If You Could Help Ease the Divisions in America, Would You Do It?
Our disagreements aren’t causing the divisions in our country; it’s what we do when we disagree. Do we treat the other side with dignity, or do we treat them with contempt? The first brings us together; the second drives us apart. The Dignity Index shows us the difference.
The Dignity Index scores distinct phrases along an eight-point scale from contempt to dignity. Lower scores (1-4) reflect divisive language while higher scores (5-8) reflect language grounded in dignity.
The Dignity Index is designed to ease divisions, prevent violence, and solve problems.
They’re not even human. It’s our moral duty to destroy them before they destroy us.
Those people are evil and they’re going to ruin everything if we let them. It’s us or them.
We’re the good people and they’re the bad people. It’s us vs. them.
We’re better than those people. They don’t really belong. They’re not one of us.
The other side has a right to be here and a right to be heard. They belong here too.
We always talk to the other side, searching for the values and interests we share.
We fully engage with the other side, discussing even values and interests we don’t share, open to admitting mistakes or changing our minds.
Each one of us is born with inherent worth, so we treat everyone with dignity—no matter what.
