A More Perfect Union: The Anti-Polarization Reading List
Add to this list by editing the Google Doc
I started this reading list because I wanted to understand our political divide. What experiences informed our beliefs around issues like guns, race, immigration, and how do we move forward without making enemies of each other? What does this look like? How does this even happen? I found some pieces on the internet but they were few and far between. This got me wondering: Why wasn’t there a place that featured stories of people who crossed the aisle, built consensus, or created small but real change? If this doesn’t exist, is it so surprising how we’re so divided? Models are important. My hope is that stories like these will make us think twice before turning each other into two-dimensional screaming heads. The people you’ll read about here pushed past biases to listen, educate, and do what was needed to move forward despite our differences. Here are some stories to get you started:
The challenge, as Scott F. Fitzgerald put it, is “the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” Please add to the list by editing the Google Doc. I know this is a loaded topic but I hope my intentions are clear. If you have ideas on how I can communicate this better, please let me know. Nikki |
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Complicating the Narratives by Amanda Ripley
It turns out that the pre-conversation reading mattered: in the difficult conversations that followed, people who had read the more simplistic article tended to get stuck in negativity. But those who had read the more complex articles did not. They asked more questions, proposed higher quality ideas and left the lab more satisfied with their conversations. “They don’t solve the debate,” Coleman says, “but they do have a more nuanced understanding and more willingness to continue the conversation.” Complexity is contagious, it turns out, which is wonderful news for humanity.
America Divided
Oprah follows up with partisan voters in Michigan by 60 Minutes
There's no difference around that table than what you would hear in any place of work, dining room table, college campus… The difference is that the people in Michigan really want to listen to each other.
Ms. McBride, I just read your book. It had a profound impact on me. I am ex-military and most of my friends are as well. I am a Life Member of the NRA. I am a long-time biker. And I enthusiastically voted for Donald Trump… I just wanted you to know you changed my perspective and my life...
Guns
Guns and Empathy a video by New York Magazine
Why Do We Keep Having The Same Argument About Guns? by Anne Helen Petersen
Police Brutality
Why Colin Kapaernick Took A Knee posted by Matt Orfalea
It was US Army veteran, Nate Boyer who suggested to Kaepernick to take a knee as a sign of respect. Kaepernick’s protest was no statement on the military but to call attention to police brutality in America where cops are getting paid leave for murdering unarmed Americans.
Race
The white flight of Derek Black by Eli Saslow
White People a short documentary by Jose Antonio Vargas for MTV
At dinner, that man’s father says it upsets him that the Asian newcomers in town aren’t very friendly. But Vargas, as well as some locals interviewed on screen, point out that the language barrier is a natural part of the immigrant experience. The Italian Americans acknowledge this; the dinner-table dad himself, it turns out, moved to America at age 5 and had a hard time adjusting.
Trump’s America
He’s a Local Pillar in a Trump Town. Now He Could Be Deported. by Monica Davey
What I Heard From Trump Supporters by Sam Altman
How a Muslim Doctor Changed Minnesota Minds by Stephanie McMrummen
“I’ll tell you. After the election, I was angry. And I was angry at my community for what they did. And I was ready to leave. Okay? I was ready to go and say you know what? Not my job. People think I’m a terrorist? I’m outta here. Fine. Find somebody else. The reason I’m here is not because I want to — my faith is very personal to me. I’m here because who else is going to do this, if not me?”
Election 2016
I know why the poor whites chant Trump Trump Trump by Jonna Ivin
The Messy Truth a video series by Van Jones
Listening to Trump by Christian Parenti
What so many people don’t get about the US working class by Joan C. Williams
Hillbilly Elegy a book by J.D. Vance
The smug style in American liberalism by Emmett Rensin
Michael Moore joins wide-ranging election talk
I’m a coastal elite from the Midwest: The real bubble is Rural America by Patrick Thornton
How poor whites see themselves a tweetstorm by John Paul Brammer
Race and the Race Rebecca Carroll and Van Jones
The sun comes up a This American Life podcast episode
Uncategorized
Arrival a film
Zootopia a film (yes, really)
Reddit: Liberals, what’s your most conservative view? Conservatives, what’s your most liberal view?
The End of Identity Liberalism by Mark Lilla
Everyone believes they’re the good guy by Amaryllis Fox, former CIA
I think the question we need to be asking as Americans examining our foreign policy, is whether or not we’re pouring kerosene on a candle. The only real way to disarm your enemy is to listen to them.
WHO TO FOLLOW There’s a growing number of voices in this space. Jon Stokes Founder of Ars Technica, former Wired editor, gun owner Van Jones CNN commentator and founder of The Messy Truth, author of Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together Christian Picciolini Reformed white supremacist, founder of peace advocacy organization Life After Hate Ruth Bader Ginsburg Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States known who’s known for advocating for gender equality and women’s rights. How she approaches ignorance? “Well, never in anger, as my mother told me. That would have been self-defeating. Always as an opportunity to teach.” Opera buddies with the late Justice Scalia. |