Healing Our Divisions
We have entered this here in case anyone in the Chorus is interested in working on this project.
We believe that there are ways to
start to deal with the divisions that threaten our democracy. The project described
below in draft form attempts to get us as voters, us as citizens, of different
persuasions, political and otherwise, together in specially mediated and structured sessions
using conciliation methods wherein we will be encouraged to share disparate feelings,
ideas, fears and opinions, not to debate per se, but to simply start to learn
how to hear each other, maybe to understand, to open up a small space for
dialogue in which to find common ground, and, most importantly, in the process
learn from each other what the real issues are that affect us, what the most
important issues are that we must confront and act upon to move our country and
our democracy forward.
We believe that this may work to
start to deal with the part of the problem that is us, us as voters, us as
poorly informed, misinformed, poorly motivated, and insufficiently engaged in
civil life, and that if scaled up may work to make a difference. This may seem
overly optimistic, but if do not try, if we cannot begin to learn to hear/understand
each other, things may get worse.
On the face of it would seem simple:
advertising a meeting, obtaining an auditorium, getting one or more professional
mediators, supporters, and ushers, starting with one meeting, learning from it,
and proceeding to the next. But we, the small group working on this, do not have the resources
to begin this process so we are appealing for sponsors, leaders, co-workers, and
others willing to give this a serious try.
Healing Our Divisions
A Draft
Convening Constituent Healing Assemblies
The goal: To get Americans together in small and not too large
assemblies, to explore what we share in common, to discover again what makes us
Americans, to help ameliorate the divisions that have created obstacles to our
moving forward again with shared purpose. We appear to be a house divided at a
time when even our very elections are under threat. Of course our political
contests will sort some issues out. But this has not worked well recently in
getting our Congress to work through bipartisan compromise to find solutions to
our very pressing domestic and foreign problems. And having opposing sides on
various issues yelling at each other across metal barriers so far hasn’t much helped.
What can we do to help this
situation in which we seem to be acting like a dysfunctional family? Well, we
can certainly get together, as our founding fathers did, to express our wishes,
fears, desires, ideas and plans and try to work through our differences; most
importantly, we can give full voice to our differences but also try to hear
each other as we express those differences so that we can also rediscover what
we share. After all, we do want a functioning Congress, a healthy America and
untrammeled elections.
Listening to debates on TV won’t do
it. We’ll have to make this work ourselves in many groups across the country.
There are so many of us who want
this. It will require some good will on our parts. And it will require some
very impartial mediation as we get together to try to hear each other, lest we just
end up yelling across the barriers. There are good mediators, facilitators
among us, trained in conciliation methods. Let us call on each other to get
this done, and call on our mediators to help. We don’t want to end up after the
next elections whatever the outcome still not understanding each other better
and returning to the status quo.
Let’s hear what those Americans
among us who supported Trump wanted to accomplish and still hope to do. Let’s
hear what those Americans among us who have a different vision for America want
to accomplish. Let’s hear from those who believe that government can improve
our lives and from those who want to diminish the role of government in our
lives. Let’s hear all those different perspectives. Let’s hear what we want our
government to do, or not do, to help with our country’s problems. Let’s make a
space where we can dialog with each other strongly but courteously to seek out
our common ground.
How? Let’s gather together
as Americans: Republicans and Democrats, Independents and Conservatives, Green
Party and Tea Party, Trump supporters and non-supporters, Blacks and Whites,
and Yellows and Reds and Browns, in large and small groups, not to hurl
invective at each other but rather to express and share with each other our
concerns and fears, our hopes and objectives, our wishes for ourselves, our
kids and grandkids, and for our country. Let’s participate together and
complain like hell when necessary. But not
just debate. Let’s evince and explore many strong feelings and arguments, but not to win an argument and put each
other down, but rather to understand and explore each other’s ideas and
feelings and in the process get to understand who we are, and what we would
like America to become.
This won’t be entirely easy. But
the consequences of not trying and not having some measure of success will be
more of what we are experiencing now and perhaps worse.
