{"id":45600,"date":"2024-12-19T21:09:44","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T21:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=45600"},"modified":"2025-01-12T21:11:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T21:11:38","slug":"why-internal-reflection-key-reduce-political-toxicity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/12\/19\/why-internal-reflection-key-reduce-political-toxicity\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 and Beyond: Why Reflection Is Key to Reducing Political Toxicity"},"content":{"rendered":"

The start of a new year is a natural time for reflection \u2014 for thinking about the past year and how we might approach the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is that a lot of what we send you about our toxic divides via <\/span>our newsletter<\/span><\/a> is reflective and introspective in nature \u2014 focused on how we think about the people and events around us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, many Americans have serious concerns and fears about the future \u2014 and that includes many people in this movement of ours. This can lead some people to wonder, \u201cWhen there are so many real-world things to worry about, how does introspective work help us?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some people may even be pessimistic and think, \u201cThese \u2018let\u2019s-all-get-along\u2019 kumbaya messages aren\u2019t doing much.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s natural to wonder how \u201cinner work\u201d leads to changes in the real world, so let\u2019s talk about why it matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

We All Play a Role in Reducing Toxicity \u2014 or Increasing It<\/b><\/h3>\n

When so many of us have <\/span>extremely pessimistic views<\/span><\/a> of our political opponents, that creates demand for more polarized and divisive approaches. Political leaders, activists, and pundits don\u2019t exist in a vacuum. The approaches taken by influential people are affected by the forces and pressures in society \u2014 by all of us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Put another way: Insulting and divisive behaviors by political leaders will only be successful if there is sufficient support for those behaviors by enough of the public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This can help us see that <\/span>we all play a role in making our culture either more toxic \u2014 or less toxic.<\/i><\/b> The interactions that millions of us have across the country, every day, is what helps form the broader political culture. <\/span><\/p>\n

We may not be as influential as a leader or celebrity or journalist, but all together, we exert a lot of power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With Hearts \u201cAt Peace,\u201d We Reduce Us-Vs-Them Thinking<\/b><\/h3>\n

The book <\/span>The Anatomy of Peace<\/span><\/i><\/a> talks about the difference between our hearts being \u201cat war\u201d versus \u201cat peace.\u201d If we have contempt for our opponents, that contempt will make itself known; that will be what our opponents focus on, much more than our disagreements about issues. Us-vs-them hostility then leads to more extreme and hardened stances, and less willingness to compromise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people in our community have told us that <\/span>understanding their fellow citizens better<\/span><\/a> has reduced their contempt and helped them engage in more productive ways. <\/span>Those are internal changes that have powerful real-world effects.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Imagine how such changes happening en masse, for millions of people, might shift our overall political culture. We\u2019d still of course have major disagreements \u2014 but with less us-versus-them thinking our disagreements would be less polarized and zero-sum<\/a> in nature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection Helps Us Understand Others<\/b><\/h3>\n

Often, when we\u2019re asked to imagine \u201cdemocracy\u201d we\u2019ll reach for images of people doing things: protesting, voting, organizing, and the like. We don\u2019t tend to imagine someone sitting there thinking. <\/span>And yet without thinking, action doesn\u2019t mean anything.<\/b>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Talisse writes that understanding our fellow citizens\u2019 views is vital. But because few of us have the time to talk with our fellow citizens to understand their views, solitary introspection is important:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026Citizens must also <\/span>imagine <\/span><\/i>their way into the outlooks of their fellow citizens; they must endeavor to see things from <\/span>their <\/span><\/i>points of view. All of this means that citizens must be <\/span>reflective<\/span><\/i>. Responsible citizenship is partly a matter of engaging in certain kinds of thinking. Democracy happens in the streets, but it also goes on <\/span>inside <\/span><\/i>of us.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You Are Already Making a Difference<\/b><\/h3>\n

One way to look at this is: If you\u2019re invested in this cause, <\/span>you\u2019re already making a difference<\/i><\/b>. You are making a difference every day in the things you do and say \u2014 and in the things you <\/span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/i> do and say.<\/span><\/p>\n

You are making a difference in the way you move through this world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Building a Movement for Change<\/b><\/h3>\n

And of course there are other things we and others in this movement do that go beyond introspective work. With projects like <\/span>Power Rankings<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Citizen Solutions<\/span><\/i><\/a>, we aim to inspire citizens, activists, and leaders to push for respectful and empathetic approaches and solutions \u2014 without <\/span>compromising their values<\/span><\/a>. (And we know that can even be a <\/span>winning strategy for politicians<\/span><\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

This work starts small, inside each of us. But even small things, en masse, can have big impacts. Ripples can quickly become waves. Big changes do happen in society, sometimes more quickly than we expect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we start this year, let\u2019s commit to improving both our inner world and the outer world. Let\u2019s all commit to creating more ripples \u2014 and, when we see the chance, larger waves, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to stay in the loop to overcome our toxic divides? Sign up for our newsletter<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The start of a new year is a natural time for reflection \u2014 for thinking about the past year and how we might approach the future.\u00a0 The truth is that a lot of what we send you about our toxic divides via our newsletter is reflective and introspective in nature \u2014 focused on how we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":45595,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"collection_feed":[],"type_feed":[77],"class_list":["post-45600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2025 and Beyond: Why Reflection Is Key to Reducing Political Toxicity - Builders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/12\/19\/why-internal-reflection-key-reduce-political-toxicity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2025 and Beyond: Why Reflection Is Key to Reducing Political Toxicity - 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