đŚDon't Regurgitate Other's Views â Put Your Own Spin On It â Know Your Facts (and What You Don't Know) â Practice Empathy and Kindness â Find the Common Ground â Concede When You're Wrong â Stay Calm and Civil at All Costs â Step Away if you need to
âď¸ Communication is the way that people living in groups make decisions. Itâs directly related to Building Community.
Is the use of social media/ads to spread out-of-context or false information. Often pushed by people who benefit from dividing us and bots/trolls from foreign countries to trying to rip us apart.
đ Splitting:
Is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole.
Splitting can interfere with relationships and lead to intense and self-destructive behaviors. A person/entity who splits will typically frame people or events in terms that are absolute with no middle ground for discussion. Examples include: Things are either "always" or "never", âGoodâ or âEvilâ.
đ Wicked Problem:
Is a problem, concern or social/cultural issue that is difficult to explain and solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize.
Examples of wicked problems in today's society include things like: education design, financial crises, voter suppression, health care, abortion, income disparity, systemic oppression and corruption, obesity, poverty, terrorism, extreme violence, climate change and sustainability.
đ Critical Thinking Strategy:
Identify your own bias, then research the heck outta the opposite side. Practice recognizing people/resources who are experts on the subject. Always be open to new information.
đ Paradox:
Remember that two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time! Another persons experience/truth does not invalidate our own and vice versa.
𤯠It seems counterproductive but being open to ALL information is the antidote for âFake Newsâ. Check and recheck your preconceived notions.
đ The way we use language matters. Bad moods are contagious... but so are good ones!
If we all take a minute to re-read what we write... how we frame things, weâll have more productive interactions. Letâs try to word things with less assumption. Remember, when we read other members comments, we read them in the tone of emotion weâre experiencing. Take a moment and reflect.
Thank you for helping build community.