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Polarized! The Case for Civility in the Time of Trump: An Experiment in Civil Discourse on Facebook
In the US, our body politic is sick. Political polarization has become violent and even spawned a new psychological condition, "post-election stress disorder." Instead of lowering the temperature, the media, politicians, and political action committees (PACs) stoke the angry passion of extremism. In a culture of outrage and siloing, social media is the go-to place to attack and to hide. Users rant and vent, and they huddle in like-minded silos. Social media encourages impulsive and angry responses to tweets or posts that irritate us. It also allows us to avoid challenges to our conventional wisdom. We can block, unfriend, and hunker down in private groups. Social media has so far aggravated, rather than helped to cure, ideological polarization and partisanship. Is there a higher and better use? Facebook is the largest forum in the history of humankind for free and open communication among citizens. It can be used to engage in meaningful conversations about important political, social, and economic issues. The choice is ours to make. As is demonstrated in Jeff Rasley's latest book "regular folks" can use their social networks for civil discussion and debate, and then for positive political action. Or, they can follow the lead of President Trump to tweet insults and ridicule political opponents. Who do we want to be as a nation? "The Case for Civility" exposes the causes and effects of hyper-partisanship. It offers a "modest proposal" to treat the symptoms of toxic polarization using social media. An experiment Rasley conducted in Facebook based on the values of civility, tolerance, pragmatism, and moderation proves there is a cure. Jeff Rasley is the author of 9 other books, including "Godless - Living a Valuable Life beyond Beliefs" and "Bringing Progress to Paradise," a memoir about adventure and philanthropy in the Nepal Himalayas.
148 pages, Paperback
First published June 29, 2017
5 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Rasley
18 books39 followers(Author writes under the name Jeff Rasley)
Jeff Rasley is the author of sixteen books and over 80 feature articles, which have been published in numerous academic and mainstream periodicals, including Newsweek, Chicago Magazine, ABA Journal, Family Law Review, Faith & Fitness Magazine, Friends Journal, Journal of Communal Societies, and Real Travel Adventures International Magazine. He is an award-winning photographer and his pictures taken in the Himalayas and Caribbean and Pacific islands have been published in several journals.
Rasley has engaged in social activism and philanthropic efforts from an early age. In high school he co-founded the Goshen Walk for Hunger. In law school he was an advocate for renters' rights as a lobbyist and president of the Indianapolis Tenants Association. He is the founder of the Basa Village Foundation, past president of the Indianapolis Scientech Club and University of Chicago Indy Alumni Club. He served as a trustee for Earlham College, and is the president of the Scientech Foundation of Indiana and of the Basa Village Foundation. He is a director of the Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center and served as a director of the Indiana Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He is a co-founder of the Jeff & Alicia Rasley Internship Program for the ACLU of Indiana.
Jeff is an avid outdoors-man and recreational athlete. He leads trekking-mountaineering expeditions in Nepal and has solo-kayaked around several Pacific island groups. He also loves to read and considers completing Marcel Proust's 3600 page Remembrance of Things Past as great an adventure as climbing Himalayan peaks and solo-kayaking Pacific islands.
Jeff is U.S. liaison for the Nepal-based Himalayan expedition company, Adventure GeoTreks Ltd. He has taught classes for IUPUI Continuing Ed. Program, Indiana Writers Center, Butler and Marian Universities.
Jeff is a graduate of the University of Chicago, A.B. magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, All-Academic All-State Football Team and letter winner in swimming and football; Indiana University School of Law, J.D. cum laude, Moot Court and Indiana Law Review; Christian Theological Seminary, MDiv magna cum laude, co-valedictorian and Faculty Award Scholar. He has been admitted to the Indiana, U.S. District Court, and U.S. Supreme Court Bars.
He was given a Key to the City of Indianapolis for serving as a law school intern to Mayor Hudnut and preparing a report on the safety conditions of all Indy Parks. Rasley has received the Man of the Year award from the Arthur Jordan YMCA and the Alumni Service Award from the University of Chicago.
