... the endless battle to be right. To assign blame, to justify our actions and words based on the hierarchy of "wrongness"in comparison to another... it's endless.. and futile. And then it hit me... a miraculous aha moment. This is how I myself am in relationships...(at least with my previous one) This is what happens. We choose to let our egos do the talking, we choose to stay in a place where egos need to stake their dominance over the other... because through the ego's mindset, there is no room for a win-win situation. There must be a winner and a looser. And in the presidential debate last night, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump let their egos do the talking.

Coincidentally, when egos face off with each other it is only the perception of a winner that's the biggest illusion of all. The fact is, when when egos engage NOBODY WINS. And who was the "winner" last night? NEITHER. All news outlets have declared a draw, a tie... meaning they both lost.

This is what I see and find myself caught when in the relationship with the father of my son . I allow myself to get caught up in a back-and-forth, in an attempt to prove that I'm right and he's wrong.. and not only does my ego want to be right, my ego self want the other to admit defeat. And why? Because for the other ego to admit defeat, my own ego claims the victory over the "other". And then it can assume dominance and control. And who wins? NOBODY, we're actually fighting ghosts. It drains both our energies... es anadirle lena a un fuego que ni existe.

I'm going to be honest here, I found myself judging the whole display. Even this morning as I spoke to my father how horrified I was by the lack of presidential composure from neither of them.. It suddenly dawned on me...

Now what's interesting is how I can be conscious about this within my self, but to see it so clearly from future leaders of our nation I judge it. I deem it as wrong and petty. Something we can tolerate or even forgive from us mere mortals "down here".. but those "up there" ? Unacceptable. Isn't this in itself judgement? But of whom? They? or I? This is the beauty and clarity of an aha moment : If I'm judging them, then that means I'm also judging myself, for doing the exact same thing with my son's father.

(What I resist... persists.)

It is in this moment I can choose to see it from another set of eyes... not through the eyes of my own ego, but through the eyes of my Real Self... from unconditional love, connected to the divine Self... from the eyes of God.

I choose to be the observer.

Th observer doesn't deny, it doesn't react to what its eye perceive, hence it doesn't judge... it just doesn't participate ... it doesn't jump in the ring and fight.

But amidst the cloud of confusion, distraction of darkness there is always, in this case someone , that is the bearer and reminder of light.

A man, a regular joe, a citizen of this nation, stood up and took his turn to ask the final question of the night; he asked: