Jonathan Haidt & The Return of Understanding

Buckling Up for Election Day

Folks, we’re in for it. We’ve got two weeks before The Cataclysm. Are you ready?

I’ll be writing a few pieces on how we might be proactive. Today’s is about Jonathan Haidt. He’s one of my favorite thinkers, and his ideas have not only defanged many a dangerous conversation, but turned them productive and insightful. Once I even impressed a girl with them. Amazing. Read on.

Where We’re At

If I could push a button, I’d have one candidate win. No, I won’t discuss or endorse here. (If we talk privately, or you drive by my house, it’s not secret. It’s also a better format for earnest conversation. An endorsement here would be the grandstanding of an ant.)

I’ve already voted, and desperately hope it prevails. I’ve been glued to the trends, the polls, the opinion pieces (mostly looking for what’s agreeable).

Those chips will fall, regardless of if I’m watching or not. The election outcome isn’t some strange quantum theory I can influence by reading another article.

The real problem, the thing in my purview, and issue ignored is:

What about friends and neighbors? They’re my divided country.

When one person wins in two weeks, a lot of people lose. Or, more precisely, feel like they’ve lost. It might be me. It might be you.

If we fear, hate, and resent half of the country, we all lose. So let’s do something about that. I can only start with my understanding, and sharing my story. Here’s how Jonathan Haidt broke me free from the Matrix.

The Purple Crew

It’s more than a feather in the cap, or a cliché to brag about. The viewpoint diversity of my friends is a vital check on my thinking. They rein me in, force me to hone ideas, and don’t let me get away with bluster.

And I like them. A lot.

There’s Red and Blue eating dinner together, a mix of religions and not, good-natured heckling at the sidewalk star parties, and a genuine environment of growth. This doesn’t happen despite our differences. It happens both because of them, and our goodwill and dedication to the truth.

Yes, it would be more comfortable to be in an echo chamber, but the couch is cozier than the gym.

Guitar Lessons

I used to be an insufferable little ideologue. Then I got a job teaching guitar, and met good people who didn’t agree with me. With a squint of the eyes, and a shrug of the shoulders, I assumed that they had good hearts despite being so warped between the ears. Boy was I the one mushy about the head.

An election that didn’t go my way was hard enough, but then the reality set in:

Hey, it’s these losers that caused this.

That’s a dangerous thought. I wanted to fix that.

Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind–Why Good People are Divided By Politics and Religion found it’s way to my desk around that time, and forever changed me for the better.

I saw that squinting and ignoring differences wasn’t necessary. I got to know people a little better, and to truly hear their ideas. They forced me to think. Much to my utter astonishment, I’ve done a 180 on my opinion over the past decade.

It probably won’t happen to you. But at the very least, it’ll make your neighbor more understandable, more tolerable.

I’ll never tell you how to vote. I might disagree with how you do, but that’s your business.

Again, I reject the idea that half of the country is my enemy. In my effort of rejection of that idea, I’m pushing back by sharing some of Haidt’s good work on how we think.

Elephants and Riders

Here’s a quick breakdown of his brilliant Elephants and Riders metaphor:

Moral Roots

He elaborates on the moral bases of liberals and conservatives in this excellent TED talk. (Dig the shoutout to Charlottesville and Lynchburg.) My liberal friends won’t like some of his ideas. My conservative friends might not dig others. Seems like a good place to start from. Things like this err…Restore America To Proper Bearing…or something.

Seriously, it’s worth the watch.

Extra, Extra…

Read all about it. The Righteous Mind is a must-have on your bookshelf.

Thanks for writing it, Jonathan. It’s profoundly changed how I look at the world, and continues to ripple out in speeches, workshops, and conversations.

Buckle up, and read on, folks. Read on.

–Josh