Humainologie creative dialogue this Wed April 27 with Member of Parliament Mike Lake facilitating

“So let us begin anew – remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.” - John F. Kennedy

“Unfortunately, civility is hard to codify or legislate, but you know it when you see it. It’s possible to disagree without being disagreeable.” – Sandra Day O’Connor

“Civility also requires relearning how to disagree without being disagreeable. Surely you can question my policies without questioning my faith or, for that matter, my citizenship.” - Barack Obama

This coming Wednesday April 27, we are again fortunate to have MP Mike Lake facilitating our creative dialogue. Mike emphasizes the importance of civility in our discussions of public affairs. It is actually possible for people who are neither Ukrainian nor Russian to get into a heated argument about what is currently happening in Ukraine – whereas civility in such a discussion is essential for productive outcomes. One possibility for our topic on Wednesday, therefore, could be something like Civility for Human Survival. I will provide an update (with the specific topic that Mike suggests) before the dialogue on Wednesday.

From the synopsis (previously circulated) of the book I’m Right and You’re an idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean it Up, I have appended bullet points to use as a resource for your contributions to the dialogue on Wednesday.

And here is the Zoom link provided by Shinobu: :

Topic: Hurmainologie creative dialogue

Time: Apr 27, 2022 06:30 PM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82493463628?pwd=bm9kOFJCL3NtZm9CUmxaWWU4QlFLdz09

Meeting ID: 824 9346 3628

Passcode: 12345

Arthur

From the synopsis (previously circulated) of James Hoggan and Grania Litwin's book I’m Right and You’re an idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean it Up:

· “Toxic conversations stall our ability to think collectively and solve the many dangerous problems that are stalking everyone on earth.”

· “[There are] clear differences between dialogue and debate: in debate we assume we have the right answer, whereas dialogue assumes we all have pieces of the answer and can craft a solution together.”

· “…by working to create a climate of trust, a community of discourse, we build up capital that we can use to deal with tricky issues in the future.”

· “People need to feel respected and supported, not criticized.”

· “Self-righteousness is a barrier to self-change, and an impediment to persuading others.” Being passionate about specific issues is important but hold your opinions lightly and be ready to change your views.

· Hoggan emphasizes two key strategies he had learned: 1) Don’t get into fights; or as George Bernard Shaw had said, “I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.” 2) Do not be silent. Tell your own story, otherwise you lose by default.

· Adam Kahane has helped transcend barriers as severe as apartheid in South Africa, by bringing adversaries into a discussion of possibilities. He does not try to convince people to do anything they don’t want to do. “’They don’t need to agree on the solution or the problem. They don’t need to understand each other, trust each other or even like each other.’ But they do have to recognize that the only way to move forward is together.”

· “One defeats the fanatic precisely by not being a fanatic oneself”

· Deep listening and respect for the adversary are both essential.

· We can learn from the success of the civil rights movement: Never give up. All our progress notwithstanding, to this day there has been no “ultimate victory” and there is still a lot of work to do. There will always be those who intentionally pollute public discourse. But the majority are waiting for us to clean it up. We must persist.