Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of November 19, 2023

Newsletter #177 — November 19, 2023

Colleague Activities

Highlighting things that our conflict and peacebuilding colleagues are doing that contribute to efforts to address the hyper-polarization problem.

• Israel / Hamas War
  From Intragroup Conflict to Intergroup Cooperation  — Jay Rothman shared this 2014 chapter in response to our latest newsletter. In it he links the intersectionality of Israeli-Palestinian identity and intergroup relations in Israel to the larger conflict resolution/peacebuilding field and argues that preceding intergroup work with intragroup work is often more useful than engaging across sides immediately.

• Peacebuilding
  Five Miles and a World Apart, Younger Activists Dream of a New Peace Process — Welcome news that there is a new generation of peacemakers trying to chart a positive path away from the ongoing war (and reminding us that all problems create opportunities for people with ideas about how to solve them).

• Israel / Hamas War
  Alliance for Peacebuilding's Statement On The Israel-Hamas Violent Conflict — Released on October 26, the Alliance calls for an immediate ceasefire with the release of all hostages, addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and working for a two-state solution.

• The Hyper-Polarization Threat
  Polarization and political violence: Rachel Kleinfeld. — People talking across differences isn’t enough to end polarization, even if it can create goodwill. There needs to be institutional change and politicians who come together to defend democratic norms.

• Developing a Unifying Vision
  Transitioning to tripartisanship — Between 40% and 44% of American voters, according to Gallup, do not identify with either major party. They need to be represented in Washington too.

• Developing a Unifying Vision
  A Quilt Meditation on Democracy, Social Connection, & Civity — Democracy is like quilting. We are all different pieces of different fabrics of different shapes and sizes – and we piece ourselves together to make something different and bigger. We each make a contribution.

• Constructive Communication
  ConnectEffect — This is a live, 60 minute entertainment experience that will profoundly shift the way you see "the other side." It is an "in-person hard reset of humanity."

Beyond Intractability in Context

From around the web, more insight into the nature of our conflict problems, limits of business-as-usual thinking, and things people are doing to try to make things better.

• Critical Theory
  Progressives Aren’t Liberal — An in-depth look at the evolution of the words "liberal" and "progressive" with real insights into the enormously important conflict between these two worldviews.

• Critical Theory
  Finally, a book about critical social justice that its advocates might read — A review and summary of Yascha Mounk's major new, must-read book on intersectionality, the identity synthesis and an associated trap that is taking society in very dangerous directions.

• Communication Complexity
  Is Anything Still True? On the Internet, No One Knows Anymore — An important exploration of the nature of truth (and knowable truth) in the contemporary Internet era.

• Left / Right Conflict
  Overturning Roe Changed Everything. Overturning Affirmative Action Did Not.  — An analysis of the dramatically different political ramifications of recent Supreme Court decisions on abortion and affirmative action.

• Race / Anti-Racism
  The Politics of Tribal Nonsense — A controversial, but pretty well documented article, that asks important and disturbing questions about the factual underpinnings of many of today's dominant narratives (including, especially, those about race).

• Freedom of Speech
  The Problem With Political Art — A thought-provoking exploration of the tension between politics (with its need to compromise) and art (with its focus on articulating an idea).

• Authoritarianism
  Trump Isn’t Merely Unhinged — For those contemplating a second Trump Presidency, a critical look at his latest thinking (with lots of reasons to worry).

• Critical Theory
  Bari Weiss: End DEI — A critical look at the DEI programs that have now become so firmly embedded in the conventional wisdom (and valuable food for thought).

• Israel / Hamas War
  In Israel, There Is Grief and There Is Fury. Beneath the Fury, Fear.  — A really excellent piece of reporting. This is the kind of article that can help people who live a half a world away come much closer to understanding what another group of people is thinking.

• Israel / Hamas War
  Behind Hamas’s Bloody Gambit to Create a ‘Permanent’ State of War — An examination of what appears to be the core goal of Hamas' brutal October 7 attack -- make peace impossible.

• Israel / Hamas War
  The Real Gaza Hospital Crisis — An examination of the multifaceted nature of the Gaza Hospital crisis -- it is, sadly, about much more than protecting patients and healthcare workers.

• Israel / Hamas War
  When Anti-Zionism Is Anti-Semitic — A well reasoned analysis of the complex relationship between anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, internal Israeli political conflict, and Israel's need to defend itself.

• Hate Mongering
  Batya Ungar-Sargon: The Antisemites Scream. And I Stiffen My Spine. — An interesting essay outlining an alternative way for marginalized groups to respond to verbal assaults.

• Developing a Unifying Vision
  Even the Oppressed Have Obligations — As we struggle against oppression, injustice, and inequality it is important to remember that everyone (including the oppressed) has a responsibility to uphold the values of the world that we are all trying to build.

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About the MBI Newsletters

Once a week or so, we, the BI Directors, share some thoughts, along with new posts from the Hyper-polarization Blog and useful links from other sources.  We used to put this all together in one newsletter which went out once or twice a week. We are now experimenting with breaking the Newsletter up into several shorter newsletters. Each Newsletter will be posted on BI, and sent out by email through Substack to subscribers. You can sign up to receive your copy here and find the latest newsletter here or on our BI Newsletter page, which also provides access to all the past newsletters, going back to 2017.

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