The Sustainist: July 2017

Watching 40 thousand boys being coaxed into booing the first African American President and the first woman presidential candidate of the United States, my heart skipped a beat. Then they applauded when the news media were referred to as fake news. They laughed at a bullying threat disguised as a joke against the Health and Human Services Secretary if Obamacare didn’t get repealed. I was surprised by the fear that came over me. I am not so fearful for Tom Price getting fired, now that the repeal bill didn't pass in the Senate. I am fearful for my beloved country.

This scene reminded me of the Cultural Revolution in China which was launched in 1966, in which thousands of youth bought into Mao Zedong’s appeal to eliminate his rivals. They formed the Red Guards and persecuted millions of people. You might say that this can’t happen in the United States. But I say, it can if we don’t pay attention to these kinds of propaganda targeted at our youth. I call it propaganda because when a powerful person, who already won, continues to be in “campaign mode” claiming to be a victim, his real goal is to indoctrinate people into fortifying his power by eliminating the opposing parties.

I call upon all U.S. Citizens who work with youth in this country – Boy Scout leaders, Girl Scout leaders, School Teachers, Sunday School Teachers – to focus on what really matters. Pay attention to what our youth are learning from the powerful people in our country. Are they learning that it is okay to bully a friend while claiming loyalty is important? Are they learning that putting down anyone who disagrees with them is good? Are they learning that the news media is not to be trusted? If they belief that our news organizations provide fake news, what are the alternative places where they find the truth? And without the truth, our youth will be vulnerable to manipulations of propaganda, which we learned from history, never tells the truth.

I call upon the good people of all political parties to invest in teaching our youth about what it means to be good citizens in a democracy. Instead of raising campaign money to help you win the next election, raise money and invest in providing “good citizen” curricula in local schools, faith communities and youth organizations.

Start with the 16 and 17-year-old youth and prepare them to embrace the privilege to vote responsibly based on values that they believe and live in and not on propaganda. Show them Senator John McCain’s speech in the Senate this week where he said,

Our system doesn't depend on our nobility. It accounts for our imperfections, and gives an order to our individual strivings that has helped make ours the most powerful and prosperous society on earth. It is our responsibility to preserve that, even when it requires us to do something less satisfying than 'winning.' Even when we must give a little to get a little. Even when our efforts manage just three yards and a cloud of dust, while critics on both sides denounce us for timidity, for our failure to 'triumph.'

Take a lesson from the Boy Scouts of America: A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

Eric H. F. Law
The Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

With the healthcare bill stuck again, the politicians in Congress of the U.S. are finally talking about the possibility of bipartisan engagement to work toward a bill that actually puts the people’s wellbeing first! But, once again, we are distracted by the Russian-Trump scandal – this time with Donald Trump, Jr.’s emails. And the political parties are busy trying to find their positions in this new storm. The media will spin on this for days. The legal stuff will take its own course. Meanwhile, there is little we, the people, can do but, may I suggest, focus on what really matters.

In President George Washington’s farewell address in 1796. He warned against the danger of the political parties. He said:

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.

He also warned: “It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.”

While he acknowledged that “There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty”, he also said that “there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.”

Perhaps we are witnessing what our first president had predicted—our two-party system is now a blazing flame that consumes our civility and ability to compromise while opening up the danger of foreign influence.

So let’s focus on what really matters: political parties exist because the people voted for their members to represent them in the government. Therefore, we, the people, need to heed the warning of our first president and to find ways to “discourage and restrain” the destructive spirits of the parties. To begin this effort, we, the people, must find ways to build bridges across party line. Instead of being boxed in by our political parties, we must have the courage to break out of the box to engage others in civil and constructive dialogue.

If you are influential in any organization (churches, workplaces, community centers, etc.) that have members of different political persuasions, you have the responsibility to create a gracious time and place for dialogue to achieve understanding. Why? Because when people are able to talk about their differences to achieve understanding, not necessarily agreement, they are more productive in the workplace, more open to learning in school, more able to be caring in the faith communities (such as responding to Jesus’ command to love our enemy), and more able to find common ground to work together for the good of their community, town, city and state. Here’s how:

Write a Gracious Invitation. Your invitation should include a specific time and place and have a neutral name for the gathering. The invitation should also address the fear that people have directly so that they are more willing to come to such a gathering. So it is best to work with a group representing the different political persuasions to create such an invitation. Here is a sample:

You are invited to a gathering called Building Bridges, on Saturday, August 5, 2017 from 10 am to Noon followed with lunch. At this gathering, we will share our values, beliefs and experiences of how to create a community that fosters wellness for everyone. We will listen to all perspectives including our political beliefs and affiliations. We will not debate who is right or wrong. We will not place blame, engage in personal attacks, monopolize conversation or curse one another. We will seek to achieve mutual understanding, not agreement, and explore ways that we can work together despite our differences.

We want to foster a community in which all are able to have “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Create a Gracious Time and Place: Creating a gracious environment for dialogue does not happen without intentional planning. Here are some steps:
1. Secure a politically neutral space.
2. Limit the number of participants to a manageable size. In general, one facilitator for a group of 8 people would work well.
3. Train facilitators with skills to foster respectful conversations and include every voice in their groups.
4. Arrive early to set up the space to be conducive to dialogue. Circles of 8 chairs would give the signal that this is a gathering that values small group conversations. Other ways to create a dialogue environment include projection, displays, and material on the walls.
Deliver a Carefully Designed Program
1. The program should be carefully planned out. The facilitators should know exactly what they are doing. It should include:
  1. Welcome and purpose of the gathering
  2. Open with something that helps participants focus on the subject of the dialogue. For example, read a passage from the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution or an important document such as George Washington’s farewell address.
  3. Present Respectful Communication Guidelines and invite participants to agree to practice them.
  4. Before moving into small group conversation, invite participants to write down their thoughts on a worksheet with questions that help them clarify their values, beliefs and experiences. The worksheet may include the following questions:
    1. What does it mean for you to live a good life, to have liberty and to be able to pursue happiness?
    2. Based on your experience in the last few elections (local and federal), what do you like best about our political system?
    3. Based on your experience in the last few elections, what do you dislike most about our political system?
    4. I am affiliated with _______ party (or I am not affiliated with any party) because ___________
    5. I cast my vote (or I did not vote) in the last election based on
      1. My concern for __________
      2. My need for _____________
      3. My belief _______________
      4. My value ________________
    6. What life experiences have you had that led you to focus on these concerns, needs, beliefs and values
  5. After participants have completed their worksheets, move into small a group dialogue inviting each person to share using Mutual Invitation. The facilitators can do three rounds inviting participants to share their responses to the first question for the first round, questions 2 and 3 for the second round and questions 4, 5 and 6 for the third round.
  6. After the sharing, invite participants to complete the sentences and share:
    1. I notice . . .
    2. I wonder . . .
  7. Then invite participants to write down their thoughts on the final question and then share: What are you called to do as a result of this dialogue?
  8. Conclude with a discussion on whether participants would like to do more of this kind of dialogue. If so, on what topics and in what format? Then send them off inviting them to continue the dialogue with each other in the community.

If you are wondering how you can train people to be facilitators, go to the Kaleidoscope Institute website and click on Building Bridges (http://www.kscopeinstitute.org/dialogue-on-race/) and find out how you can schedule a training in your area.

Eric H. F. Law
The Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org