The Public Conversations Project prevents and transforms conflicts driven by deep differences in identity, beliefs, or values.
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Needed: A Healthier Process
A recent New York Times analysis about the passage of health care reform describes an issue greater than any single concrete problem: Our ability to problem-solve, together. Be it abortion, a crippled economy, or health care—the last year saw a disturbing amount of name-calling, polarization, and gridlock.
The Times points to this dynamic as a sign that "Mr. Obama has lost the promise of a 'postpartisan' Washington in which rationality and calm discourse replaced partisan bickering."
The Times article quotes Peter Beinart, a liberal essayist who is publishing a history of hubris in politics, as saying "Let's face it, he's failed in the effort to be the non-polarizing president, the one who can use rationality and calm debate to bridge our traditional divides."
Whether or not President Obama deserves a lion's share of the blame, there are some clear reasons "calm debate" wasn't successful in bridging our nation's divides.
Issues such as health care draw upon deeply-held values and provoke strong emotions, including one of the most primitive reactions: fear. "Will my 25-year-old daughter be uninsured?"; "Will my private health matters remain private?"; "Can I continue to see my current doctor?"; "Will I continue to have access to the level of care I have today?"
In the political arena, progress is made through debates over specific language and compromises about provisions left in or taken out. But we've learned at the Public Conversations Project—that with an issue so emotionally-charged, so connected to deeply-held values, and so very personal—it's important to look at what lies at the heart of the matter.
We must try to understand one another's worldviews—the why behind one person's stance on more government involvement or less. And in doing so, we will not change one another's minds or compromise our own viewpoints—but we will see more clearly the very human reasons that people believe what they do.
Can the political process make room for a deeper understanding of all sides' views—without demonizing, name-calling, or caricature? Could the exploration of views of citizens and politicians be done in a way that bolsters trust and respect? Will the President and politicians on both sides of the aisle in D.C. wake up to the ways in which such ongoing debate may pass a bill but batter relationships and a sense of community? Will the next challenge provide the opportunity to "do it right" in a way that decreases polarization instead of fueling it?
That we don't know. But in the meantime, each of us can commit to looking at national, local, and personal issues in a different way—practicing a style of problem solving that gets to the heart of the matter and results in constructive conversations, effective solutions, and communities that are built on respecting one another's differences.
Susan Countryman
Director of Communications & Development
Public Conversations Project
March 30, 2010
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