Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Marking a deeply tragic week in the history of our republic, we wanted to connect some dots – when the dots don’t seem clear at all. Too many of us are dangerously on the edge of seeing our political opponents as the enemy – no holds barred. At a time of accelerating extremism, siloed information, and leaders who fail us, this is understandable. But we the people cannot allow this trend to continue. When we began The Village Square 19 years ago, we had to convince citizens there was a problem. Now everyone believes us, but as national division has gotten worse and worse, it’s become harder and harder to attract a crowd for our highly local and nonpartisan expression of our founding ideals – the ones that struck Tocqueville when he first arrived in America. It’s by gathering with people who don’t look or think like we do that we see the humanity in each other – and the good intention, despite the disagreement. Americans aren’t ever going to totally agree with each other. That’s a feature, not a bug, in a big diverse democracy. But we can’t view “the other side” as evil and expect to find our way out of this mess.
It’s human nature to put off fixing a problem until it reaches a boiling point. Especially when “the fix” may involve exploring outside one’s comfort zone, engaging in uncomfortable conversations, or questioning long-held beliefs to make space for new perspectives. These things take time, and repetition, and an open mind and heart. At The Village Square, we offer lots of opportunities for you to practice in welcoming environments with fellow neighbors who are wanting to do the same. Next week in Tallahassee is our traditional Fast Forward Tallahassee celebration — the kind of community that drives us out of the darkness and into the light. And we’re about to launch our 16th season of God Squad, a diverse group of faith leaders who don’t agree on much of anything (except that they respect and like each other). If you’re not in Tallahassee, you can enjoy God Squad on Village SquareCast.
If you’re worried about our future like we are, we invite you to fight fire with water right where you live. Increasingly, thought leaders from across the political spectrum are seeing the very thing The Village Square does (and local organizations like ours) as being our way out. We hope you’ll join us digitally on October 7 as we host Laurie Patton of American Arts & Sciences will share the light her organization has kept lit for 246 of America’s 250 years. You might want to check out and follow our Flying Pig Academy series on SquareCast where we lay day some of our basic principles for gathering. Want to talk about starting a Village Square near you? Give us a holler: liz@villagesquare.us.
