Evaluating the US Election
A multi-part Neuroscience-Based Analysis (Part One)
To help me process the results of the United States election, as well as, the current climate of conflict, I do what any writer does…I began writing.
I decided, to better understand the current situation for myself, I would write about it through the multi-intelligence neuroscience-based lens I’ve been applying to my work for the last few years.
As I wrote my insights, a series of articles began to emerge addressing various aspects of the election including the climate in advance, tactics used throughout, ultimate outcome, and how best to move forward as a culture.
While I recognize addressing this topic is polarizing, I also believe it is an incredibly useful analysis for demonstrating how our human neurophysiology directly impacts our lives and influences our cultures.
I debated how best to release this; as one comprehensive message or as multiple segments addressing subtopics as part of a broader overall message. I debated whether to share it as articles, a letter, or to turn it into a white paper.
In the end, I decided whatever puts this out into the world, rather than leaving it saved on my computer for only me to see is what I would do. As a result, the writing I will be sharing in this series is not perfectly edited nor fully comprehensive.
Instead, I am sharing my unique, vulnerable, and authentic interpretation of recent events. I am sharing what I hope is a powerful perspective that expands and enhances your understanding of this topic.
I hope it also challenges you to take what I’ve shared further based upon your unique experiences and perspective. Add to what I write here, build upon it to further expand its wisdom with more perspectives and insights.
Foundational Concepts
Before I can dive into my more detailed analysis, I need to provide a bit of background on how the human body works. I have tried to keep this description relatively short, therefore, I am not going into extensive detail on the scientific basis of everything I share here.
Human Intelligence
As humans, we develop our intelligence1 by creating neural connections2 between neurons3 in the body. Neuron cells connect together in order to send messages throughout the body.
These messages are responsible for everything including what we think, feel, and do. They control our conscious activities like thoughts, feelings and actions, as well as our unconscious activities like lungs breathing, hearts beating, and gut systems digesting.
How Intelligence is Established
When we are born, the patterns of our parents (and ancestors) are passed onto us in our DNA.4 Humans are born with certain innate behaviors and instincts that have been passed down through generations. These are hardwired into our brains and bodies to help us survive.5
We come into this world already wired with certain pathways directing our bodies and brains on what to do. Then, we start having experiences and being exposed to our environment (and culture).
These experiences and environments begin further shaping and creating our neural connections and how we think, feel, and behave.
Our neural connections will form in response to our experiences and environment to best meet our needs and support our survival. For example, a baby instinctively cries when hungry (innate survival behavior) and later will learn the language of their parents in order to communicate.
Human Body’s Survival Strategy
The human body is wired to prioritize survival. Which means that it will prioritize two things (1) conserving resources and (2) avoiding threats or predators.
It prioritizes resource conservation because it has experienced, throughout history, a struggle to maintain sufficient resources – food, water, shelter, community – to live. As a result, our bodies will always try to stay the same (requires less resources) rather than change (requires more resources to create new neural pathways or connections).
It also prioritizes avoiding threats to our safety – like predators. As a result, when our bodies experience stress, our nervous system is triggered, and we go into a fight/flight/freeze state. This activated state releases hormones and funnels all our resources towards surviving (e.g. increased heart rate, heightened senses, and a surge of energy). The increased heart rate helps pump blood faster to fuel our muscles in order to outrun what is threatening us.
This survival mechanism, while critical in life-threatening situations, can be problematic in modern life. Stressors such as work deadlines, financial concerns, or interpersonal conflicts can trigger the same fight/flight/freeze response, even when there is no physical danger.
Chronic activation of this system can lead to health issues such as anxiety, fatigue, and weakened immune function, as the body remains in a constant state of alert, using up its resources unnecessarily.
Understanding this survival wiring can help us recognize the need for practices that support nervous system regulation, enabling the body to return to a state of balance and conserve energy for when true survival situations arise.
Neural Networks - Head, Heart, & Gut
One more thing that is important to know is that the human body has these neural connections throughout our body but there are collections of them (or neural networks) in our head, heart, and gut.
Each of these neural networks (or intelligences) has their own unique functions that support our performance as human beings.
Head Brain is responsible for cognitive perception, thinking, and meaning making.
Heart Brain is responsible for emotions, values, and relationships.
Gut Brain is responsible for our core identity, self-preservation, and mobilization (taking action).
When we are in a survival state, we are cut off from our multiple intelligences and act on past patterns alone. When we are in a balanced, coherent state, we can perform in a way that creates new neural connections (in other words, we are able to learn, grow, and develop).
As I dive into the various aspects relating to the election, I will be addressing it with this neurophysiological perspective. I don’t claim to be a neuroscientist, but I do hope my analysis and interpretation offer a broader perspective on what is undoubtedly a highly debated and contested issue. I believe you will begin to see just how much of the world is shaped by past patterns and biology.
I fundamentally believe the more we can expand awareness of the full capacity of the human body (how it thinks, feels, and behaves), the more wisely we can live in this world. By applying this knowledge to our everyday experiences and challenges, we will be more equipped to utilize our full intelligence in our decision-making.
Intelligence: the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
Neural connections are the pathways or networks formed by neurons to communicate and function. Together, they create the intricate systems underlying all cognitive and physical processes.
Neurons are the individual cells that transmit signals.
Inherited Behavior: Genetic Roots of Animal and Human Actions" (2024) https://neurolaunch.com/inherited-behavior/?utm_source=chatgpt.com (This article discusses the genetic underpinnings of behaviors in both animals and humans. It highlights how certain behaviors, such as innate fears and personality traits, have a hereditary component, emphasizing the interplay between genetics and environment in shaping behavior.)
The brain has pre-programmed neural circuits for essential survival functions, like breathing, detecting danger, and feeding. These circuits are inherited and have evolved over millions of years.