Preamble for those of us working on the webiste: So, in summary, we want the citizen participant to go away with: more hopeful and inviting/inclusive, feel that they have found the elusive on-ramp, get a glimmer of faith/trust in fellow citizen, that there are real options, that I can get good at this and drive out fear, that this struggle/sacrifice is a true service to my country, that what we are doing can be accumulated trust / building blocks of trust, that “WE” are, can be, in control rather than to rely on the elite, that we can search this store of wisdom as a result of working together, rather than reliance on an elite (which is the slippery slope of absolute power corrupts absolutely) or reliance on forming a mob to push back (which is worse? Yikes!) – its not a moral thing, it’s a systemic thing, that we can design out of the system. Finally, that such activity produces happiness: specifically the happiness connected to nurturing relationships, and to working on something bigger than ourselves.
Here are some of our favorite helpful links, that you may want to explore at your own pace “on the road again.”
Disagreement skills are not your thing? You’d rather work to restore election power to citizens?
Disagreement Skill Building
- www.OpenMindPlatform.org free, bite sized lessons for seeing disagreement wholistically and learning real life skills. You can do solo, or with a partner. on line, self-paced, self-study, as solo oras a pair. Based on TheRighteous Mindbook and more. Builds on the Elephant, Rider, Path.
- www.UnifyAmerica.org free, be connected to your opposite, for a 1-hour video conversation. Can be repeated with a new partner. Is a great way to practice new disagreement skills. a service that will pair/connect you with someone from across the isle to thenhave a 1-on-1 dialogue via video conference. Quite helpful for practicingskills of calming down hot-buttons, excercize listening and inquiry skills
- www.CitizenConnect.us
Seeking Balanced Views
Big picture perspectives that illuminate roots of divided America and paths to improvement
- Here is our 4-page summary of the “root causes” of divided America, including the repair strategy for becoming We The People, version 4.0 click to go to CC
- Here are 3 “diagnostic” documents, helpful when added together:
- Harvard study by Gehl and Porter on the failure of politics. https://www.hbs.edu/competitiveness/research/Pages/research-details.aspx?rid=84
- President Trump 1776 Report https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/The-Presidents-Advisory-1776-Commission-Final-Report.pdf
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Our Common Purpose Report https://www.amacad.org/ourcommonpurpose/report
- There are also dozens of books that focus on various themes that are also additive. Not valuable to enumerate at this time.
A unique route to finding truth
(from Martin Carcasson at Colorado State University):
- 1st shift from naming wicked people, to clearly naming wicked problems.
- 2nd shift from win-lose adversaries to creative collaborators.
- 3rd shift from inciting the worst in people to inviting the best.
- 4th facts suddenly turn from ammunition to illumination.
Polls that indicate that people are ready for change
- https://citizendata.com/news/challenging-polarization-through-deliberation/
- https://theharwoodinstitute.org/civic-virus-report
- https://hiddentribes.us/about/
- Do an internet search on “Harvard Happiness Study.” Our conclusion: 2020 divided politics is robbing Americans from 2 primary paths to happiness: (1) nurturing relationships and (2) working on something bigger than ourselves.
- https://vop.org/commonground/
Media that divides us
- The Social Dilemma, Docudrama on Netflix. Trailer: https://youtu.be/uaaC57tcci0
- The Persuaders, Frontline 2004 eps15 https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-persuaders/
- The Great Hack, how social media data was used in 2016 election, on Netflix. Trailer: https://youtu.be/iX8GxLP1FHo
- TED Radio Hour on social media and big data… https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/818298800/irl-online
Some books that we view as foundational
- The Righteous Mind by J. Haidt
- On Dialogue by David Bohm
- Toward Wiser Public Judgement by Yankelovich and Friedman
- https://www.theseventhstory.com/paperback
- The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
- The ReUnited States of America by Mark Gerzon
BEWARE: of rabbit holes! While many of these links illuminate the paths, eventually we must walk a path. One place to start is at a Dinner and a Fight Dialogue™ event.