I’m betting that I’m not the only one trying to figure out how to engage in constructive dialogues in today’s divided social landscape, so in this episode of Subject to Change, I explore several open questions:
- Is emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation, etc.) really enough to prepare us for difficult conversations, or is there much more to it than that – particularly when it comes to challenging deeply-embedded social systems?
- How do we engage in respectful dialogues when morality (ie, the right to human dignity) is being overlooked in favor of group allegiance or political ideology?
- Is there a practical difference between empathy & compassion that might help us to discern when and where to spend our emotional labor?
- Why is it that hurt feelings (mine, yours, theirs) so often get in the way of constructive conversations – case in point, justice for all?
- I share my takeaways (and a few audio clips) from a very public dialogue between Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates, wondering aloud: Is there a difference between consequence, canceling, & performative moral outrage? I think so, and I tell you why.
- What if a noble aim to avoid ‘judgment’ is just another way we sidestep the messiness of accountability? Can justice even exist without factual discernment?
- How do we graduate from virtue signaling to the embodiment of our values?
Referenced in this episode:
- My post on Why We Protest
- Ezra Klein’s Article – New York Times
- Ta-Nehisi Coates Article – Vanity Fair
- The Full Klein-Coates Interview on Ezra Klein’s Pod
- Ta-Nehisi Coates on Talk Easy w/ Sam Fragoso
- Matthew Remski – Reel referenced
- Article (not referenced directly, but recommended!) Ezra Klein Just Showed Us Everything Wrong With Secularized Meditation, by Liz Bucar
