Newsletter #205 — February 4, 2024
Reader Suggested Links
Highlighting links suggested by our readers. Please send us links to things that you find useful.
- Family / Gender / LBGTQ+
Good Marriages Are Good. Bad Marriages Are, Well, Bad. — A thought-provoking analysis of the many ways in which our confused way of thinking about marriage and family contributes to so many of society's problems. - Domination and Oppression
Niall Ferguson: The Treason of the Intellectuals — Anyone who has a naive belief in the power of higher education to instill morality has not studied the history of German universities in the Third Reich. - Israel / Hamas War
The Case Against UNRWA — Congressional testimony from UN Watch explaining the many ways in which they believe that UNRWA has contributed to the intractability and destructiveness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. - Israel / Hamas War
This is Ethnic Cleansing — A must-see tabulation of statistics regarding ethnic cleansing in the Middle East. - Israel / Hamas War
Arab-Israeli Solidarity: Defying Divisions in the Face of Terror — A revealing story about how Israel's Arab citizens are responding to the ongoing war. - Israel / Hamas War
If You Want To Liberate Your Land, You Cannot Keep Counting Martyrs – The Families In Gaza Are Not Complaining — A revealing translation of what one Hamas official is saying about the war and, especially, the horrific casualties Gazans are suffering.
Colleague Activities
Highlighting things that our conflict and peacebuilding colleagues are doing that contribute to efforts to address the hyper-polarization problem.
- Israel / Hamas War
Israel and Gaza: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow — The destruction of the military threat posed by Hamas is a necessary condition for re-establishing some sort of a peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict, but Israel must reign in its most extreme factions too. - The Hyper-Polarization Threat
Through a distorted lens: How perceptions of the “other side” drive toxic division — Toxic polarization is a large, complex problem with many factors. But one thing we can all do to reduce it is examine our role in the equation. Making our culture less toxic starts with us. - Saving Democracy
NEW WAY INTERVIEW: Katherine Gehl — The business leader, innovator, thinker, do-er and reformer on what she's learned and what we need to fix America democracy. - Saving Democracy
Mapping America's Healthy Democracy Ecosystem — A webinar put out by All-America City, looking at "promising practices" for protecting democracy. - Networking
Network Failures: 2023 Edition — From Network Weaver, a reflection on things they tried in 2023 that didn't work as planned--and what they are doing in 2024 to fill those gaps. These ideas have broader applicability for other networkers! - The Nature of Complexity
Solutions Journalism Network February 1 Newsletter on Complexity — Complexity is actually a key to unlocking freedom — and here are three examples of how and why that is true. - Israel / Hamas War
Israel-Hamas Conflict Puts Spotlight on American Universities — An AllSides "story of the week," this article looks at the way the media is covering the Israel-Hamas conflict on campuses. Needless to say, there are significant differences.
Beyond Intractability in Context
From around the web, more insight into the nature of our conflict problems, limits of business-as-usual thinking, and things people are doing to try to make things better.
