Discernment requires more than having strong opinions, it requires calibrated perception.
What we’re witnessing in much of today’s political discourse isn’t clarity. It’s an emotional charge masquerading as moral urgency. People are throwing around extreme comparisons, convinced they’re speaking truth, when in reality, they’re broadcasting from levels of fear, anger, and pride.
Let’s break it down through the lens of consciousness.
Fear sees threats everywhere. It reacts. It generalizes. It believes that shouting louder makes the message more real. When someone sees a pattern and instantly assumes the worst-case historical parallel, it’s fear driving the narrative, not truth.
Anger seeks to assign blame. It doesn’t calibrate. It condemns. It believes that anyone who questions its framing must be “part of the problem.” This level often tries to recruit others through outrage, but outrage clouds perception. It may feel powerful, but it blinds clarity.
Pride is perhaps the most deceptive. It claims to “know better,” yet refuses to be questioned. It’s the level that says, “If you don’t agree with me, you’re ignorant or evil.” It conflates moral certainty with spiritual authority, but lacks the humility to examine its own distortions.
Discernment doesn’t operate at any of these levels.
True discernment begins at Courage, the willingness to face reality as it is, not as we fear it might be. It listens before reacting. It separates emotional charge from evidence. It asks, “What is actually happening? What do I know versus what do I feel?”
Neutrality and Willingness allow space for multiple perspectives—not to create false equivalence, but to understand the full picture before speaking. These levels don’t collapse under pressure—they stabilize it.
Reason, calibrated in the high 400s, is where discernment starts to find its footing in a way that transcends political identity. At this level, historical comparisons must be accurate, not merely emotionally resonant. Evidence is weighed, context is honoured, and truth becomes more important than winning the argument.
But the real power is in going higher.
Love doesn’t mean weakness. It means seeing clearly without distortion. It sees the suffering of all sides and refuses to fuel division just to feel right. It doesn’t trade clarity for outrage. It knows that the moment we dehumanize the other side, we’ve lost the plot.
So when the conversation gets loud—when you see people declaring absolutes, branding opponents as monsters, and pulling historical triggers to silence dissent—ask yourself: What level is this message coming from? And what level am I responding from?
Discernment doesn’t react. It calibrates.
Let’s keep the standard high.
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