Thread by @JohnRWoodJr

I suppose that is because some people & views are utterly un-relatable to us.

Or even if not, the imperative of our own interests or the zealotry of our own beliefs prevents us from reasoning patiently together when stakes get high. 1/15

https://twitter.com/JohnRWoodJr/status/1247302555601784832

This is however why the work of organizations like @USConvoProject, @weavetheppl, @LivingRoomConvo, @braverangels and others matter, however.

We need processes and structure for the type of communication that works. And we need to make it scale. 2/15

I listen to a lot of @benshapiro. I pop in on @cenkuygur and TYT now and again. I have a lot of respect for @dpakman & for a long time watched @RubinReport regularly.

I've spoken to all of them along the way minus Rubin directly. If you sat all 4 down together long enough 3/15

- they could agree on what reality looked like. But each represents hundreds of thousands to millions of other people. When public people speak, you're never just hearing them.

You're hearing the echo of all those they're speaking for & listening to. 4/15

Of course other people are like that too. We situate ourselves in our relationship to others, and their opinions weigh on our own - as a SOCIAL matter.

It takes real courage to be completely independent of mind, and real grace to not be an asshole about it. 5/15

When @ezraklein sat in on our podcast (my co-host @ciaranjoconnor flew solo for that) he argued that depolarization does not scale because it requires too few people investing too much time to accomplish.

(Great interview btw: braverangels.org/ezra-klein/)

6/15

But it is also because, or more specifically because, settling in to a close conversation under the right circumstances allow the other social voices that pressure us to recede, displayed by the fuller dimension of the other person's nuanced humanity.

In that light, we find 7/15

...things to relate to about each other.

The hope for people like me, & thinkers I think including @JonHaidt, @nytdavidbrooks & others, is that there is something that can sweep into the space between our tribes with scalable force akin to what we produce in close dialogue 8/15

- that thing is narrative.

It's hard for some smart people to grasp this and others get it intuitively, but people live essentially in stories. Stories make folks utterly alien to us suddenly comprehensible. Narrative stretches cross collective dialogue drawing us together 9/15

- or tearing us apart.

But how to leverage that in a complex, modern world? What kind of perspective can bring, 4 ex @realDailyWire & @TheYoungTurks fans to a place where we feel like we're basically on the same larger side? New consensuses could be imagined I believe...10/15

...but these bridges need to be built, regardless.

In-group morality can seem dangerous but the project is to always widen the in-group. That is the victory of American history. Greater inclusivity enriches society but it must be consequence of...11/15

...genuine meshing of values and understanding of key elements of reality.

If it's achieved, both stability and creativity result. The alternative is chaos and decline.

Right now parties and players across the spectrum are maneuvering for advantage...12/15

...hoping that as the board resets with COVID-19 & it's aftermath space will open for a new alignment of things.

I'm not really any different. My hope's that this period of time gives a chance to see each other more clearly as human beings in time to organize a game plan...13/15

...for a socially healthier society to emerge as we step our our doors. My work at @braverangels I now consider to be a part of that effort.

I also hope that @Rubin, @cenkuygur, @benshapiro & all the big voices in the conversation have the courage to lead us to the table...14/15

...with one another.

It's not easy. But I don't necessarily see any villains here. Just a country that needs its pundits to catch up with its ordinary heroes.

End.