Debate insults. Plus: A pastor's call for more love.
Starts With Us
A movement to overcome extreme political and cultural division by practicing curiosity, compassion, & courage every day.
Welcome to the Builders newsletter from Starts With Us. To get this newsletter (and more) delivered via email, sign up at startswith.us/join.
How many insults will we hear?
Tonight’s presidential debate is different in a few ways. For one, there’s no audience. For another, the mics will be muted unless it’s someone’s turn to speak.
Will these changes affect the debate? Will there be fewer insults and interruptions? Will it be more focused on issues? We’ll go out on a limb and predict there’ll still be a lot of insults.
When our political leaders regularly sling insults, it’s easy for us to become desensitized and for this to become the norm. People think, “I’m glad my candidate is getting aggressive and calling people out; they deserve it,” or “The other side insults us much more than we insult them; our insults are minor compared to theirs.”
Regardless of how you view such things, we hope you can see how a “fight fire with fire” approach can lead to a never-ending cycle of toxic conflict.
During the debate, we’ll be thinking about insults. Not just personal insults but group-aimed insults as well (for example, “Democrats are ____” or “Republicans want to ____”). We’ll also think about less obvious insults — including ones that may be unintended.
Will you join us in thinking critically about how insulting people’s beliefs or identities negatively impacts society? Join us on Instagram, where our community will be commenting live, or email us.
News and views
Here are some religion-related news and views that caught our attention. We share these for their thought-provoking points — not because we endorse all views expressed.
A pastor’s call for more love. At a United Methodist Church in Illinois, pastor Kathy King-Nobles mentioned our work in a sermon about the importance of loving one another. Hear her message at 39:00 in this video.
“Answering the savior’s call to be peacemakers.” David Ostler’s book Healing Our Divides is aimed at a Mormon audience, although anyone would likely find important takeaways in it. Said one reviewer: “No book has focused so clearly on how to face religious and ideological rivalry between people who earnestly believe they have the truth while the other does not.”
The Ten Commandments. Tangle News covers the Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom.
Talk on polarization canceled due to polarization? NYT columnist David French’s talk at a religious conference was canceled. Warren Cole Smith examines the factors involved.
Movement updates
Helping cultivate the next generation of Builders. We’re proud to announce the release of the latest addition to the Builders Toolkit: the Builders Education Resource & Action Guide. This is a tool that helps teachers, administrators, legislators, students, parents, and community leaders support a Builders mindset across the education system, from K-12 to university. In an upcoming newsletter, we’ll share more about the tool and how you can provide feedback. Huge thanks to our Movement Partners Manu Meel, Caroline Mehl, and John Sarrouf for their input and support. Get the guide.
Braver Angels convention kicks off. The Braver Angels 2024 National Convention starts on Thursday, June 27th. You can watch the main stage events on their YouTube channel (click on the Live tab to see live streams). Watch on YouTube.
Make It A Habit: Consider how your words may drive wedges
When we’re not careful, we can be unintentional amplifiers of conflict by using divisive language that drives one group or another away.
An AllSides.com piece examines some polarizing terms, including “Never-Trumper,” “Christian nationalism,” “MAGA Republicans,” “immigration invasion,” “cultural Marxism,” and more. Even if you don’t agree with all their points (when do we ever all agree?), we think you’ll come away with a better understanding of how these terms can be perceived and how they can divide.
This has been the Builders newsletter from Starts With Us.
If you appreciate the work we’re doing, follow us on your favorite social media platform: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | LinkedIn | Threads
Human Resources | Railroad | Plumbing wholesaling | MBA Accounting
4wThis will continue until we the people hold our elected officials to the same behavioral standard that we expect from friends, family, and coworkers.