Dialogue, Division, & Cultural Issues
I write and speak frequently on cultural divisions and how we can communicate across lines of disagreement.
Scroll down for some of my blog posts on this topic. In addition:
- My book Talking Across the Divide offers in-depth advice on handling differing worldviews in a polarized culture.
- You can bring me to speak to your group on dialogue, diversity, and disagreement.
- Additional posts on politics and sensitive issues are available as an exclusive to my Patreon patrons.
- Posts on faith and LGBTQ issues are on their own page.
Posts on this topic
It’s here! Talking Across the Divide is now available!
It seems like forever that I’ve been waiting, but my new book, Talking Across the Divide, is now available in print, ebook, and audiobook versions, from wherever you like to buy your books. Today, launch day, I’m going to be spending the day doing radio interviews by phone with a variety of stations across the…
Race, gender, empathy, and my church’s “Two Dirty Words.”
In a world where majority groups and minority groups so often fail to understand each other, is there a place for empathy? (This was the last talk I ever gave at The Gay Christian Network’s annual conference.)
My next book is (mostly) done!
My next book, due out in 2018 from Penguin Random House, is tentatively called Talking Across the Divide. It’s about addressing America’s polarized culture—and how to talk to the people in your family and circles of influence you just don’t understand. This book has been a real passion project for me, based on my two decades…
A note about Charlottesville.
For those of us who are white, it’s important to see what’s happening in Charlottesville and be reminded yet again that this is just the tip of the iceberg; racism is still very much alive in this country. If this many people can show up in one place for a blatantly racist rally (and not…
Nuance.
The internet gives us a great opportunity to broadcast messages far and wide. But without back-and-forth and face-to-face, we lose a lot of nuance. We need the chance to say, “Did you mean…?” and “Can you clarify…?” and “Here’s how that sounded to me.” Nuanced, personal conversation allows us to refine our views and learn…
A white guy’s thoughts on “Get Out” and racism
Even if you hate horror movies as much as I do, there are some incredibly important lessons to be learned from Jordan Peele’s film “Get Out.”
The more you know…
My 4th-grade teacher used to say, “The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know.” He was right. To this day I don’t trust people who think they know it all. By their arrogance, they reveal their ignorance.
We made this monster.
A note on how we’re all responsible for creating an unhealthy political environment.
Some days feel like too much.
Days like today, it just feels like too much. Too much tragedy. Too much inhumanity. Too much indifference from people who should know better. Days like today, I feel so tempted to throw in the towel and stop trying to make things better, because it’s too much. I think of Moses, exhausted and unable to…
Raw response to this morning’s Orlando shooting.
I posted this just now on Facebook and wanted to share it here: I’ve spent the morning being devastated and speechless once again at the terror that one human being can inflict on so many others. As someone who’s lost a family member to gun violence, news like this always feels personal. But an attack…
