Musing about positive discourse

We, in the United States, are in the midst of intense societal change akin to the changes of the 1960s and 1970s. We have become so divided that we are not moving through these difficult times with grace, kindness, and higher good at the forefront of national discourse. Perhaps it is time to back up and consider civility and intelligent discourse the means by which to achieve positive compromise, and to further the general social objectives and civil rights we hold so dear.

Last November, we saw the fulfillment of a promise made in America beginning with Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, furthered by Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, adopted in 1865, and strengthened by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These were acts of a higher good and recognition of what is best within the people of the United States.

However, we remain a nation of slow progress, irrational ideas, and repeated, thus far unlearned lessons—often because we allow fear entrance to our conversations, and we become “entranced” by that fear. We are also a nation of stubborn individuals that hold firm convictions against the rational thought and valid argumentation that could allow us to see the issues more clearly. That tendency enables us to believe the stories told to us by the extremes of each political party—and it is divisive and unproductive to allow this to happen any more. It is not too late to invite courtesy and rational discourse to the public conversation.

Current trends of vituperative shouting, personal attacks, and inflammatory speech must be replaced by quiet discourse, a focus on challenges not personalities, and a willingness to listen to the concerns of the “other side.”

Let’s take time to look into the eyes of the individuals who differ with us, see and feel their humanity, listen to their concerns, and be willing to seek higher good through compromise.

Peace and blessings (practice the first; count the second).