What's an "extremist"? What's a "moderate"?
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Controversial book sparks intense criticism?
A new book got a lot of attention for referring to some liberal activists as "unhumans."?
News and views
What’s an extremist? What’s a moderate?
As we’ve often said, everyone, regardless of their politics, can embrace the goal of reducing toxic polarization. It’s a cause for anyone, including people whose political views some would call “extreme.” It’s important to clarify what we mean when we use words like “moderate” and “extremist.”
A Palestinian with heartbreak and hope
Our new Breaking Bias series challenges us to go beyond assumptions and labels to find deeper understanding. It’s easy to make assumptions – and be wrong.
In the first Breaking Bias episode, we hear from Ezzeldeen Masri, a Palestinian who works with our partner organization One Voice. He shares his heartbreak over the Gaza war and his hopes for a two-state solution.
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Some other videos about our divides that caught our attention:
Make It A Habit: When big events happen, pause…
After the assassination attempt on former President Trump, the organization The Best of Tennessee waited 24 hours to post a statement on social media and an additional two days to mention it in an email. Explaining their decision, they wrote:?
…the act of pausing to evaluate the facts of a given situation is perhaps one of the most critical things we can do as Americans.?
We must lower the temperature of politics. Taking a moment to breathe, to reflect, and to offer a considered and measured response to political events is one way we can all participate in the collective cooling off period we so desperately need.?
Passion and strongly held beliefs are not mitigated through patient reflection. Quite the opposite, in fact. Sometimes standing in the uncertainty of it all is what allows the dust to settle so we can see things more clearly.
Now more than ever those of us who represent the middle majority of our country, those of us whose views remain complex, complicated and somewhere between the fringes, must lead by example. We will not use our voices to scream into the void of an echo chamber but instead speak up clearly, articulately and persuasively to show that conversations do not need to devolve into chaos and leadership does not require dehumanization.
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Freelance editor and writer.
6 个月Yes. People who try to paint their adversaries as having "the most extreme" positions are often the actual extremists. If your rhetoric is intended to elicit fear and anger, rather than create clarity and understanding, you are acting in bad faith. If you present things as a binary choice between your point of view and evil, then you aren't really trying to solve problems. Those arguments are intended to steamroll over the opposition.