Why I, as a therapist, support Andrew Yang
This is a 'classic article' from my legacy website.
Please note that while I still consider my current work to have evolved out concepts and frameworks that I present in this piece and others, I have greatly departed, in both thinking and tone, from the kind of dualist social/racial justice discourse I embedded this piece of work within.
I consider my current work to be fully dedicated to embracing the nondual nature of the cosmos, never hardening into essentials of good or bad, right or wrong.
Hi, this open letter is for everyone, but especially for my fellow therapists and healers.
Today I want to talk to you about: why I, as a therapist, emphatically support Andrew Yang.
Before I start, I want to preface that it feels scary and vulnerable to endorse a presidential candidate so clearly on my professional website like this. Those of you who follow me on social media probably already know how enthusiastic I’ve been about Andrew. Yet, it feels like another level of commitment to stand behind and write a letter like this using my professional platform.
If I am totally honest, I do have creeping doubts, whether Yang will live up to the expectations I have of him - will he follow through on the social justice issues that are important to me. After all, he is now a politician and it is difficult to trust any politician. And by endorsing him in this way, I am putting my professional practice behind his campaign.
Still, when I come back to my center, I see that in the Democratic 2020 field, there is no one else that I feel like it is worth it to put my entire personal and professional endorsement behind them.
So now you might be asking: “why is a therapist and educator who is Canadian, who can’t even directly benefit from Andrew Yang’s nomination, be so committed to supporting his campaign?”
This is because I see that Andrew Yang’s three major platform planks of a Universal Basic Income of $1000/month, universal healthcare, and a human-centered economy, where metrics of economic wellbeing are shifted from GDP to statistics such as childhood success rates, life expectancy, and deaths of despair, would be a complete paradigm shift for how mental health is understood in not just American society, but the world at large.
While I am based in Canada, almost all of my practice faces the USA. From this, I know the greatest barrier Americans have in accessing healing services: time AND money. As a therapist, I know that just one or the other is not enough.
By upholding his flagship policy of a Universal Basic Income, Andrew Yang is the only candidate in the 2020 Democratic primary, that is absolutely committed to providing both the time and money people need to heal.
Imagining the far-reaching impact of a Universal Basic Income is easy.
Imagine you, your colleagues, and the people in the community you serve, receiving $1000/month, no questions asked.
Imagine how this new and steady stream of money will flow in your ecosystems of care.
Imagine how you, as a healer, whose business is by nature unpredictable, would be uplifted by having an income floor to build your practice upon.
Imagine members of your community, who were not able to access healing before, finally being able to do so in ways that are healthy and sustainable, both for themselves and you.
Imagine how much it would improve access to training to improve your practice.
Imagine not having to overfill your practice and being able to show up better to each person you work with.
And finally, imagine how all of that may bubble up to local, national and international impact on addressing our most pressing social issues, such as climate change, economic crisis, sexual violence, racism, colonialism, and so on.
To me, it is clear that a Universal Basic Income in the USA, in combination with universal healthcare and a human-centered economy, would fundamentally shift the global culture towards healing.
This is why I, as a therapist whose practice is dedicated to individual and collective wellbeing, I fully endorse Andrew Yang as the Democratic nominee for president in 2020.
If this vision is something you want to see come into reality or learn more about, I highly encourage you to go to Yang2020.com to learn more about Andrew’s campaign.
You also may check out:
- My Youtube channel where I discuss Andrew Yang’s campaign in relation to therapeutic concepts such as attachment and hyper-vigilance. Fair warning that it is facing the ‘YangGang’ and it has that flavor of being somewhat of a ‘fan’ channel!
- Andrew Yang's (audio) book: "The War on Normal People"
- This website that introduces key Andrew Yang speeches and interviews. Andrew is best in long-form talks and it would help you get a better sense of his general platform and the thinking it is built on.
Thank you for reading, and if you are a fellow therapist or healer, please feel free to email me at info(at)selfishactivist(dot)com if you have any additional questions about Andrew Yang's campaign or platform. I will try to answer them to the best of my capacity, providing you with information so that you can make an informed choice.
Regards,
Tada
