How would you like to be judged for the rest of your life by the worst thing you’ve ever done?
We all think we are compassionate just like we all think we are honest. But true compassion is not innate. Compassion for others, especially those that we don’t know or understand, must be learned.
Our lack of compassion is perhaps most extreme in the exercise of criminal justice, where a person’s entire life, worth, and character are judged through the myopic lens of a single act. But no one, says Robin Steinberg, should be reduced to their worst moment.
Interested in having engaging conversations about criminal justice and other contentious topics but not sure where to start? After all, we may not all agree on the nature of the problem or the best solutions to it. Based on its experience hosting difficult discussions on a wide range of challenging issues, Davidson College’s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI) has some tips on how best to engage in these conversations.
Check out the resources and website below for more on some useful principles and practices related to how we can productively engage with those we may disagree with. And sign up on the DCI’s website for updates on its upcoming 2024-25 programs!
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