Willing to Dialogue With Those With Whom We Disagree

The work of my good friend, Izzy Kalman, the author of Bullies to Buddies, has done it once again!

I was disturbed by a conversation I had yesterday with a friend. This friend had just been involved in a very hot debate in Utah over vouchers. He shared with me that when he had reached out, more that once, to dialogue with those who had not only attacked his ideas because of their opposing views, but also had attacked his character, his offer to dialogue was either rejected or ignored.

This disturbed me greatly for various reasons, one being that if we as adults can't be role models on how to dialogue with those who disagree with us, how can we expect our young people to learn how to deal with conflict in a civil manner? Looking for answers I went to Izzy's website--www.bullies2buddies.org-- for some counsel. I wasn't disappointed.

At Izzy's website there was a link to another website--www.freedomforum.org. At this site I found "A Statement of Principles" called Religious Liberty, Public Education, and the Future of American Democracy. Although there are seven principles all of which are excellent, there was one, the 7th that particularly fit this situation with my friend.

The 7th principle: CONDUCT OF PUBLIC DISPUTES
Civil debate, the cornerstone of a true democracy, is vital to the success of any effort to improve and reform America's public schools.
Personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, and similar tactics destroy the fabric of our society and undermine the educational mission of our schools.....Through constructive dialogue we have much to learn from one another.

There are still some lingering questions I am facing this morning: How can we have this happen--especially when efforts to dialogue are rejected and/or ignored? Where do we start?

It could very well be that the answers to these questions lie within the principles of spiritual leadership.