Americans, We Need To Talk!

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RANDom thought: What happened to civil discourse?

Civil Discourse:. is the engagement in discourse (conversation) intended to enhance understanding.. Wiki
The definition of civil, in civil discourse, can have two distinct meanings, according to professor of public policy Archon Fung:
 

The first is a superficial kind of civility—being nice, refraining from insults or ad-hominem kinds of argument. The second is a deeper, more important (and older, for what that's worth) sense of civility that is about behaving in ways that are necessary for cooperative projects such as schools and democratic societies to work well

Does anyone think we as Americans are engaging in this type of discourse? I know I have been able to do this recently with several people. Unfortunately, however, that seems to not be the norm.
No longer do we receive news, as in just the facts. All news channels seem to lean either right or left, conservative or liberal. If you are a liberal, you think conservatives are evil, and if you are a conservative, you think liberals are evil. I choose to believe that most of us are in the middle somewhere.
My larger concern is that we cannot seem to have civil conversations and try to better understand those who do not think as we do. It would be a sad world if we all thought the same way! Let’s recognize and appreciate each other’s diversity of thought. We should not shy away from having conversations with family and friends about race, religion, and politics. How do we ever move forward as a society if we do not have these conversations?

I live in a divided household; I am a Democrat, and my husband is a Republican. However, that does not keep us from having civil discourse. Well, to be honest, it does get heated sometimes. But most of the time, we realize we have more in common when discussing these issues than not.
We come from different backgrounds and experiences, so our viewpoints often differ. The point is to listen to each other and reach common ground.

Labels are not helpful. Conversations are! Americans, let’s talk!

Listen in to this week’s Boss Lady Podcast for a deeper dive into this discussion.

Remember, as my Grandfather always said, “Take time to stop and smell the roses”!
Until we meet again, take care.

I will discuss this topic more in a FB live mini training on the private Career Cultivators site on Wednesday at 4:00. Join me there!