Depolarizing a Hostile World
DEPOLARIZING A HOSTILE WORLD - A KEY TO PEACEMAKING
PREFACE
Last Updated 9-19-06. - © Copyright: by Charles Notess, 2004-06. "Fair use" encouraged.
INTRODUCTION - A
This Preface includes a summary of five chapters from my E-book entitled: "Depolarizing a Hostile World - A Key to Peacemaking", a link to Background of the Author, a link to the Table of Contents and, at the end of this posting, a link to Chapter 1 - entitled: Psycho-Social and Moral Stages of Development.
This E-book examines how the worldviews, ideologies, and beliefs of persons can become so polarized within and between political and religious groups and other communities of common interest that we find extremists on one side cannot listen to persons at the other extreme.
The book is an interdisciplinary resource that aims to broaden conceptual frameworks to help persons with diverse backgrounds understand and appreciate why they differ. I discuss causes of polarization and how to reduce polarization. I summarize successful examples of people from diverse cultures working together, sharing experiences, broadening their perspectives, and contributing to peacemaking. In this way they will get to appreciate the perspectives of others and will be better equipped to create a more peaceful world at home and abroad. My Bibliography includes over 190 references and is partly annotated.
At the present time our world seems to be suffering from a clash of perspectives. Yet, throughout history there have been many examples of tolerant interactions among persons with different perspectives such as Republicans and Democrats, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. For example, for a few centuries around the year 1000 a.d., in Spain, there were cooperative interactions and mutual appreciation among followers of the three Abrahamic faiths in the fields of literature, poetry and other arts, as well as in government, commerce and the sciences. Similarly, before the breakup of Yugoslavia, there were some Muslim, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic college students who maintained cross-ethnic friendships in Sarajevo, until threats by exclusivists forced them to cut their ties of friendship.
This E-book includes a Bibliography and an Index, each with over 150 items. In sum, it is a resource book that describes broad perspectives and conceptual frameworks to help the reader bridge the gaps created when some people close their minds to opinions, worldviews, and belief systems of others. Since this book is a resource book, each chapter includes a small amount of repetition. This has been included because some readers might be interested in only selected sections from some of the chapters. The repetition aims to remind the reader of the many interconnections among the concepts and ideas in this book.
I have used portions of this book as a basis for leading short classes for retirees at Senior Centers in Ft. Collins and Loveland, Colorado, and a talk in the Estes Park Library.
This E-book examines how the worldviews, ideologies, and beliefs of persons can become so polarized within and between political and religious groups and other communities of common interest that we find extremists on one side cannot listen to persons at the other extreme.
The book is an interdisciplinary resource that aims to broaden conceptual frameworks to help persons with diverse backgrounds understand and appreciate why they differ. I discuss causes of polarization and how to reduce polarization. I summarize successful examples of people from diverse cultures working together, sharing experiences, broadening their perspectives, and contributing to peacemaking. In this way they will get to appreciate the perspectives of others and will be better equipped to create a more peaceful world at home and abroad. My Bibliography includes over 190 references and is partly annotated.
At the present time our world seems to be suffering from a clash of perspectives. Yet, throughout history there have been many examples of tolerant interactions among persons with different perspectives such as Republicans and Democrats, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. For example, for a few centuries around the year 1000 a.d., in Spain, there were cooperative interactions and mutual appreciation among followers of the three Abrahamic faiths in the fields of literature, poetry and other arts, as well as in government, commerce and the sciences. Similarly, before the breakup of Yugoslavia, there were some Muslim, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic college students who maintained cross-ethnic friendships in Sarajevo, until threats by exclusivists forced them to cut their ties of friendship.
This E-book includes a Bibliography and an Index, each with over 150 items. In sum, it is a resource book that describes broad perspectives and conceptual frameworks to help the reader bridge the gaps created when some people close their minds to opinions, worldviews, and belief systems of others. Since this book is a resource book, each chapter includes a small amount of repetition. This has been included because some readers might be interested in only selected sections from some of the chapters. The repetition aims to remind the reader of the many interconnections among the concepts and ideas in this book.
I have used portions of this book as a basis for leading short classes for retirees at Senior Centers in Ft. Collins and Loveland, Colorado, and a talk in the Estes Park Library.
CHAPTER SUMMARIES - B
NOTE: The format of this book provides a number of short quotations from relevant authors. I include them to show: in their own words, how others think about the many topics interwoven in my text and as support my ideas. I also include the work of some authors who disagree with some of my views to broaden perspectives of the reader.
