The calculus of cancellation over conversation
By Kinney Zalesne and Alex Sinclair
December 1, 2022
“In today’s fragmented and siloed world, it’s easy to stay in our own echo chambers. The list of people we “just can’t talk to” — or even listen to — grows daily, and includes not just political opponents but colleagues and family members.
“Revulsion, not reflection, too often governs our decisions. But have we, as community leaders or individuals, stopped to parse the considerations used to calculate who we will and won’t engage with?
“Heart of a Nation, a nonprofit organization that brings together Americans, Israelis and Palestinians who want to improve their own societies, decided to do just that.
“Earlier this month, we gathered six American thought-leaders for a 90-minute virtual discussion, probing whether and how they decide their “red lines” when it comes to both public and private conversations.
“The six interlocutors included a member of Congress, a rabbi, an author, a journalist, an activist and a professor. They varied by age, gender, politics and Jewish affiliation. But as they described their thinking about red lines, some common patterns emerged…
“On the benefit side, the leaders asked themselves roughly three questions:
· Can I learn from this person?
· Can I broaden the perspective of this person?
· Can my collaboration with this person advance some greater, common purpose?
“But where the conversation got really interesting was when the speakers considered not just whether to meet with “problematic” people, but why and how?”
Co-authors Kinney Zalesne and Alex Sinclair are, respectively, the advisory committee chair and a member of the editorial committee of Heart of a Nation.
About Heart of a Nation
We bring together American, Israeli, and Palestinian thought-leaders, civic activists, and emerging change-makers committed to improving their societies.
אנחנו מכנסים הוגים מובילים, פעילים חברתיים, ומחוללי שינוי לעתיד, אמריקאים, ישראלים ופלסטינאים, המחויבים לשיפור החברות שלהם.
نحن أمريكيون وإسرائيليون وفلسطينيون نبني ونكوّن روابط من أجل التعلم والتفكير والمشاركة معًا حتى نشجع الحلول التقدمية بشأن القضايا التي تهمنا جميعًا.