I’ve decided it’s time to give this blog some energy and purpose. To do that, I’d like to invite people to join this effort. There are no dues, no strings attached—just a commitment to caring about others. At the start, it may only be a handful of us, but every change begins with a small group willing to speak up and share ideas.
Lately, I’ve realized that much of traditional social media has become toxic. My own experience of getting pulled into MAGA arguments felt like a trap, one that was tough to climb out of. At some point, I may share that story in full. For now, though, I want to focus on what this blog can be.
This is not meant to be a narrow project. The issues we face—whether hunger, housing, democracy, or human dignity—aren’t confined by region, religion, or ideology. The goal is simple: to make life better for people. That can happen in countless ways—through voting, speaking out at public meetings, marching in the streets, supporting food programs, fighting for housing justice, or just sharing ideas that might spark action.
This space is meant to be a forum where we can ask hard questions, offer solutions, and inspire each other. I believe humanity thrives when we share, cooperate, and care. Some may call that socialism; I call it common sense.
Most importantly, I want your input. Comment, contribute, or even submit a post of your own. Hopefully this will be a place where censorship won’t be necessary—just open conversation and a focus on making life better for all.
1 comment:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE?
We hear it everywhere--you have to meet people where they are. Sometimes I hear a concept that sounds right but I can't quite put my finger on what it means in real life.
What it doesn't mean is, "I hear you and let me tell you why you're wrong."
In order to meet people where they are, we need to know where they are. That means asking questions. And listening to the answers in order to build trust. "People are much more complicated than we realize," says Anand Giridharadas, author of The Persuaders. "People are live civil war battlefields for their own soul....We know we are complicated. But we think people on the far shore are monoliths. We think they're simple. We think their Trump voting is the only story about them, their anti-vaxx, anti-science stance is the only story about them. And it's not true."
Asking questions allows us to hear more about the values that motivate positions that people take. Let's agree that few people believe their values are harmful or evil, although they may seem so to us. They are viewing the world through an individual framework that organizes their lives into a coherent and meaningful order. Part of that order might include a nugget of information we can use to create a connection and begin a conversational journey that could--could--jiggle loose an opportunity for them to think differently.
Our goal, writes Chris Vandenbrink (Reboot), is "to see the world through their eyes, to understand their experience, often by asking questions with no goal other than to see and hear how they see and hear the world....[then] speaking to them not as a problem, but as a person who we believe will find the answer if only they are given the opportunity."
It may seem to me that of course my perspective is correct, why can't this other person see it? Maybe if I just say it louder and more aggressively, and attack the wrongness of their point of view?
Post a Comment