I spend most of my time worrying about the importance of preserving institutional norms and how to disagree without being disagreeable. This is an important and beautifully articulated reminder to open up the aperture in focusing on the institutions and spaces that need preserving. Wonderful, wonderful piece.
Lots of thought-provoking material to reflect on in here. The part that stands out most for me is this:
"[W]e still have to live together afterward. . . . The authoritarian playbook relies on isolation. It depends on fear. It demands that we divide every space, every institution, and every relationship into friend or foe, ally or enemy, red or blue, for or against. But what we’re fighting for is more than just the absence of authoritarianism. We’re fighting for something better: a civil society strong enough to withstand pressure, broad enough to hold disagreement, and flexible enough to adapt without breaking. This is how we win: not by defeating each other, but by refusing to let the political battlefield become our only common map."
This also reminds me of a line (uttered by Rose Tico) in the film The Last Jedi: "That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love."
I love that framing, Carrie-Ann. I keep going back to the reframing politics around solving problems. Winning will be a world we can all live in, not one where the other side ceases to exist.
Yes, yes, yes, Lauren. And a suggestion -- would you cosider putting out such pieces as a 3-parter? You're stretching my attention span with all this good stuff in one piece.
Great suggestion! I always worry a bit about overwhelming people's inboxes, but I've also heard from some friends that breaking posts up helps readers with busy lives. I think I'll risk the email overwhelm and see what happens. Thanks!
when Americans work together, we win. where is the online platform that actively fosters consensus for action on solutions to our major problems? let's meet in The Big Middle, where most Americans are, and start filling potholes.
I do not and cannot support a call for mobs of intimidation, for that is what a protest group today becomes. I would challenge anyone to identify any recent “protest” that doesn’t violate the words found in the First Amendment:
“the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.
Individuals lose their individual minds when they merge with a mob and become a single cell in the crowd organism (credit: The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon)
Lauren, I agree with almost all of this and the differences are quibbles, not worth mentioning.
I might make your key point even more strongly. Yes, it is important to make it clear that we don't support the excesses (how is that for a euphemism). And an even bigger yes to the protection and expansion of neutral spaces in which we can build community. At AfP, we are encouraging our members to focus on what we are for and build support for those goals in ways that cross ideological lines. Preferably by not even mentioning those divisions.
My wife and I are trying to do that in the brand new condo development that we moved into last week. WIth the handful of other owners we've met; with the staff. Even with the Taskrabbit guy who is putting our IKEA bed frame together as I type.
This is a great addition. I was just talking about this in another context, but you're absolutely right that this should be front and center here too: focusing on how our goals can resonate with people of all political/social stripes is super important. I was just at a summit that ended with the leadership of the Hewlett Foundation and Stand Together (two groups with very different political positions) talking about their partnership on criminal justice reform. Both indicated they had some internal resistance to those kinds of partnerships, but they're actually the only way to get actual traction on real world problems. I think I'll expand on this a bit in a short addendum post. Thanks for keeping me thinking.
THanks back for making me think, too. Which is remarkably hard this week since we just moved, downsizing into a condo. Once we finish unpacking over the weekend, would love to chat. Will follow up.
I spend most of my time worrying about the importance of preserving institutional norms and how to disagree without being disagreeable. This is an important and beautifully articulated reminder to open up the aperture in focusing on the institutions and spaces that need preserving. Wonderful, wonderful piece.
Thanks so much, Harrison!
Lots of thought-provoking material to reflect on in here. The part that stands out most for me is this:
"[W]e still have to live together afterward. . . . The authoritarian playbook relies on isolation. It depends on fear. It demands that we divide every space, every institution, and every relationship into friend or foe, ally or enemy, red or blue, for or against. But what we’re fighting for is more than just the absence of authoritarianism. We’re fighting for something better: a civil society strong enough to withstand pressure, broad enough to hold disagreement, and flexible enough to adapt without breaking. This is how we win: not by defeating each other, but by refusing to let the political battlefield become our only common map."
This also reminds me of a line (uttered by Rose Tico) in the film The Last Jedi: "That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love."
I love that framing, Carrie-Ann. I keep going back to the reframing politics around solving problems. Winning will be a world we can all live in, not one where the other side ceases to exist.
Yes, yes, yes, Lauren. And a suggestion -- would you cosider putting out such pieces as a 3-parter? You're stretching my attention span with all this good stuff in one piece.
Great suggestion! I always worry a bit about overwhelming people's inboxes, but I've also heard from some friends that breaking posts up helps readers with busy lives. I think I'll risk the email overwhelm and see what happens. Thanks!
when Americans work together, we win. where is the online platform that actively fosters consensus for action on solutions to our major problems? let's meet in The Big Middle, where most Americans are, and start filling potholes.
I do not and cannot support a call for mobs of intimidation, for that is what a protest group today becomes. I would challenge anyone to identify any recent “protest” that doesn’t violate the words found in the First Amendment:
“the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.
Individuals lose their individual minds when they merge with a mob and become a single cell in the crowd organism (credit: The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon)
Lauren, I agree with almost all of this and the differences are quibbles, not worth mentioning.
I might make your key point even more strongly. Yes, it is important to make it clear that we don't support the excesses (how is that for a euphemism). And an even bigger yes to the protection and expansion of neutral spaces in which we can build community. At AfP, we are encouraging our members to focus on what we are for and build support for those goals in ways that cross ideological lines. Preferably by not even mentioning those divisions.
My wife and I are trying to do that in the brand new condo development that we moved into last week. WIth the handful of other owners we've met; with the staff. Even with the Taskrabbit guy who is putting our IKEA bed frame together as I type.
This is a great addition. I was just talking about this in another context, but you're absolutely right that this should be front and center here too: focusing on how our goals can resonate with people of all political/social stripes is super important. I was just at a summit that ended with the leadership of the Hewlett Foundation and Stand Together (two groups with very different political positions) talking about their partnership on criminal justice reform. Both indicated they had some internal resistance to those kinds of partnerships, but they're actually the only way to get actual traction on real world problems. I think I'll expand on this a bit in a short addendum post. Thanks for keeping me thinking.
THanks back for making me think, too. Which is remarkably hard this week since we just moved, downsizing into a condo. Once we finish unpacking over the weekend, would love to chat. Will follow up.
An incredibly tough subject. Thanks for tackling it so well.