Irshad is on fire! My renewed journey on this topic started with Jonathan Haidt (The Coddling . . .) and the Heterodox Society which in turn led me to many places including Persuasion. That said, my favorite epiphany is that, with humility, you must be able to engage with "others" (even THOSE others) to even begin to start a substantive conversation (which in turn leads to better understanding and, perhaps after lots of work, even better outcomes). To me, increased polarization and a strong disagreement on basic underlying facts makes this even more true. Irshad's book is a fantastic articulation of why this approach is frankly the only constructive way forward and, even better yet, provides the tools needed to engage. As with all things in life, there are no shortcuts - just keep putting in the good work and meet people where they are.
Thanks for posting this insightful article and for making me aware of Irshad's book (which I just ordered). I am serving as a minister in the Unitarian Universalist tradition and am aghast at the spiritually inept, divisive and most assuredly counter productive methods our religious association is trying to impose upon congregations. The members of the congregation I serve here in Oregon honestly yearn to promote diversity and help create a truly "beloved community" (MLK, Jr.) and this gives me hope that there are wise and compassionate guides out there who don't loathe any segment of the population who can help us find out way.
Wonderful thesis well argued, but I wonder if civilizations truly are capable of achieving this kind of—I don’t mean to sound silly using this word, but I think it’s right—enlightenment. Throughout history in every civilization I’ve ever studied, there was always an “other” to be looked down upon in scorn. In America today, for the Red Tribe, it’s minorities, especially Muslims; for the Blue Tribe, it’s “rednecks.” The need to have some out-group if only to help define the in-group seems to be such a fundamental human need that we always strive to create it, war or peace; prosperity or poverty.
Thank you for this reminder that inclusiveness includes “them” the Republicans. When we don’t engage in good faith discussions with people who disagree with us politically, when we imagine they are so different that there is no common ground, we lose part of the diversity that makes “us” America.
You are clearly a person open to other points of view. I applaud you for that. Here are some additional thoughts to consider:
A few points I found to cause cognitive dissonance in reading this piece, mostly having to do with (1) eliding between conservative, Republican and Trump supporter as if they were one-in-the same; and (2) The implicit idea that non-progressives are the "old order", thus perhaps implying that they are "on the wrong side of history".
To elaborate: (a) Non-public sector blue collar workers in the industrial mid-west who represent a traditional Democratic constituency shifted the election to Trump. Are you including them among the "Republican/Conservative/Trump" munge?; (b) Many prominent conservatives are vehemently critical of Trump and the Republican party. These folks believe in limited government, fiscal responsibility, strengthening intermediary institutions of civic and family life, cautious regarding rapid rates of societal and political change (e.g., French vs American approach to revolution, i.e., being careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater), and a strong military to protect against foreign totalitarian governments. Are any of these elements of the "old order" or pillars of the Trump administration?; and (c) As for elements of the "old order" going away - there are quite a few progressive notions of societal norms that may just as easily be characterized as going by the wayside too. A couple that come top of mind are abortion (down 54% since the apex in 1981) and first time gun ownership (up >2 million NEW owners in just the first half of 2020). Progressives often cite the Hegelian deterministic and "progressivist" direction of history, but history seems to have a mind of its own.
As a teacher, perhaps a good reading list for students wishing to understand conservative thought could include the editorial page of the WSJ, The National Review, The Imaginative Conservative and City Journal.
Irshad is on fire! My renewed journey on this topic started with Jonathan Haidt (The Coddling . . .) and the Heterodox Society which in turn led me to many places including Persuasion. That said, my favorite epiphany is that, with humility, you must be able to engage with "others" (even THOSE others) to even begin to start a substantive conversation (which in turn leads to better understanding and, perhaps after lots of work, even better outcomes). To me, increased polarization and a strong disagreement on basic underlying facts makes this even more true. Irshad's book is a fantastic articulation of why this approach is frankly the only constructive way forward and, even better yet, provides the tools needed to engage. As with all things in life, there are no shortcuts - just keep putting in the good work and meet people where they are.
Thanks for posting this insightful article and for making me aware of Irshad's book (which I just ordered). I am serving as a minister in the Unitarian Universalist tradition and am aghast at the spiritually inept, divisive and most assuredly counter productive methods our religious association is trying to impose upon congregations. The members of the congregation I serve here in Oregon honestly yearn to promote diversity and help create a truly "beloved community" (MLK, Jr.) and this gives me hope that there are wise and compassionate guides out there who don't loathe any segment of the population who can help us find out way.
Wonderful thesis well argued, but I wonder if civilizations truly are capable of achieving this kind of—I don’t mean to sound silly using this word, but I think it’s right—enlightenment. Throughout history in every civilization I’ve ever studied, there was always an “other” to be looked down upon in scorn. In America today, for the Red Tribe, it’s minorities, especially Muslims; for the Blue Tribe, it’s “rednecks.” The need to have some out-group if only to help define the in-group seems to be such a fundamental human need that we always strive to create it, war or peace; prosperity or poverty.
Thank you for this reminder that inclusiveness includes “them” the Republicans. When we don’t engage in good faith discussions with people who disagree with us politically, when we imagine they are so different that there is no common ground, we lose part of the diversity that makes “us” America.
You are clearly a person open to other points of view. I applaud you for that. Here are some additional thoughts to consider:
A few points I found to cause cognitive dissonance in reading this piece, mostly having to do with (1) eliding between conservative, Republican and Trump supporter as if they were one-in-the same; and (2) The implicit idea that non-progressives are the "old order", thus perhaps implying that they are "on the wrong side of history".
To elaborate: (a) Non-public sector blue collar workers in the industrial mid-west who represent a traditional Democratic constituency shifted the election to Trump. Are you including them among the "Republican/Conservative/Trump" munge?; (b) Many prominent conservatives are vehemently critical of Trump and the Republican party. These folks believe in limited government, fiscal responsibility, strengthening intermediary institutions of civic and family life, cautious regarding rapid rates of societal and political change (e.g., French vs American approach to revolution, i.e., being careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater), and a strong military to protect against foreign totalitarian governments. Are any of these elements of the "old order" or pillars of the Trump administration?; and (c) As for elements of the "old order" going away - there are quite a few progressive notions of societal norms that may just as easily be characterized as going by the wayside too. A couple that come top of mind are abortion (down 54% since the apex in 1981) and first time gun ownership (up >2 million NEW owners in just the first half of 2020). Progressives often cite the Hegelian deterministic and "progressivist" direction of history, but history seems to have a mind of its own.
As a teacher, perhaps a good reading list for students wishing to understand conservative thought could include the editorial page of the WSJ, The National Review, The Imaginative Conservative and City Journal.
Really well said. We sometimes become the monster we hate, then no longer recognize ourselves. Thank you