Healing the Divide
In this article from The Atlantic, Anne Abbelbaum warns that millions of Americans sympathize with the Capitol insurrection, and they are not going to go away any time soon. The rest of us must figure out how to live alongside them. Something more than communication skills will be needed. Appelbaum provides some suggestions, inspired by the experiences of countries like Northern Ireland and South Africa in dealing with their own polarized divides.
We’ll hear a summary of Appelbaum’s article, and then of a response entitled “Is ‘Coexistence is the Only Option’??? If So, How???” The author (identified as David B) agrees that there can be no healing until we “do the hardest thing” and imagine how the world looks from the other side. But he ends his article with four unanswered questions:
- How do we receive their anger so that they can be heard?
- How do we do so while we still hold people accountable?
- How do we hear their anger, and hold people accountable, and have a “Reconciliation”?
- How do we do all that, while we still see the humanity in, rather than “dehumanize the Other” in the process?
And then we’ll discuss it all. Hope to see you there!
Zoom information will be provided on heal-the-divide@uucpa.org a day or two before the meeting. If you are not a member of that email list, you can request to join by sending a message to heal-the-divide+subscribe@
Healing the Divide is a UUCPA group that formed after the 2016 election to ask: 1) what do we not understand about others with more conservative viewpoints, and 2) what can we learn that will help us communicate even across wide differences in belief.
Questions? Please contact Susan Owicki at heal-the-divide+owner@uucpa.org
Hope to see you there!
Susan
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