Rasley has been a featured guest on over 200 podcast, radio, and TV shows and has given programs to many service clubs, community organizations, and churches.
jeffrasley@gmail.com
www.jeffreyrasley.com
Jeff Rasley is the author of sixteen books and over 80 feature articles, which have been published in numerous academic and mainstream periodicals, including Newsweek, Chicago Magazine, ABA Journal, Family Law Review, Faith & Fitness Magazine, Friends Journal, Journal of Communal Societies, and Real Travel Adventures International Magazine. He is an award-winning photographer and his pictures taken in the Himalayas and Caribbean and Pacific islands have been published in several journals.
Rasley has engaged in social activism and philanthropic efforts from an early age. In high school he co-founded the Goshen Walk for Hunger. In law school he was an advocate for renters' rights as a lobbyist and president of the Indianapolis Tenants Association. He is the founder of the Basa Village Foundation, past president of the Indianapolis Scientech Club and University of Chicago Indy Alumni Club. He served as a trustee for Earlham College, and is the president of the Scientech Foundation of Indiana and of the Basa Village Foundation. He is a director of the Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center and served as a director of the Indiana Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He is a co-founder of the Jeff & Alicia Rasley Internship Program for the ACLU of Indiana.
Jeff is an avid outdoors-man and recreational athlete. He leads trekking-mountaineering expeditions in Nepal and has solo-kayaked around several Pacific island groups. He also loves to read and considers completing Marcel Proust's 3600 page Remembrance of Things Past as great an adventure as climbing Himalayan peaks and solo-kayaking Pacific islands.
Jeff is U.S. liaison for the Nepal-based Himalayan expedition company, Adventure GeoTreks Ltd. He has taught classes for IUPUI Continuing Ed. Program, Indiana Writers Center, Butler and Marian Universities.
Jeff is a graduate of the University of Chicago, A.B. magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, All-Academic All-State Football Team and letter winner in swimming and football; Indiana University School of Law, J.D. cum laude, Moot Court and Indiana Law Review; Christian Theological Seminary, MDiv magna cum laude, co-valedictorian and Faculty Award Scholar. He has been admitted to the Indiana, U.S. District Court, and U.S. Supreme Court Bars.
He was given a Key to the City of Indianapolis for serving as a law school intern to Mayor Hudnut and preparing a report on the safety conditions of all Indy Parks. Rasley has received the Man of the Year award from the Arthur Jordan YMCA and the Alumni Service Award from the University of Chicago.
Rasley has been a featured guest on over 200 podcast, radio, and TV shows and has given programs to many service clubs, community organizations, and churches.
jeffrasley@gmail.com
www.jeffreyrasley.com
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November 1, 2020
Upfront: Jeff Rasley, the author of the above book, is the son of a Presbyterian minister. And he is a preacher. No, not a preacher of any religion. He is a preacher of philanthropy, ethics, compassion, and civil behavior. And unlike many other official or unofficial preachers, he also acts upon what he preaches. In other words: Jeff Rasley is a member of an endangered species—the endangered species of decent human beings.
As most Americans with properly working brain cells, Jeff Rasley is deeply concerned about what’s happening to America under the present administration. He is not only worried about the follies committed by Trump and his frequently changing inner circle; he is even more disturbed and alarmed by the polarization that is happening in our country, where Trump supporters and protesters confront each other in the streets with hate, requiring strong police forces to avoid violence, and where people with opposite political views insult each other in real life and, even more so, on social media.
This increasing polarization is what caused Jeff Rasley to write the above book. And because Jeff is not only a man of words but also a man of action, he started an experiment on Facebook, the results of which are part of this book. More precisely, Jeff started a political discussion thread with an expectation that political opponents treat each other with respect.
When I read this, my first reaction was: OMG! A civilized (and hopefully, fruitful) discussion with Trump supporters? You might as well have expected to achieve a civilized (and hopefully, fruitful) discussion with Nazis during the Third Reich. Impossible!
After taking several deep breaths, I asked myself: Who are these Trump supporters anyway?—The answer I found within fairly short time was rather simple: They are idiots. They are opportunists. And some, I assume, are good people. (Sounds a bit familiar. Doesn’t it?)
