14 Nov Make Conversation, Not War on Culture
By C. Elliott Potter
For JSG & Associates
While culture wars are nothing new, they are changing—and not for the better.
The conflicts have progressed far beyond skirmishes that, for the most part, serve as distractions but stop short of threatening destruction. The potential for once-unthinkable consequences seems more serious by the day. In America, nothing less than the future of democracy has emerged as a darkening cloud over the battlefield.
Can cultural conflict go nuclear and obliterate all we have accomplished?
Before hope is lost, there is time for deeper examination; perhaps, we can regain the optimism that comes from better understanding.
Over the next few months, through this newsletter, Jackie Sue Griffin and Associates is inviting its partners to join us on a journey. It is a journey that admittedly begins with a clearer sense of destination than direction. We believe the objective is conversation over conflict; now, to find a way.
What better people to bring to the table than those whose lifework is tackling universally vexing problems: poverty, mental illness, sexual abuse, hunger, disease; it is a long list. What better leaders than you, the organizations and individuals who square off with such issues daily?
There also are self-focused considerations. Charities and non-profits work tirelessly to build united fronts against misfortune, wrongdoing, tragedy and disaster. The job is made more difficult when personal and political differences take control of purpose and resources.
While there is reasonable leeway for debating solutions, lethal outcomes await if we can’t even acknowledge that we face the same set of crippling consequences if we fail to agree on better ways to deal with our cultural differences.
Empathy is struggling to survive, the frequent victim of mistaken identity. People confuse empathy for acquiescence or, worse, surrender. Earnest conversations are avoided, lest they expose vulnerabilities. It is less taxing on intellect to just put up our dukes and go at it.
Americans have gone to their corners and come out fighting over cultural differences many times over the past 250 years. The sources of the rub are infinite in number and steeped in individual differences—physical, moral, political, economic, religious. Differences become issues: Taxation, slavery, identity, alcohol, women’s rights, sexuality, music—you name it.
Threads of discord tend to intertwine. They make a rope that separates various sides in ways that give each faction a misleading, if not false, sense of security. Rope also can strangle; more authentic security comes from unity not division.
We are cultural warriors even if we don’t fully understand why or how. Let’s acknowledge that from the beginning. Can this willingness to tie ourselves up over culture differences lead to personal and societal demise? You can believe it. Better to work our way past it.
Most of the time we do. For the most part, we see the merit in diversity and embrace it. Organizations as mainstream as the Rotary Club emphasize the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion, bringing the topic to hometowns across America. On the other hand, DEI has come under attack from some politicians who define it as a litany of programs (affirmative action, equal protection, anti-discrimination) and not a set of values that society should strive to achieve. The bad feelings have spread.
Cultural differences are a driving force of politics. The public’s attention is drawn to issues related to social justice and sexual identity. Transsexual and transgender issues have moved to the forefront of both social and public-policy debate. Sales of the nation’s most popular beer took a tumble when Anheuser-Busch sent a commemorative beer can to a transgender social-media influencer.
History shows sexual identity issues have sparked similar division before, only to see sentiment shift over time. NBC News polling showed that 62 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage in 2004, with only 30 percent in approval. By 2022, 65 percent of respondents to the question answered in approval of same-sex marriage, with 20 percent opposing, a practical reversal.
While cultural tempests regarding advertising campaigns, books, movies, television shows and popular music give rise to boycotts, backlash and late-night jokes, they usually fade into the background when other controversies arise. Spiritual and emotional damage can linger longer than the public’s attention span.
The divisions that grew up around COVID-19 and the Jan. 6 insurrection have been a different story. They are deep, more than symbolic. COVID put our health and our freedoms in a stark new light. The insurrection put our democracy at risk and created unwarranted doubt in our election system.
In our responses to the pandemic and the Jan. 6 attack on democracy, matters of fact were overwhelmed by opinion. While opinions are important, they can pull us in directions away from the truth. They create a fog that makes it seemingly impossible to find the common ground we need to find solutions to problems we all face.
What is necessary is a greater understanding of the role of perspective—how people can see the same set of facts differently. What might seem to be matters of opinion can be less of an obstacle if they are reframed as differences in points of view.
Understanding the importance of perspective is a good place to start when attempting to move cultural conflict closer to cultural conversation.
So where do we go from here? Here are a few ideas:
*Defining culture. “Culture” means many things to different people. It often is a unifying element; when it is used to divide, it is a gateway to conflict.
*Talking to each other, not past each other. Culture should distinguish us, not put us at odds. We don’t have to agree or adopt to understand. But we should feel free to express ourselves, and we should feel an obligation to listen.
*Building connections. A friend who works in the field of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion told me this: “You must be willing to meet people where they’re at…. What are we so angry about?”
*Taking the lead in this journey. Just as important: Be willing to move some people to the back of the line. We need to find strategies that allow us to engage with each other. Beware of those who peddle the ammunition used in culture wars. Embrace those who want to have a conversation.
*Celebrating success. Those who are abusing culture are getting all the air time. Let’s take back the microphone and tell a better story.
In the weeks to come, we hope to use this space to address these points and raise some others. Please share your thoughts at elliott.potter2014@gmail.com.
No Comments