Monica Guzman asks Americans to simply listen to each other
And that's a tough ask...
Just a quick note to tout the work of a good friend of mine, Monica Guzman, author of “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to have Fiercely Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.”
Monica has taken on the daunting task of trying to convince Americans to step beyond their prejudices and assumptions about people on the other side of the political spectrum in order to understand their genuine concerns and find common ground, or at least a recognition of our common humanity.
She tours the country promoting this idea of reconciliation through communication and spreads the word on her website and in a frequent newsletter. I confess to being a skeptic that what she wants to achieve can ever happen, but I’m a skeptic about a lot of things and sometimes I am happily surprised.
Good things will not happen if we all just sit at home grumbling and yelling at the TV. Monica is not waiting for someone else to act; she is turning her idealism into action. And that is certainly not going to make things worse.