You cannot have a civilized (and even less, a fruitful) discussion with idiots. They remain unaffected by facts. They are incapable of carrying a logical sequence of thoughts. They only believe what they want to believe, and instead of taking an effort to make use of whatever little brains they have, they prefer to repeat slogans.—Neither can you have a civilized (and even less, a fruitful) discussion with opportunists. They know what they want (usually power, recognition, career opportunities, and/or financial gain), and they are determined to get it, no matter at what cost. So it’s a waste of time and energy to have any discussion—be it civilized or uncivilized—with either of these groups. (Did I mention that there are also hybrids of idiots and opportunists? Don’t even try to get into a discussion with those, especially not when you suffer from high blood pressure. You might end up with a heart attack or a stroke.) So all thats left for a potentially civilized (and if you are lucky—very lucky!—fruitful) conversation are those “some, as I assume, good people”. And a few of those are the ones who I think our author got hooked for his Facebook experiment.
So who are these “assumed good people”? Well, they must be uninformed or misinformed people, because the facts that speak against Trump are rock-solid (or concrete-solid as the wall Trump is dreaming of). These good people could simply be uneducated people. (Yes, I do understand that lack of education and stupidity are two different things. You don’t have to tell me.) And they could be naive dreamers, that is, unrealistic idealists who are wishing for a perfect world and are inclined to believe any false promise of it.—My family knew such a dreamer in Hitler’s Germany. He was a highly intelligent university professor of chemistry. He was also a good person. And he was a fervent Nazi. Sigh!
It is this fraction of good people of Trump supporters (of whichever kind) that it DOES make sense to have a civilized discussion with. And for this reason, I am very glad that I read the above book. I really needed Jeff Rasley’s urgent appeals to remain civilized. My natural reaction would have been to jump each and every Trump supporter and squash him or her with unflattering expressions.
No, we won’t have a chance to convince the so-called “stupid masses”. Neither would it make sense to waste our time with the opportunists (unless we would know their exact goal and could convince them that Trump is not the right vessel to reach it). So our only chance are the “assumed good people”. No matter how much we are tempted to, let’s NOT insult them, let’s NOT call them names, let’s be patient with them, and let’s try to convince them that Trump is NOT “making America great again” (but instead doing irreparable damage to our country), that he is NOT the successful businessman he claims to be, that he is NOT the great dealmaker he pretends to be, and that he lacks just about every quality a President of the United States should have. And let’s not forget to mention all the lies he has told and that all he is really interested in is he himself and not the American people. And if this doesn’t do it, remind them of his immense tax cuts for corporations and billionaires. If they believe that this creates new jobs, tell them that they might as well believe that the Easter bunny lays eggs.—I know it’s hard to convince people who have set up their minds, but we have to try. The few people we have a chance to convince are those who might make the difference for the outcome of the 2020 election.
Did you say you'd rather avoid all contact with Trump supporters? This may be tempting, but let me tell you, as it is explained in the above book, this is NOT the solution.
So was our author successful with his Facebook experiment? I won’t tell you because you should read this book, which with 140 pages of normal-size print is a short read.
In conclusion, one uplifting message for those who, like I, have problems to stay polite when it comes to Trump supporters: While Jeff Rasley preaches and urges restraint, civility, and respect when interacting with people who have different political views and convictions, he, fortunately, accepts harsher words for bad leaders themselves. (And I really need this for the sake of a healthy blood pressure.) So with the assumed permission of the author of the above book, I herewith call Trump a power-greedy, money-greedy, uncaring, ungrateful, unethical, immoral, racist, unscrupulous, egomaniac, megalomaniac imbecile, who is totally unfit for the office of President of the United States. I am not finished yet. Let me add: vulgar, mafia-connected con artist and filthy-rich lowlife. Done! (I am feeling better now.)
(Hope you readers of this review will send me some Care Packages should I end up in a concentration camp.)
