{"id":9115,"date":"2024-10-15T11:40:04","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T15:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/?p=9115"},"modified":"2024-10-15T11:47:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T15:47:47","slug":"365288-disputes-disagreements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/365288-disputes-disagreements\/","title":{"rendered":"365+#288: Disputes & Disagreements"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Beyond Halloween, October is the height of election season in the USA and this can be scarry. Political conversations rule the news and penetrate many of our conversations \u2013 with both friends and opponents. So how should decent, loving citizens listen to news and to each other?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. On one hand, we can stay in our bubble of mainly interacting with people who agree with us and ignoring media that differs from our positions. This is comfortable but being blind and deaf to differences doesn\u2019t improve the status quo \u2013 and the current status quo is not leading to any improvement.<\/li>\n
  2. \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>On the other hand, we can argue, protest, and try to persuade. This can cause tension within families, among co-workers, and the general public. It can also create personal emotional stress as our anger at others and internal angst increases.<\/li>\n
  3. \"\"<\/a>A 3rd<\/sup> Way is to Listen First<\/em><\/strong>. This may feel overly passive at first, but it is the first real step to genuine dialogue and potential positive improvements. It\u2019s also the step that feels most challenging to me since I like to be clear about my position on political and spiritual topics and move toward actions that will make a positive change \u2013 Now!
    \nSo, what does the Listen First<\/em> process look like and might it just lead to a stalemate and no action?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    GUIDELINES:<\/strong><\/p>\n