LET’S TALK WITH EACH OTHER!

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 405

 When is your Christmas or Holiday dinner this month? Cal State Fullerton Assistant Professor William Toledo has tips for talking politics at family gatherings and elsewhere that really caught my attention, because they are similar tips that I use in my mediations. Here they are in an abbreviated form:

1. Be willing to have those conversations rather than avoiding them. Yes, you may hear things that you disagree with, but that does not at all mean that the person suggesting them is evil, or even totally mistaken. In fact, it simply underscores the old saying that people cannot disagree with something unless they can articulate what it is.
2. Strongly resist the temptation to label or insult other people for their comments and beliefs. Keep the conversation civil, and remind all other parties to it to do the same. Having peaceful discussions can happen, but it often needs those reminders.
3. Find common ground with the others in the discussion. That is a great way both to stimulate further discussion, as well as to have people begin to work together on resolutions.
4. Start the conversations with what the professor calls “low emotional intensity topics,” such as whether bicycles should be allowed on sidewalks or vending machines should only stock healthy foods. Then you can go on from there to the more cutting issues.

Over the years people in our country have become much more polarized, and this has had a large negative effect upon our ability and even interest in having open discussions. So I pass these tips on to our 2 Paragraphs Family with the hope that you have a wonderful Holiday Season that includes all of us being able to talk to each other about the topics of our day. And with that, I salute you and wish you Good Times with your family and friends!

Thought for the week: If liars’ pants really did catch on fire, watching the nightly news would be a lot more fun . . .