On January 29th, I attended a seminar, “Agree to Disagree”, hosted by Susan Jordan, as part of the MLK week activities. Jordan’s presentation on engaging in cordial disagreement accomplishes a direct imperative of Martin Luther King’s beliefs: An earnest discussion to find common ground.
To properly convey a system for engaging in a discussion, Jordan proposed a scale of 1-8, indicating the levels at which people can find a middle ground and respect another person’s opinions and presence in a conversation. The scale ranks from 1, complete disregard and contemptuous hatred of the person’s beliefs, to an 8, a mindset that empathizes with the other person’s perspective and values another person’s opposing opinion enough to acknowledge it cordially.
I personally believe that Jordan’s approach is an insightful method for quantifying human discourse, which may facilitate a conversation that can actually lead to lasting progress and change. This method is in a similar vein to the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the impetuses behind her argument revolving around an empathetic, more diplomatic approach to a debate.
Summarizing my thoughts overall, I was impressed by Jordan’s ability to identify a critical social dilemma in the United States. I was also impressed by her response as to how to assess and level a conversation’s discourse. This is a necessary skill in empathy when handling heated and divisor subjects, especially those which are political.
-Lucas Reid