{"id":1195,"date":"2025-01-09T02:21:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T08:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/?p=1195"},"modified":"2025-12-04T10:00:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T16:00:34","slug":"peace-and-quiet-are-not-the-same-for-true-peace-we-need-to-start-talking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/peace-and-quiet-are-not-the-same-for-true-peace-we-need-to-start-talking\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPeace\u201d and \u201cQuiet\u201d are not the same. For true peace we need to start talking!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

\u201cPeace\u201d and \u201cQuiet\u201d are not the same. For true peace we need to start talking!<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This post originally appeared on\u00a0Dead Dillo<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Do you remember when political conversations, even political disagreements, were more fun than they are now? I do.\u00a0 I miss that.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

After the frenzy and folderol of the recent election you may be thinking: \u201cPolitical conversations \u2013 no thanks!\u00a0 That\u2019s the last thing I want!\u00a0 I am ready for some peace and quiet!\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

I can understand that.\u00a0 The terrible state of political discourse we are experiencing right now doesn\u2019t make me long for silence, though.\u00a0 It makes me long for better political discourse.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

I remember fun, lively, invigorating political conversations \u2013 the kind where we bat ideas around, and hear different points of view, and get new information, and sometimes disagree, and sometimes even change our minds. \u00a0Those kinds of conversations are energizing, not depleting.\u00a0 In a really great political conversation, we end up a little smarter, not just angrier and sadder.\u00a0 In addition to being fun and energizing and enlightening, I also believe good political conversation is a crucial form of peacemaking.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

We live in a diverse community, in a diverse state, in a diverse country, in an unbelievably diverse world.\u00a0 Any kind of pseudo-peacemaking that depends on just \u201cgoing along to get along\u201d is bound to fail when those who have been \u201cgoing along\u201d finally erupt in pent-up anger and frustration.\u00a0 Any kind of pseudo-peacemaking that depends on one \u201cside\u201d getting strong enough to demand and get their way all the time is bound to succumb to the temptations of tyranny.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

So, how do we go about living together peacefully in a diverse community? \u00a0For one thing, we need to be careful not to confuse \u201cquiet\u201d for \u201cpeace.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

If we want to get better at politics, we need to talk politics \u2014 with people who agree with us, and with people who disagree with us.\u00a0 We don\u2019t need to avoid political conversations; we need to practice doing them productively instead of destructively.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

It wasn\u2019t that long ago that productive, informative, thought-provoking political conversations were common, maybe even the norm. Vinyl records have made a comeback \u2013 why not invigorating political talk?\u00a0 I don\u2019t even think it would be that terribly hard to do.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Here are some things I think would help.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
  1. Ease into it.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 We don\u2019t have to start with the very most intractable controversy in the headlines. We can start with issues that are important, but that have not been fully demarcated into partisan war zones. We can start with ideas that people haven\u2019t made their mind up about yet, topics where people might still have a little psychic wiggle room.<\/li>
  2. Start with curiosity instead of conviction.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 We don\u2019t have to dive straight into arguing. We can listen and ask questions first, collect and share a little information, develop a little bit of a common base of understanding. We can start with phrases like \u201cI wonder if\u2026\u201d and \u201cHow do we find out\u2026\u201d instead of \u201cEverybody knows\u2026\u201d or \u201cThey should just\u2026\u201d<\/li>
  3. Start at home.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 It\u2019s easy to overgeneralize about \u201cthem\u201d \u2013 those other people we don\u2019t know, in places where we don\u2019t live. It\u2019s easy to think of \u201cthem\u201d as one-dimensional \u201cstraw people\u201d who are either all good or all bad. We can have better, richer conversations if we \u00a0start with \u00a0what\u2019s happening here in our own community with our neighbors who we know to be real, complicated people dealing with challenges that are familiar to us.<\/li>
  4. Talk in-person instead of typing on a screen<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 It\u2019s easy to be snarky or even mean when you can\u2019t see someone\u2019s face. It\u2019s easy to misunderstand when you can\u2019t hear the tone of voice. Sometimes you need all tools of face-to-face communication at your disposal to make a nuanced point or to convey an important shade of feeling \u2013 an emoji just doesn\u2019t cut it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We need to start with face to face, then maybe we can graduate to on-line.<\/li>
  5. Practice<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Every skill gets rusty if we don\u2019t use it. We can get better at listening, clarifying, asking good questions and reconsidering our ideas if we practice. We can get better at having fun, productive, thought-provoking, political conversations if we practice.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    Speaking of practicing\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    I am excited to invite you to participate in a grassroots effort that is bubbling up in our community.\u00a0 It\u2019s tentatively called \u201cMcLennan County Talks.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The goal of this effort is to promote positive, productive civic engagement and a well-informed voter base in McLennan County by offering regular opportunities for non-partisan community conversations about issues that affect Waco and McLennan County.<\/p>

    \u00a0<\/p>

    Our first project is called \u201cLight on the Legislature.\u201d\u00a0 It is a series of community conversations about how the Texas Legislature affects our everyday lives.\u00a0 We will meet from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Performing Arts Community Center (924 Austin Avenue). Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase.<\/p>

    \u00a0<\/p>

    Each conversation will be focused on a topic that directly affects our community. Here are the dates and topics:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
    • January 14 \u2013 Water<\/li>
    • January 21 \u2013 Housing<\/li>
    • January 28 \u2013 Small Business<\/li>
    • February 4 \u2013 Animal Welfare<\/li>
    • February 11 \u2013 Public Schools<\/li>
    • February 18 \u2013 Child Care & Early Learning<\/li>
    • February 25 \u2013 Health Care<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

      We have invited knowledgeable local folks to give us a little background on each topic and to tell us what they are \u201ckeeping an eye on\u201d this legislative session. We will hear their remarks, then have time for group conversation.\u00a0 The whole thing will be super casual and hopefully fun! \u00a0We hope to get people with a wide variety of perspectives to come. It will be a great way to learn about important issues in our community, and to learn a little bit about how the Texas Legislature operates. \u00a0More importantly, we hope these meet-ups will be a terrific way to get to know your neighbors and to practice the art of productive, political conversation.\u00a0 Hope to see you there! Peace!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

      \n\t\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      \u201cPeace\u201d and \u201cQuiet\u201d are not the same. For true peace we need to start talking! This post originally appeared on\u00a0Dead Dillo. Do you remember when political conversations, even political disagreements, were more fun than they are now? I do.\u00a0 I miss that. \u00a0 After the frenzy and folderol of the recent election you may be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-1195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-pulling-together-instead-of-pushing-apart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1195"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2532,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195\/revisions\/2532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}