Few people in modern times have been the focus of as much heated debate and passion as Sarah Palin. For some, she is a messianic figure who will help return America to a world that only really existed on film and TV, where everyone worked hard and had good jobs, traditional families stayed together, and unpleasant things were seldom discussed. For others, she represents our "shadow side" and is an ignorant "pretty girl" who wants to drag us back to the Middle Ages. For most people, she represents something in between these two extremes, but no matter which point of view you prefer, one thing is certain:  we have collectively handed her a vast sum of power.

If Sarah Palin is truly the person who can save democracy as we know it, or if she is truly the one who can ruin democracy as we know it, then she clearly is the most powerful person in this country, regardless of whether she is a saint or the anti-christ. Why have we bestowed this upon her? What is it about Sarah that makes her the perfect mirror for the things we think we love or hate?

We are projecting our collective feelings onto Sarah Palin, good or bad, and whatever we see in her is telling us something about ourselves. Behind this mirror, however, stands a woman who is just like the rest of us. She has thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that are no more "wrong" and no more "right" than anyone else's. She is a person endowed with the same creative light and power that all of us are. She is us, because we are not separate.

A well known spiritual author recently said that Sarah represents humanity's "shadow," or the dark side of human nature. And for him, she does, because that is what he chooses to see. He could also choose to see her divinity, reflected back to him as HIS divinity, because this is the truth. To say that Sarah represents our collective dark side is a judgment and nothing more. Indeed, you walk a perilous path if you decide that one set of political beliefs is more "spiritually enlightened" than another, just as it is perilous to declare that Jesus Christ would vote for one candidate over another. God does not take sides. In Oneness, there are no sides to take.

I asked someone I know who is a big fan of Sarah Palin to explain his feelings to me about her. He said:

"Sarah reminds me of all the females in my life and family. She's a business owner, stands up against the good-old-boy network, can raise a family and run an organization, cares for babies, is into camping and will do what it takes to protect the people I love. I have no faith in the current mass of politicians in DC—both parties."

What's interesting about this statement is how many more opportunities are in it for agreement than there are for disagreement. He loves the women in his life. He likes that Sarah is a successful business owner—something that feminists have been advocating for decades now. She's competent and a good mother. She likes the great outdoors. Seriously, it would take a determined Sarah hater to convert these traits into vices. And yet, some do.

Of course, you can like Sarah (or anyone else) as a person and still disagree with her opinions. Not everyone is going to agree. We each have our own perspective. There is nothing wrong with that—unless the act of disagreeing turns a person into our enemy. When this happens, we no longer see the person, and we certainly can't see the Divine in them. And then we lose sight of the Divine in ourselves.

Our country is so polarized today that it is effectively ungovernable. Is it Sarah Palin's fault? No, but she has come to represent the Great Divide that makes it so. We cannot afford to stand behind our lines in the sand and wait for the "other side" to come around to our way of thinking. Everyone has something to contribute. Everyone has good ideas. No one will "win" if the other side loses. It's time to start a meaningful dialogue with one another. It's time to start listening. This can't begin at the top, with our politicians. It has to start with you and me, our friends and family. When we can figure out how to get along respectfully, our politicians will follow suit. But we won't get there if we keep giving our power away to Sarah Palin or Barack Obama or anyone else.

You want change? Stop waiting for a savior. Take the power that you project onto Sarah Palin and use it for yourself. Become the change you want. This will have a greater impact than you can imagine.

Related articles:

• Who is right?
• Stuck in judgment ruts
• The voices of fear
• We are One:  The myth of our "shadow side"
• We are One:  But our opinions divide us