My first chapter starts with ideas about different personality types and considers the stages of psycho-social, moral, and faith development. These areas of thinking help explain some of the reasons why people, as they mature, end up with different and often opposing worldviews that contribute to polarization. I consider how developmental paths as described by Erik Erikson, James Fowler, and others, influence taking the perspectives of others at eight increasingly broader levels of perspective taking.
I also present the idea of hardwiring in our brains of a need for relationships with caring others. This need or desire develops early in the life of infants and persists throughout their lives. This need has important effects on religious beliefs and responses that I cover in later chapters.
Other bases for polarization include differences in cultural traditions and religious dogmas. Individuals also differ in how they respond to new and uncertain situations. Some retreat to old traditional responses and others innovate to find new approaches. Such differences contribute to different personality styles and different scales or levels of perspective taking to which people seem to be committed.
Chapter 2 discusses how the primary images of: transcendent powers or God slowly change through millennia, relying on the work of Marcus Borg, Karen Armstrong, and others. Spirituality and its relation to memories from our youth and stories are discussed. The unconscious is involved here. The effects of critical thinking and how they relate to Judaism, Christianity and Islam are discussed. Expanded conceptual frameworks will aid interaction among groups so that they can appreciate better the intricacies of diverse viewpoints. Diverse groups will work better toward peacemaking if they share experiences and learn to get past the vocabulary of symbols and red flags that accentuate differences.
Chapter 3 discusses the topic of personal and group identities and identity management. I discuss diversity and how descendents of immigrants manage their identities in ways that differ from those of their parents. Such generational differences create problems within immigrant families. A history of governance provides a perspective to view changes in civic and religious roles and laws over time. I discuss value orientations and consider why it is important to distinguish between values specific to cultural traditions on the one hand, and on the other hand, universal values that are included within all religious faiths that have withstood the tests of time. I discuss the need for broadly-based public education systems that include: sharing experiences while working together with others from diverse backgrounds and reading relevant stories about living with diversity and overcoming adversity. I describe differences between Muslim and Christian perspectives that contribute to extremes of polarization, and provide several answers to the question: "Why Do They Hate Us?" These answers show the complexity of life in a pluralistic society.
My last two chapters summarize ideas, from a number of recent authors, who provide hope for achieving a more peaceful world by describing examples of compassionate actions that have been productive in avoiding violent responses. I refer to the works of: Marc Gopin, R. Scott Appleby, Scott Peck, Benjamin Barber, Hugh Sanborn, Walter Wink and others. The implications of these examples need to be expanded in practice through broadly-based and courageous education of the general public, media writers, and officials in government. Independent and apolitical systems of justice are essential to guide interpretations of laws and compliance with constitutions.
Dr. M. Scott Peck described the ideas of building "authentic communities" and "rediscovering civility" in his books The Different Drum (1987) and A World Waiting To Be Born (1995). More recently, Hugh Sanborn has edited a book The Prophetic Call (2004) that describes what Christian leaders (and I would add leaders of other faiths) should be doing to work for peace. In his Preface, Sanborn wrote: "Prophesy is rooted in and critical of communal life in which shared meanings, stories, myths, expectations, hopes, values, goals, and visions are in conflict with idolatrizing structures and ways of living." Idolatrizing is a theological term. As a former sociologist, I prefer the word "reified".
Walter Wink outlined how societal institutions become reified, and take on a spiritual aspect of their own. In my view, some character types need reified structures to guide them along the path of life. But, our postmodern and competitive market oriented world changes too quickly and reified structures lose relevance. Similarly, the printed word loses meaning over time. Thus vocabularies need updating in some areas.
The main differences among the books mentioned above are the foundational disciplines of the authors, the context of the changes that are described, and the types of organizations that are being transformed. The foregoing authors focus on business corporations, partnering with non-profit organizations, working with small groups, and building sustainable economies. On the other hand, I focus on community building and ethno-religious transformations that can help reverse trends toward polarization.
My Epilogue examines two types of response to threatening situations. One is the decisive rapid responder and the other is the compassionate-humane responder. There are differences in these two types of responses, but the leaders in the two groups can work together.
An Appendix discusses, in depth, the problems in identity management that confront Muslims here in America and abroad. It also includes a link to Chapter 3 in my E-book which in Section H presents several reasons "Why Do They Hate Us?" Section C in the Appendix discusses the important topic of Honor, Shame and Guilt.
