Let's do it again! Is “rights talk” in political discussions productive?
Details
I really enjoyed our discussion of this topic last week, and I heard from some members who regretted that they were unable to attend. So we're going to do it again on Monday, October 6.
As we did in the September 18 meetup, we’ll examine the role of “rights talk” in our political discussions. As in: “People have a right to X, so society has a moral obligation to provide them with X.”
We’ll look at how this approach to political discourse has worked in practice and consider whether it is a productive way to engage with others in political discussions. Is there a role for “rights talk” in some circumstances, but maybe times when that approach does not work as well and may be counterproductive?
We'll think about whether we, as individuals, are contributing to a climate in which political issues can be discussed productively with fellow citizens who, as Mary Ann Glendon writes, “increasingly share few referents in the form of common customs, literature, religion, or history.”
Are we willing to do the hard work to figure out, for example, how to get the best health care for the most people at the most affordable price? Or do we find such a conversation to be technical and boring, so we make it about sacred values?
In the age of social media, do we contribute well-researched, thoughtful ideas to discussions of political issues and listen to those who may disagree with us, or do we feel that we are part of an existential struggle between good and evil that takes us beyond the boring realities of our daily life as we carry the brave banner of battle into the conflict?
Some of the books we’ll discuss include:
Mary Ann Glendon, Rights Talk: The Impoverishment Of Political Discourse
Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach, The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone
Tom Nichols, Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy
You don’t need to read these books, but please do take a look at this TEDx talk before the Meetup:
TEDx - The Illusion of Understanding: Phil Fernbach at TEDxGoldenGatePark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SlbsnaSNNM
Also, please read these three articles:
Maria Popova, "Joan Didion on Learning Not to Mistake Self-Righteousness for Morality”
https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/12/05/joan-didion-on-morality/
Jonathan Haidt, “Monomania Is Illiberal and Stupefying”
https://www.persuasion.community/p/haidt-monomania-is-illiberal-and
Gabrielle M. Girgis, “Rights Talk in a Post-Liberal Age: Mary Ann Glendon's Enduring Insight Into the American Rights Tradition”
Hope to see you soon.
Bill