As most Americans with properly working brain cells, Jeff Rasley is deeply concerned about what’s happening to America under the present administration. He is not only worried about the follies committed by Trump and his frequently changing inner circle; he is even more disturbed and alarmed by the polarization that is happening in our country, where Trump supporters and protesters confront each other in the streets with hate, requiring strong police forces to avoid violence, and where people with opposite political views insult each other in real life and, even more so, on social media.
This increasing polarization is what caused Jeff Rasley to write the above book. And because Jeff is not only a man of words but also a man of action, he started an experiment on Facebook, the results of which are part of this book. More precisely, Jeff started a political discussion thread with an expectation that political opponents treat each other with respect.
When I read this, my first reaction was: OMG! A civilized (and hopefully, fruitful) discussion with Trump supporters? You might as well have expected to achieve a civilized (and hopefully, fruitful) discussion with Nazis during the Third Reich. Impossible!
After taking several deep breaths, I asked myself: Who are these Trump supporters anyway?—The answer I found within fairly short time was rather simple: They are idiots. They are opportunists. And some, I assume, are good people. (Sounds a bit familiar. Doesn’t it?)
You cannot have a civilized (and even less, a fruitful) discussion with idiots. They remain unaffected by facts. They are incapable of carrying a logical sequence of thoughts. They only believe what they want to believe, and instead of taking an effort to make use of whatever little brains they have, they prefer to repeat slogans.—Neither can you have a civilized (and even less, a fruitful) discussion with opportunists. They know what they want (usually power, recognition, career opportunities, and/or financial gain), and they are determined to get it, no matter at what cost. So it’s a waste of time and energy to have any discussion—be it civilized or uncivilized—with either of these groups. (Did I mention that there are also hybrids of idiots and opportunists? Don’t even try to get into a discussion with those, especially not when you suffer from high blood pressure. You might end up with a heart attack or a stroke.) So all thats left for a potentially civilized (and if you are lucky—very lucky!—fruitful) conversation are those “some, as I assume, good people”. And a few of those are the ones who I think our author got hooked for his Facebook experiment.
So who are these “assumed good people”? Well, they must be uninformed or misinformed people, because the facts that speak against Trump are rock-solid (or concrete-solid as the wall Trump is dreaming of). These good people could simply be uneducated people. (Yes, I do understand that lack of education and stupidity are two different things. You don’t have to tell me.) And they could be naive dreamers, that is, unrealistic idealists who are wishing for a perfect world and are inclined to believe any false promise of it.—My family knew such a dreamer in Hitler’s Germany. He was a highly intelligent university professor of chemistry. He was also a good person. And he was a fervent Nazi. Sigh!
It is this fraction of good people of Trump supporters (of whichever kind) that it DOES make sense to have a civilized discussion with. And for this reason, I am very glad that I read the above book. I really needed Jeff Rasley’s urgent appeals to remain civilized. My natural reaction would have been to jump each and every Trump supporter and squash him or her with unflattering expressions.
No, we won’t have a chance to convince the so-called “stupid masses”. Neither would it make sense to waste our time with the opportunists (unless we would know their exact goal and could convince them that Trump is not the right vessel to reach it). So our only chance are the “assumed good people”. No matter how much we are tempted to, let’s NOT insult them, let’s NOT call them names, let’s be patient with them, and let’s try to convince them that Trump is NOT “making America great again” (but instead doing irreparable damage to our country), that he is NOT the successful businessman he claims to be, that he is NOT the great dealmaker he pretends to be, and that he lacks just about every quality a President of the United States should have. And let’s not forget to mention all the lies he has told and that all he is really interested in is he himself and not the American people. And if this doesn’t do it, remind them of his immense tax cuts for corporations and billionaires. If they believe that this creates new jobs, tell them that they might as well believe that the Easter bunny lays eggs.—I know it’s hard to convince people who have set up their minds, but we have to try. The few people we have a chance to convince are those who might make the difference for the outcome of the 2020 election.
Did you say you'd rather avoid all contact with Trump supporters? This may be tempting, but let me tell you, as it is explained in the above book, this is NOT the solution.
So was our author successful with his Facebook experiment? I won’t tell you because you should read this book, which with 140 pages of normal-size print is a short read.