After completing the main chapters of this E-Book, I ran across several books that aim to guide business leaders, governmental leaders, and university faculty in helping their employees, students and customer/clients, to plan institutional change. There are many changes to which persons must adapt, both within their communities and outside their communities in a globalizing world. These books are mentioned near the end of Section R in Chapter 1, and the authors: William Bridges, Francis Hesselbein, Etienne Wenger, Peter Senge, Daniel Goleman, and Pedro Conceicao are listed in my Bibliography.
Consider, also, the ideas implicit in Daniel Goleman's idea of "Emotional Intelligence" - leaders who present hopeful and positive images and ideas gain followers (employees, clients, and customers) who work better together, and are more creative as individuals and teams. This approach to management creates a problem. In my view, the problem is that some business leaders appear to be pressured to distort accounting information to make their corporation appear to be performing well when it is not doing so, (the Enron syndrome, for example).
In sum, education for effective styles of leadership in highly competitive environments requires accompanying education about maintaining high standards of morality and systems that monitor morality and include provision for fair and equitable justice. Such requirements apply to both developing and developed economies.
I especially recommend the chapter by Sharon Thornton in Sanborn's book. It is entitled: The Failure of Community and it clearly presents an understanding of how the narrow and biased focus-of-the-media in America contribute "a climate conducive for conformist thinking."
PLEASE NOTE: I have tried to help the reader improve her/his mental framework of concepts included in this interdisciplinary work. Therefore, I return to discuss basic ideas from different contexts in subsequent chapters. There is some repetition of concepts as they appear in different disciplinary contexts. In this way I aimed to remind the reader of interrelations among concepts and diverse perspectives.
My first chapter starts with ideas about different personality types and considers the stages of psycho-social, moral, and faith development. These areas of thinking help explain some of the reasons why people, as they mature, end up with different and often opposing worldviews that contribute to polarization. I consider how developmental paths as described by Erik Erikson, James Fowler, and others, influence taking the perspectives of others at eight increasingly broader levels of perspective taking.
I also present the idea of hardwiring in our brains of a need for relationships with caring others. This need or desire develops early in the life of infants and persists throughout their lives. This need has important effects on religious beliefs and responses that I cover in later chapters.
Other bases for polarization include differences in cultural traditions and religious dogmas. Individuals also differ in how they respond to new and uncertain situations. Some retreat to old traditional responses and others innovate to find new approaches. Such differences contribute to different personality styles and different scales or levels of perspective taking to which people seem to be committed.
Chapter 2 discusses how the primary images of: transcendent powers or God slowly change through millennia, relying on the work of Marcus Borg, Karen Armstrong, and others. Spirituality and its relation to memories from our youth and stories are discussed. The unconscious is involved here. The effects of critical thinking and how they relate to Judaism, Christianity and Islam are discussed. Expanded conceptual frameworks will aid interaction among groups so that they can appreciate better the intricacies of diverse viewpoints. Diverse groups will work better toward peacemaking if they share experiences and learn to get past the vocabulary of symbols and red flags that accentuate differences.
Chapter 3 discusses the topic of personal and group identities and identity management. I discuss diversity and how descendents of immigrants manage their identities in ways that differ from those of their parents. Such generational differences create problems within immigrant families. A history of governance provides a perspective to view changes in civic and religious roles and laws over time. I discuss value orientations and consider why it is important to distinguish between values specific to cultural traditions on the one hand, and on the other hand, universal values that are included within all religious faiths that have withstood the tests of time. I discuss the need for broadly-based public education systems that include: sharing experiences while working together with others from diverse backgrounds and reading relevant stories about living with diversity and overcoming adversity. I describe differences between Muslim and Christian perspectives that contribute to extremes of polarization, and provide several answers to the question: "Why Do They Hate Us?" These answers show the complexity of life in a pluralistic society.
My last two chapters summarize ideas, from a number of recent authors, who provide hope for achieving a more peaceful world by describing examples of compassionate actions that have been productive in avoiding violent responses. I refer to the works of: Marc Gopin, R. Scott Appleby, Scott Peck, Benjamin Barber, Hugh Sanborn, Walter Wink and others. The implications of these examples need to be expanded in practice through broadly-based and courageous education of the general public, media writers, and officials in government. Independent and apolitical systems of justice are essential to guide interpretations of laws and compliance with constitutions.
Dr. M. Scott Peck described the ideas of building "authentic communities" and "rediscovering civility" in his books The Different Drum (1987) and A World Waiting To Be Born (1995). More recently, Hugh Sanborn has edited a book The Prophetic Call (2004) that describes what Christian leaders (and I would add leaders of other faiths) should be doing to work for peace. In his Preface, Sanborn wrote: "Prophesy is rooted in and critical of communal life in which shared meanings, stories, myths, expectations, hopes, values, goals, and visions are in conflict with idolatrizing structures and ways of living." Idolatrizing is a theological term. As a former sociologist, I prefer the word "reified".
Walter Wink outlined how societal institutions become reified, and take on a spiritual aspect of their own. In my view, some character types need reified structures to guide them along the path of life. But, our postmodern and competitive market oriented world changes too quickly and reified structures lose relevance. Similarly, the printed word loses meaning over time. Thus vocabularies need updating in some areas.
The main differences among the books mentioned above are the foundational disciplines of the authors, the context of the changes that are described, and the types of organizations that are being transformed. The foregoing authors focus on business corporations, partnering with non-profit organizations, working with small groups, and building sustainable economies. On the other hand, I focus on community building and ethno-religious transformations that can help reverse trends toward polarization.
My Epilogue examines two types of response to threatening situations. One is the decisive rapid responder and the other is the compassionate-humane responder. There are differences in these two types of responses, but the leaders in the two groups can work together.
An Appendix discusses, in depth, the problems in identity management that confront Muslims here in America and abroad. It also includes a link to Chapter 3 in my E-book which in Section H presents several reasons "Why Do They Hate Us?" Section C in the Appendix discusses the important topic of Honor, Shame and Guilt.
After completing the main chapters of this E-Book, I ran across several books that aim to guide business leaders, governmental leaders, and university faculty in helping their employees, students and customer/clients, to plan institutional change. There are many changes to which persons must adapt, both within their communities and outside their communities in a globalizing world. These books are mentioned near the end of Section R in Chapter 1, and the authors: William Bridges, Francis Hesselbein, Etienne Wenger, Peter Senge, Daniel Goleman, and Pedro Conceicao are listed in my Bibliography.
Consider, also, the ideas implicit in Daniel Goleman's idea of "Emotional Intelligence" - leaders who present hopeful and positive images and ideas gain followers (employees, clients, and customers) who work better together, and are more creative as individuals and teams. This approach to management creates a problem. In my view, the problem is that some business leaders appear to be pressured to distort accounting information to make their corporation appear to be performing well when it is not doing so, (the Enron syndrome, for example).
In sum, education for effective styles of leadership in highly competitive environments requires accompanying education about maintaining high standards of morality and systems that monitor morality and include provision for fair and equitable justice. Such requirements apply to both developing and developed economies.
I especially recommend the chapter by Sharon Thornton in Sanborn's book. It is entitled: The Failure of Community and it clearly presents an understanding of how the narrow and biased focus-of-the-media in America contribute "a climate conducive for conformist thinking."
PLEASE NOTE: I have tried to help the reader improve her/his mental framework of concepts included in this interdisciplinary work. Therefore, I return to discuss basic ideas from different contexts in subsequent chapters. There is some repetition of concepts as they appear in different disciplinary contexts. In this way I aimed to remind the reader of interrelations among concepts and diverse perspectives.
For a concise set of goals and chapter summary of my E-Book, go to: A detailed summary.
Go to my first Chapter: Chapter 1 - Psycho-Social and Moral Stages of Development.
Go to the Table of Contents that has links to the other Chapters, and lists of subsection headings. Contents.
A detailed Bibliography is accessible at: Bibliography
A Glossary is accessible at: Glossary of Terms.
© Copyright: by Charles Notess, 2004-2006. "Fair use" encouraged.
FAIR USE NOTICE
This 5-chapter E-book, and appended sections such as Bibliography, is available as a printed version from the author, at cost (approximately $16 including shipping). It contains a small amount of copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making this material available for educational purposes concerning diverse religious and political idea and doctrinal systems or ideologies as they might be related to peacemaking. I believe this use constitutes a "fair use" of this copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in my E-book and it's printed version is accessible without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For information, call Charles Notess at 970-613-9967.
For more information about interpreting "Fair Use", good descriptions with examples are accessible at:
(http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml), and
(http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/ chapter9/index.html).
NOTE: I refer the reader to a new and a much shorter web posting that includes many of the ideas in the first few chapters of this E-Book. I first posted it on the web June 1, 2006, and it is entitled: Reality and Faith - A Coming Together of Faith and Reason.
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