True Dignity

“There is nothing worse than people who only see things from their point of view and refuse to try to understand anything from someone else’s perspective.”? - Author Unknown

The war has begun; the war of words that is!? Earlier this week I received the first of what I know will be a plethora of political mailings designed to assassinate the respective characters of the two men running for President.? Joe Biden will be characterized as dishonest and/or suffering from dementia, while Donald Trump will be portrayed as a criminal and threat to our democracy.? Unfortunately political campaigning no longer seeks to enable or encourage open and constructive discussion, rather its sole purpose is to destroy character and alienate political camps. ?

One must remember that It’s not just the words we use, but the intent with which they are used.? Yohunda Berg, an international author and speaker writes,?"Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity.? We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair.? Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble."? Put simply, the greatest obstacle to productive political discussion isn’t that we disagree, but the words we use and how we act when we disagree. ?

Founded in 2018, Students for Dignity educates, trains and empowers students to become leaders who will change the purpose of public debate from attacking enemies to solving problems. In 2021 the organization created the “Dignity Index", an eight-point scale for measuring how we talk to each other when we disagree.? The index is grounded in the recognition that contempt causes division while dignity eases division.

The Dignity Index:? The higher the score the more dignified the action or words.

1. Encouraging Violence: "It’s our moral duty to destroy them. They’re destroying everything we value. They don’t deserve to live. We have to eliminate them now, before they eliminate us."
2. Allegations of Evil: ?"Those people are evil and a danger to everything we value.? It’s us or them."
3. Attack on Moral Character:? "We’re the good people and they’re the bad people.? It’s us vs. them.? We win only if they lose."
4. Mocking:? "We’re better than those people.? They don’t really belong.? They’re not one of us.? We shouldn’t trust them."
5. Listening Respectfully: "Everyone has a right to be here and a right to be heard.? Even if they don’t share our point of view, it’s their country too."
6. Common Ground:? "I have deep convictions and feel a strong sense of belonging to my group, however I’m open to meeting and talking with people who don’t share all my views.? Ideally we can find common values and interests and solve problems together."
7. Full Engagement: "I have strong convictions and I’m loyal to my group, but I want to meet with the other side and talk about the views we don’t share. I’m not afraid of losing an argument, admitting mistakes or changing my mind. That’s how we solve the toughest problems."
8. True Dignity: ”I seek to connect with all people. I will talk and work with anyone. I don’t need to be right. I refuse to hate or condemn anyone, and I believe everyone has inherent worth so I treat everyone with dignity, no matter what."

At a time that open engagement is of dire importance, our nation’s present chasm of polarization has created an environment that makes it feel impossible to discuss politics with our friends, family and others.? Over the next five months each of us will hopefully have the opportunity to engage in discussions regarding the future leadership of this country.? I believe the dignity with which we conduct our collective discussions, will impact and determine the future of our nation.

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Embrace Dignity

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