2021-11-13 Summary

Chelsea Community Forum Summary for November 13, 2021

Approximately 12 people participated in the Chelsea Community Forum (CCF) via Zoom on November 13^th; World Kindness Day and Chelsea’s Civility Month. This discussion was not recorded.

The group discussed the book: “The Righteous Mind, Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion.” Authored by: Jonathan Haidt.

Mr. Rod Anderson provided a synopsis, and this encouraged further discussions surrounding the topic.

Briefly, Mr. Anderson noted that our inability to get along could be due to the techniques we employ when discussing difficult subjects and Mr. Haidt postulated that there are 6 paired moral blocks that are fundamental in supporting any culture’s moral decision-making processes. These are grouped as follows:

1) Care (sensitivity to suffering and needs) / Harm

2) Liberty (sensitivity to domination or attempted domination) / Oppression

3) Fairness (sensitivity to partner dynamics) / Cheating

4) Loyalty (sensitivity to team dynamics) / Betrayal

5) Authority (sensitivity to hierarchy and associated behaviors based upon hierarchy) / Subversion

6) Sanctity (sensitivity to symbolism and its ability to bind individuals to a group) / Degradation

Mr. Haidt studied how these fundamental blocks were present in Libertarians, Progressives, and Social Conservatives and found that Progressives’ most sacred value is: Care. The most sacred value for Libertarians’ is: Liberty. The Social Conservatives’ most sacred value is evenly divided among: Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity.

Based upon these fundamental building blocks, Mr. Haidt suggests that until we understand the moral fundamentals of each group, we will be prone to misunderstandings.

One participant suggested that we are not as different as Mr. Haidt believes and our differences are more a matter of the 2-party political system that accentuates and manipulates our differences. Our moral values should not be politicized.

The group acknowledged an appreciation of the discussion and one participant noted that Mr. Haidt’s construction was but one way to look at the world and noted that these traits were fluid and we move thru these different domains during our lives like a pendulum or a “Yin-Yang” flowing between for example, care and authority. Another member highlighted that in Dr. Haidt’s research, these foundational moral considerations are actually reasons that we, as human beings, construct to justify why we decided the way we did.

Others noted that we are shaped by our environment and acknowledged the possibility of being manipulated by the political class. An example was provided regarding the use of propaganda and the manipulation of women in the 1920s to publicly smoke cigarettes, by marketing them as “Torches of Freedom,” playing off women’s desire for liberation and emancipation from the male dominated culture in which they lived.

Other books mentioned:

“Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence” Karen Armstrong

“Thinking, Fast and Slow” Daniel Kahneman

“Propaganda” Edward Bernays

The next Chelsea Community Forum is scheduled for December 11^th at 9 AM. It will be a Coffee Klatch or the Hour of Power; so bring a cup of your favorite beverage and a piece of leftover Pumpkin Pie and gather in close to the fire as we discuss the things that have caught our attention over the last month. A peaceful Thanksgiving to everybody.

The CCF is open to all with an interest in the affairs of the Chelsea School District area and meets the 2nd Saturday of every month at 9:00 AM, currently on Zoom. The meeting link can be found on the Forum’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/chelseamiforum/home and is advertised through the Chelsea Update newsletter.