In conclusion, one uplifting message for those who, like I, have problems to stay polite when it comes to Trump supporters: While Jeff Rasley preaches and urges restraint, civility, and respect when interacting with people who have different political views and convictions, he, fortunately, accepts harsher words for bad leaders themselves. (And I really need this for the sake of a healthy blood pressure.) So with the assumed permission of the author of the above book, I herewith call Trump a power-greedy, money-greedy, uncaring, ungrateful, unethical, immoral, racist, unscrupulous, egomaniac, megalomaniac imbecile, who is totally unfit for the office of President of the United States. I am not finished yet. Let me add: vulgar, mafia-connected con artist and filthy-rich lowlife. Done! (I am feeling better now.)
(Hope you readers of this review will send me some Care Packages should I end up in a concentration camp.)
November 11, 2022
This book has a lot to bring to the table. Though it's centered around Rasley's Facebook "experiment", he actually branches out from that a lot, touching on things such as political history in the US, the rise of Trump, and organizations that work to build bridges across the political divide (ex. Better Angels, which I had never heard of but was happy to find out about!). The experiment itself, too, is really interesting to hear about (and it must be said that when listening to the section about the abortion discussion thread, a couple of the pro-Trumpers' explanations for why they were pro-choice made me go "Yes!" out loud in my car). I have a lot of respect for Rasley's strong desire to hear and understand those that have thoughts, opinions, and experiences that are different from his, and his approach is one that I also try my best to live by. That said, he does sometimes take it to an extent that I don't completely agree with. To be clear, I obviously don't think that engaging with people on the opposite end of the spectrum is at a bad thing, nor do I think engaging with someone whose views or actions you find repugnant is the same thing as endorsing or enabling them (it can be enabling, sure, but like so many things in life, it all depends on how it's done). But I do think that too often, calls for civility and tolerance are used to shut down people who are rightfully scared, angry, and fed-up - "why aren't you tolerating my intolerance?", as the tongue-in-cheek saying goes. I would have liked to see more discussion/acknowledgement of how Rasley's approach might have a different affect on and a different meaning for people for whom this stuff isn't just an intellectual exercise - people who are in danger of (to just name a few examples) having their marriages and partnerships go legally unrecognized, being forced to bear children that they don't want and/or can't care for, or losing access to the only health insurance that they can afford. He does very briefly touch on this by bringing up Daryl Davis, as well as an unnamed gay friend of his who used his Facebook experiment to have a civil discussion about gay marriage with another friend who was against it, but doesn't really get into examining the reasons why other people who feel marginalized might not want to engage. It's one thing to have someone disagree with your opinions, and another thing entirely to have them disagree with your identity, or your right to share the same rights as them. In cases like that, saying "But why can't you be more tolerant of their opinion? That's not very liberal of you!" Just doesn't sit right with me.
All in all, though, I agree with Rasley more than I disagree. Our political anger isn't always used effectively, and it's often manipulated by PACs looking for money and news media looking for views (and yes, that goes for both sides - I get a lot of emails from democratic PACs, and trust me, you don't know political manipulation until you've read an email from BoldPAC). Exercises like his Facebook experiment can only be one piece of the puzzle, nor can they solve everything (and I don't get the impression that he thinks they can), but they're a great idea, and I'm happy that his worked.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
All in all, though, I agree with Rasley more than I disagree. Our political anger isn't always used effectively, and it's often manipulated by PACs looking for money and news media looking for views (and yes, that goes for both sides - I get a lot of emails from democratic PACs, and trust me, you don't know political manipulation until you've read an email from BoldPAC). Exercises like his Facebook experiment can only be one piece of the puzzle, nor can they solve everything (and I don't get the impression that he thinks they can), but they're a great idea, and I'm happy that his worked.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
November 22, 2018
I was interested to find out if we can all just get along.It looks like the answer is 'NO'. Facebook may not be the best place to do this kind of research,as noted by the author,you can find someone to back up whatver side you are on. Gregg Robinson was a fine narrator.
I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews