What You Can Do to Reduce PolarizationWhen you listen:
Listen to understand. Stay curious. Understanding does not mean changing your beliefs. What to say when you speak: Help me understand more about. . . . Why is that so important to you? What experiences led you to your beliefs? |
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- Speak up civilly for what you believe.
- Call a family member you disagree with, stay curious and listen to understand.
- Open a dialogue with a friend with whom you have a difference and look for common ground.
- Ask a neighbor with whom you disagree to “help me understand more about . . .”
- Inquire of a co-worker with whom you disagree, “Why is that so important to you”?
- Commit to working on a project with someone whose perspective differs from your own.
- Listen to a news source whose ideological viewpoints are different from your own.
- Read a book that helps you understand people on the other side of the political divide.
- Model and call for civility in a public meeting when others are being uncivil.
- Reflect on the Christian, Jewish and Islamic tenet that we are “to do unto one another as we would have others do to us”.
- Remember that as Americans we are part of the same nation, regardless of how we vote.
Consider random acts of kindness. . .
- Make a point of saying good morning or good evening to people you meet.
- Take your old clothes to the Garage of Blessings or Good Cheer.
- Shovel a neighbor’s driveway when it snows.
- Pick up something someone dropped.
- Let someone go in front of you in line.
- Buy coffee anonymously for the person in the car behind you at the coffee kiosk.
