From Polarization to Dignity
By: Tom Rosshirt
As they do each December, Merriam-Webster recently announced its word of the year. “Polarization” is the selection for 2024, which their dictionary defines as “division into two sharply distinct opposites.”
The choice is based on the number of searches for the word in the online dictionary, and thus, as reporter Sonja Anderson writes, the word “offers a glimpse into the ideas that are gaining traction in American culture.”
Of course, people who searched the online source were able to find a definition of polarization, but they were not able to find an explanation of why polarization intensified so much that it became the word of the year.
That explanation is our job at the Dignity Index.
As you likely know by now, we believe that polarization and division do not come from uncontrollable global forces, or the rise of social media or the decline of institutions. Polarization doesn’t even come from our disagreements. It comes from treating each other with contempt when we disagree.
Of course, it is true that certain conditions make us more likely to use contempt. When we’re in emotional pain, it is very difficult not to seek someone to blame and to treat them with contempt. Separation is another condition that invites contempt. When someone is a member of our group, we pay a high price for treating them with contempt, so we tend to express our pain by treating “outsiders” with contempt. A third set of conditions that encourage contempt are the social and economic rewards we get for it -- money, fame, power or belonging.
In the United States this year, we saw rising levels of all three conditions that encourage contempt – high rates of emotional pain, high levels of political separation, and high rewards for using contempt. All these contribute to polarization and the contempt that drives it.
But there is one powerfully hopeful insight we have about polarization: There is an antidote – and it is to treat people with dignity when we disagree.
Of course, it’s hard to treat people with dignity when we’re living in a culture of contempt – and we can tell what culture we’re in by what’s rewarded. If I get rewarded for treating others with contempt, then I’m living in a culture of contempt. If I get stature for treating others with dignity, then I’m living in a culture of dignity.
We know that our politics today are shaped by the culture of contempt, but each one of us has the ability to create a sub-culture of dignity. No matter what happens in politics, on cable news, on social media – we can agree with our family members, our friends, our colleagues at work that we will treat each other with dignity, even if we disagree.
It might seem a long way off – but if we can each create a tiny subculture of dignity, millions of subcultures can mount a powerful challenge to the larger culture of contempt.
In June of 1966, Bobby Kennedy made a trip to South Africa, where the government refused to welcome him, and its ministers refused to meet with him. Yet the Black residents rushed to greet him. At the University of Cape Town, in perhaps his most famous speech, he said:
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
Numberless acts of dignity – creating numberless dignity subcultures – also send out tiny ripples of hope, with the same powerful, reinforcing effect – leading, we hope, to a time, not far off, where the tide changes, where contempt backfires, where the culture shifts, and the dictionaries in the United States announce in December that the word of the year, for that year, is “Dignity.”
Tom
The Eight Days of Dignity
Our amazing team member, Alicia Burke, wrote this delightful take on "The 12 Days of Christmas." 🎄🎁
Each 'day' reflects the journey from contempt to dignity in relationships—perfect for spreading some holiday cheer while reflecting on how we treat one another. (Plus, it’s a creative and fun way to explore the Dignity Index scale!)
How might you bring a little more dignity into your own 'eight days' this season?! 🎶
“Find the Stories of Dignity”
The Dignity Movement Update
Another fantastic week for the Dignity Team! Tami was back in Utah meeting with members of the Bear River Health Department, discussing how to use the Dignity Index to build more collaborative relationships.
And the Dignity Ambassadors wrapped up their week with a holiday party, which featured a special Zoom appearance by Tom! We’re grateful for Preston Brightwell and the Ambassadors and the amazing work they do! A big shout-out to David, Alexa, Ira, Maddie, and Steven!
