As we were discussing a few ideas with our friends–in particular our upcoming book Wedged— we got some very interesting feedback about the potential to have productive conversations with people one disagrees with:
“I think your movement has a major problem… lots of people just don’t have friends that disagree with them. I don’t really know anyone that disagrees with me on abortion, gay marriage, or gun control.”
It was an enlightening and thought-provoking insight for us to consider. And a very important challenge for building the community that we want to build.
So we want to get your input as readers: do you have a lot of friends that you disagree with about political and cultural topics? A few? None?
Either way: why do you think it is the case? Is it geographical happenstance (your town has a particular political makeup), or have groups you know that think differently pushed each other away?
Pew Research found that those it marked as “consistently conservative” tend to mostly hear opinions like their own on Facebook, and those marked as “consistently liberal” frequently “de-friend” Facebook users that post opinions contrary to theirs.
How can we all extend our reach to be able to learn from people that disagree with us?
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