This is a short point made by one of my favorite Antioch professors Dr. Jon Wergin about how to resist “drive-by learning” and allow your mind to consider new ways of thinking. This is how we can rebuild our communities, our society and our country.
What it will take to be the United States
I hear people, including me, bemoaning the divisiveness we are facing today politically. I see some root causes of that:
increased complexity of our collective problems which is hard to grasp and understand so we oversimplify
communicating via social media which encourages short phrases or sentences, statements of belief, and “agreement” or “disagreement”
wanting to be right as opposed to curious
not trusting that we will be able to handle a view that is different than our own
the tendencies of our media outlets which value “either/or” headlines so we will click on them
media coverage of statements made by those in positions of power which inflate their influence
an overreliance on positions vs. interests when we communicate what we want.
Regardless of who “wins” this upcoming election, we still have to work together to build a society we want to live in. Here’s what I propose that will take from all of us:
prioritizing the issues that matter the most to us and being willing to say why they do
making time to have conversations so we make time for curiosity and understanding rather than agreement or disagreement
asking more questions when someone says they disagree - like “what leads you to think that?” or “tell me what experiences you’ve had where that becomes important to you?”
not relying on “the news” to understand issues - but find resources that are more neutral and that engage us in conversation
proposing in-person (including virtual) conversations when it looks like social media vehicles are not advancing understanding
valuing each other so that our opinions and whether or not someone “likes” them is our only way of determining our value.
I’m sure there’s more - but I’d rather focus on this than the sports metaphor of people “winning” and “losing” an election.,
The times we are in are asking us to be thoughtful and intentional.
Over the past few months I've been reflecting on what we are facing and have some thoughts I wanted to share. I welcome your responses.
1. The values of individual freedom and public health conflict in a pandemic. Infectious disease specialists acknowledge that we reasonably expect the freedom to make our own decisions regarding our health. However, what happens when our wishes conflict with what is in our best interest? How far should our rights be restricted for our own benefit? Similarly, what limitations should be placed on our behavior when our wishes go against what is good for the population in general? The decision to wear a mask in this pandemic is for the population in general and may be a reason to decide that we can't make a decision that works only for us.
2. Race scientifically cannot be defined, but to prevent revolution, early colonists defined "white" as a race so workers could not join together across race and overthrow the wealthy ruling class. Then we continued to build systems around race and now murders by police and systemic injustice based on race are once again demanding change. Our position in the racial hierarchy has everything to do with how we engage in this conversation, and those with privilege must listen to perspectives outside their "bubble" and engage across race to make change.
3. The danger of a two-party system is to oversimplify and create a winner and a loser. This limits our collective ability to define and solve our nation's problems and create a vision that works for most if not all. Oversimplifying complex issues leads to decline in civilization as Rebecca Costa documents in The Watchman's Rattle.
4. The interesting confluence of this pandemic and recent police killings of black citizens has caused collective awareness and reflection. Because many citizens are not distracted by their busy lives, we have time to think and reflect on what is happening. This is valuable.
If we choose these behaviors, we can keep each other healthy, create a more just society, and come together to create the country we all want.
Demonstrate concern for each others' health by wearing a mask when within 6 feet of them.
Notice how race impacts every system in our country - from education to judicial to landownership to political to medical and more. Ask questions and begin to envision a more justice way of implementing these systems.
Avoid naming people as democrat/republican, liberal/conservative, for or against any particular issue. Instead ask how they came to the beliefs they have and what those are. Then paraphrase what you hear vs. debating.
Stay well and act with kindness,
Karen
