Focus on Values Not Facts
December 22nd, 2009 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Accidental Extremists, Civility, Public Values
Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2000 that allows people with cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, muscle spasms, severe pain, severe nausea and other medical conditions to use marijuana. People must obtain a medical marijuana registry card from a licensed Colorado doctor. Colorado’s medical marijuana industry blossomed this year. As the Denver Post reported this week, tens of thousands of patients applied for medical-marijuana cards in the past six months. And, dispensaries, shops where patients can legally purchase marijuana, are [...]
Read more...Is Sarah Palin Narrow Minded? Are You?
December 17th, 2009 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Accidental Extremists, Civility, Community
My mentor Richard Harwood has been advocating that people read Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue. He suggests it is especially important for people who disagree with Mrs. Palin’s politics to read the book. Here are Rich’s reasons: 1. Palin is a political phenomenon and I want to understand what she has to say; 2. More importantly, she is giving voice to a segment of America that yearns to be heard – I want to know what Palin is speaking to; [...]
Read more...Can Social Media Bridge Enclaves?
November 23rd, 2009 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Accidental Extremists, Social Media, WTC
I wrote last week that Americans are accidental extremists. We are making choices that inadvertently results in more and more of us living in homogeneous enclaves. Our opportunities to engage with people who have different world views are in decline. Our choices of traditional media tend to reinforce our preconceived views. We choose to live in neighborhoods with people who have similar life experiences. We send our children to schools with students just like them. Bill Bishop, author of The [...]
Read more...Americans Are Accidental Extremists
November 19th, 2009 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Accidental Extremists, Civility
Whom do you talk to who asks you to consider points of view different than your own? What do you read that challenges you to consider public issues from a new perspective? What do you watch or listen to that makes you face up to your preconceived views? Most Americans, if we are honest with ourselves, would answer: no one, not much and not much. We live in echo chambers. We read, watch, listen and talk to people who think [...]
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