Political Polarization: contempt problem
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There is a short (1:17) video on the Harvard Kennedy School Facebook site showing the conservative Arthur Brooks (head of American Enterprise Institute) sharing a lesson from the Dalai Lama about political polarization, something we often see on Viva and elsewhere. I can't find a link other than Facebook, so I don't know how those of you who aren't on Facebook can see it, nor can I find a transcript. If someone can, please post it. Thanks.
The point is, the problem with politics isn't opposing views. It's the way we speak to each other. He says we don't have an anger problem in American politics, we have a contempt problem. This can be solved by practicing warm-heartedness. Show your true strength by speaking with warm-heartedness instead of contempt.
https://www.facebook.com/harvardkennedyschool/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: MarkD
That is just horrible
That is just horrible bullshit! How dare you trash this place with such drivel?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lucky Day
Every terrible thing I've
Every terrible thing I've ever said to a Zoner was meant to help them grow. I'm a loving person like that.
It's a shame I get misinterpreted. Folks do so at their own peril.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: treat island
Here are the you guys forgot
Here are the
you guys forgot.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Thumbkinetic
Deplorables are contemptible.
Deplorables are contemptible.
And vice-versa.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: 19.5 Degrees
Throw in a nice helping of
Throw in a nice helping of cognitive dissonance re: the one's "decision" (re: the "side" one chooses) and it's a recipe for a long term polarized entrenchment. I've wondered just how far people will back up their initial decisions before reversing course? Came across a recent interview of Ben Ferencz - one of the last Nuremberg prosecutor alive. What struck me (among many things) was his take on how "normal" people got caught up in the whirlwind who would probably otherwise not have found themselves on the wrong side of humanity's judgment. I had been thinking that if things get bad enough (i.e. we nuke North Korea) that people will start to "wake up" and re-evaluate their initial decisions; however, I'm starting to think many would rather go to their graves vs. admitting their were "wrong".
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-the-last-nuremberg-prosecutor-alive-wan...
Lesley Stahl: Did you meet a lot of people who perpetrated war crimes who would otherwise in your opinion have been just a normal, upstanding citizen?
"War makes murderers out of otherwise decent people. All wars, and all decent people."
Benjamin Ferencz: Of course, is my answer. These men would never have been murderers had it not been for the war. These were people who could quote Goethe, who loved Wagner, who were polite--
Lesley Stahl: What turns a man into a savage beast like that?
Benjamin Ferencz: He's not a savage. He's an intelligent, patriotic human being.
Lesley Stahl: He's a savage when he does the murder though.
Benjamin Ferencz: No. He's a patriotic human being acting in the interest of his country, in his mind.
Lesley Stahl: You don't think they turn into savages even for the act?
Benjamin Ferencz: Do you think the man who dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was a savage? Now I will tell you something very profound, which I have learned after many years. War makes murderers out of otherwise decent people. All wars, and all decent people.