I have a good friend who is working in many ways to increase communication and understanding, especially on matters of race. She was recently interviewed by one of my students in a class titled Peace and Justice.
After the interview, the student wrote: I plan on contributing to peace and justice in the entirety of my future career. I want to advocate for those who either do not have a voice or feel as though they do not have a voice. Everyone deserves to be heard and treated with dignity. Everyone should also feel that they have a safe place to express themselves no matter the situation. If I can accomplish this for whatever community I choose to settle in, that would be a contribution Id be proud of. Someone who further inspired me to do this was (the person interviewed), as speaking with her was one of my highlights in this class. Hearing her advice on how to reflect to improve myself as well as how to be a better communicator was enlightening to me.
Another friend is a grief counselor, who also has a history of work in conflict resolution. A second student interviewed him and reported being grateful for the way he was challenged to assess what was going on internally in his life, as well as in his external world. He seemed surprised that he was thanked for the interview, even before he could express his appreciation.
A third student interviewed a friend who has recently taken responsibility for an organization training people in nonviolence. There was considerable personal sharing, even on some of the hard things in childhood. It lasted an hour. The presentation to the class about their sharing was a highlight of this students participation and contribution during the semester.
One student chose to interview a pastor on LGBTQ concerns. It was clear in her presentation she was exposed to some new thoughts and ideas, especially as to a Christian perspective.
Another spoke with a Catholic sister on the issue of abortion, only to discover that people cannot be pigeon-holed on the issues of the day, simply because of their religious identity. Here was someone who worked for common ground on the issue, rather than being rigid and right.
What did I learn from these interviews? Its important for us to have person-to-person contact. We learn better in the presence of the other person. Second best is meeting on an internet platform of some kind, where we can actually see the other person. Less likely to serve us well is the telephone or written communication. Were out of practice with the latter. When I look at old correspondence, written in longhand, page after page, and compare it to two or three lines of social media, I understand why weve lost the ability to thoughtfully communicate.
A second learning would suggest a little different assignment next time; two interviews! The second would be with someone who has a very different point of view. So along with my friend who believes in and works for racial harmony, we would try to schedule an interview with someone from the white sovereignty movement. We are not doing a very good job of even hearing the disparate voices in our society, let alone resolving the challenging issues before us. (This is a very difficult learning for me, as my opinions and views are strongly held. But still, Im trying to understand where racial and religious purity ideas originate).
A third learning for me is that young people are interested and willing to hear from their elders, if the elders are willing and able to share. One of the difficulties we face is the cultural biases of our society, where the wisdom of elders is honored as long as they are silent and keep it to themselves.
These days the prophets of hate and ill will seem to have a stranglehold on the public consciousness. The apostles of love and nonviolence, believing in service to the whole community, still struggle, invisible, on the side-lines. Three minutes focusing on the good in life at the end of a thirty minute newscast does not compensate for the terror and trauma that has gone before. Who is seeking out those doing the work of friendship and reconciliation? Let us be inspired by their stories!
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