From speaking out to listening
The focus on civility marks a distinct shift from the political activism that animated college campuses for generations.
At a recent dialogue workshop for educators run by the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI), one of the facilitators, Nicholas Longo, reflected on that shift. When he first embarked on civic engagement work in the 1990s, he told participants, the emphasis had been on encouraging young people to “raise their voices”. Now, the focus was on getting them to “listen” – “eloquently” and “with curiosity”.
“Now when young people raise their voices, it can often be ineffective for making social change in that they may be speaking into an echo chamber with people who already agree with them,” said Longo, who also directs the Rutgers Democracy Lab at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
The fact that conservative donors backed dialogue work, he added, is a sign that there is “bipartisan agreement” on the need for it. “This is actually something that we can come together on.”
Longo continued: “I actually think every social movement starts with people sitting in a circle talking to each other, and especially talking to people that they disagree with. It actually is and can be radical.”