Israel. Palestine. Trump. Biden.
There’s a lot of conflict available this week.
Here’s how you can use it to strengthen your relationships…
Because talking about The Real Stuff isn’t bad.
It can actually be much more connectful than discussing the weather or the food or the sportsball on TV.
But it can also go totally off the rails. 💥
After my last talk with mediator Ken Cloke, I re-read his “50 questions for political arguments”.
Here are a dozen questions inspired by that document that can bring you closer to people you disagree with this week.
– What life experiences have you had that have led you to feel so strongly about this issue?
– Do you see any gray areas in the issue we are discussing?
– What do we have to give up to continue holding onto our positions?
– Is it possible that our differences are two sides of the same coin? What is that coin?
– What is one thing we can each learn from our disagreement?
– Is there anything positive we can acknowledge about the people on the other side of this issue?
– How do you think the pain of the people on the other side is showing up in their positions?
– Do you think we are disagreeing about fundamental values, or over how to achieve them?
– Can we think of a situation where our priorities are flipped? If I’m valuing Justice over Security, for example, is there another issue where I value Security over Justice?
– What do you think our beliefs might be if we had been born in a different time or place?
– What aspect of this conflict are we both forgetting? What alternative are we both missing?
And my favorite…
– What is one thing you’re willing to apologize for, to the other side?
If you end up trying any of these, feel free to DM me and let me know how it goes!
Ankur Shah Delight: Community and Conflict 