- Hate Mongering
Chicken Littles Are Ruining America — An in-depth look at the far-reaching implications of a culture that is so focused on apocalyptic threats that it fails to see the many positive aspects of society worth celebrating and defending. - Saving Democracy
How ‘Our Democracy’ Became Undemocratic — An essay exploring the many ways in which the word "democracy" has been weaponized by a wide array of narrowly focused interest groups -- groups that have little concern for the welfare of the larger society. - Family / Gender / LBGTQ+
Why Men Are Drifting to the Far Right — More insight into what is driving men and women apart politically (and undermining traditional family structures). - Family / Gender / LBGTQ+
The Two-Parent Privilege is Real — A reminder of the many ways in which we could benefit from efforts to strengthen stable, two-parent families (and reflections about why we are unwilling to take such steps). - Family / Gender / LBGTQ+
A new global gender divide is emerging — A stark look at ways in which the global trend toward demonizing men as oppressors is dividing men and women into sharply opposing political camps. - Family / Gender / LBGTQ+
Fertility and Culture: A Deep Dive — In-depth statistics about what may be one of the biggest threats to the sustainability of human society, the fertility crisis. - Disinformation
The Case Against Content Moderation — An essay that looks at ways in which increasingly moderating newsfeeds in an effort to control destructive information could make the problem worse, rather than better. - Intersectional Left
Why Can’t Biden Move to the Center? — For those wondering why Biden and the Democrats aren't reaching out to the many moderates who have been abandoned by Trump's swing to the right, an explanation. - Left / Right Conflict
American Politics is Bringing Us Down — As we continue to fight about most everything, a reminder that it's the destructive nature of these fights (rather than the substantive issues involved) that pose the greatest threat. - Race / Anti-Racism
Coleman Hughes: My Testimony on Reparations — A critique of the case for reparations and a proposal for a more constructive way of dealing with the unrightable wrongs of the past and the many problems of the present. - Effective Problem-Solving
Colleges Are Lying to Their Students — For a time when colleges promise, but failed, to teach students how to think, a simple question that would improve all of our thinking: "What is the best argument of the other side?" - Constructively Addressing Complex Issues
Intellectual Hospitality — An exploration of John Dewey's now radical idea -- intellectual hospitality, the welcoming of alternative views. - Education
Why America’s Richest Universities Are Protecting Hate-Filled Foreign Students — A surprising look at the way in which DEI incentives have led universities to recruit (and profit from) rich foreign students (who are also allowed greater freedom of speech protections). - Education
The Real Problem With American Universities — For those who would like to see universities take effective steps to re-earn the public's trust, a systematic look at higher education's problems and possible solutions. - Constructive Communication
How the social media mob helped me find my voice — Personal reflections on a positive way of responding to cancel culture mobs of the left and the right. - Interstate War
Thinking the Unthinkable — For a time when we prefer not to even think about the possibility of a global military conflagration, tough questions that, like it or not, demand consideration. - Artificial Intelligence
The Real AI Weapons Are Drones, Not Nukes — A look at the areas in which artificial intelligence is most likely to have a near-term impact on the nature of war – autonomous, killer drones. - Israel / Hamas War
A Biden Doctrine for the Middle East Is Forming. And It’s Big. — A sympathetic look at President Biden's bold plan for ending the Israel/Hamas war, creating a Palestinian state (that doesn't threaten Israel), and building a grand Mideast coalition to counter Iran. - Israel / Hamas War
The Two-State Delusion — Before concluding that the way to resolve the Palestinian / Israeli conflict is by quickly moving to implement the "two state solution," consider this perceptive critique of the idea. - Israel / Hamas War
Abolish the U.N.’s Palestinian Refugee Agency — The relatively succinct overview of the many criticisms that are being leveled against UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East). - Israel / Hamas War
UNRWA EDUCATION: REFORM OR REGRESSION? — A detailed and thoroughly documented account of what UNRWA is accused of doing with its educational programs to undermine any sort of coexistence-based resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. - Israel / Hamas War
Israel Palestine is not the root of Middle Eastern chaos — A regional update on the larger, "larger context" surrounding the Israel Hamas war. - Climate Change
Don’t San Francisco–ize Clean Energy — An important story about a second-order problem that presents a serious threat to efforts to reduce carbon emissions. - Climate Change
Unleash the power of bipartisan NRC reform — For those who recognize the importance of moving as rapidly as possible to limit carbon emissions, sensible proposals for improving our ability to take advantage of nuclear power. - Race / Anti-Racism
Our Open Border Policy Is Not an Accident — A look beyond the political showmanship that surrounds the immigration debate and an examination of why many people are troubled with the left's approach. - Communication Complexity
The Rise of Technoauthoritarianism — Reasons why our instinct to be distrustful of the big information technology companies is well-founded. - Communication Complexity
Can Anything Stop the News-Industry Meltdown? — Just as we were starting to come to terms with the much diminished state of contemporary journalism, news that things are about to get much worse. - Superpower Conflict
If Trump wins, he will destroy the American-led world order — A reminder of the threat that President Trump's candidacy poses to the admittedly flawed "world order" that is still our best defense against aggressive authoritarianism.
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