One Measure of Success. If we can argue and yell and
complain but hear and understand each other, whether we agree or not, but at
the end smile at one another; that will be one measure of success or failure.
This will be real, not fake, and we may not always succeed. The point will be
to honestly try.
Where? Small and larger auditoriums. Starting small and then bigger
venues but not too big. Schools and theatres and civic halls.
Who? Americans of all stripes who wish to participate.
Proceedings: Moderator/facilitator/conciliator
comes on stage and welcomes all. Moderator
will not express an opinion on whatever topic is under discussion. Moderator
states the purpose of the gathering: to get people to express their views but
who also want to talk with people of different persuasions and to get an idea
of what holds us together as Americans.
Moderator asks people sitting next
to each other to ask each other what topics they would like to hear discussed.
Moderator asks the audience what
issue they would like to start with. There will be one or more topics
advertised with the notices to the meeting. The assembled Participants will
settle on a first topic or issue.
The moderator will then give a
quick summary of the method of
discussion he would like to see Participants use.
(The work of the Better Angels
facilitators offers a good example: https://tinyurl.com/WhatIsBetterAngels)
The moderator might bring two
experienced facilitators on stage to give a demonstration of how he would like
the Participants to proceed, acknowledging that this may or may not happen. We
don’t have to fit the model. We don’t have to be perfect discussants. We all
have our own styles of discussion, but we might learn some in the process of doing
this.
Two Americans from those gathered, who
feel that they are on different sides of the divide in question but who are willing
to talk with others of another persuasion and to consider common ground, will be
asked to come on stage. Later more will come on stage.
Moderator: The moderator will restate the purpose of the meeting
and encourage the participants to tell each other and the audience their fears
and concerns, their hopes and wishes, their anger and frustrations, in strong
but respectful and courteous language, and most importantly they will be asked
to try to understand each other. The moderator will emphasize that the purpose
is not to win a debate, or even to resolve the issue, rather to try to
understand each other’s positions, not necessarily to agree or to come to a
conclusion, but to understand. If the Participants get to hear and understand
each other there will be only winners no losers.
Discussion
Method:
(1) The
moderator will ask Participant A to state her/his feelings, ideas and Arguments
A about the issue.
(2) The
moderator will then ask Participant B to restate Participant A’s feelings,
ideas and Arguments about the issue as best she/he can and to the satisfaction of A that she/he understands and gets it.
(3) Participant
B will be asked to come up with one example where Participant A’s positions
seems OK.
(4) Then
Participant B will be asked to state her/his differing feelings, ideas, and
Arguments.
(5) The
procedure will be repeated and this time Participant A will be asked to restate
Participant B’s position to B’s satisfaction, and the discussion will continue
back and forth.
(6) Towards the
end the Participants will be asked if they sensed any common ground and if
Americans can come to understand each other better so as to cope with our
division.
Letting off Animal Energy: This will require some really
good moderation. At some opportune juncture(s) the moderator will pause the
discussion and ask the audience who are composed of people on various sides of the
issue(s), but sitting all mixed up together, to let off some energy. The whole
audience will be asked to shout together first one side’s slogan on the topic
under discussion and then the other side’s slogan. For example, “All together now,
and really get into it, ‘Build the Wall, Build the Wall.’” And after everyone
yells, whether they agree or not, then everyone will be encouraged to shout, ‘We
won’t pay for a wall, We won’t pay for a Wall.’ And after the shouting,
everyone will sit down and get into the serious discussions again. This might
take place more than once with different slogans shouted to let off steam, and
perhaps get us to laugh.
Concluding the Assembly. At the end Participants will be
asked what they think about the proceedings and to make suggestions. And
audience members will be asked to turn to those seated nearby and have a short
discussion as to what went well, what did not and to write on a file card their
ideas and suggestions.
Singing Together: And at the very end, everyone will be asked to sing,
“American the Beautiful” (not the
Battle Hymn of the Republic) -- in four part harmony of course. The moderator
will conduct or invite someone from the audience to conduct.
