The San Diego-based National Conflict Resolution Center is hosting best-selling author and Washington Post columnist Arthur C. Brooks in an online forum to discuss perceived polarization in America on Feb. 11 at 5 p.m.
Organizers across San Diego County held dozens of Black Lives Matter-associated police brutality protests between June and October with hundreds of participants, including one where 22-year- old organizer Nick Martin included information on election measures issued from the steps of the Chula Vista Police Department building, deliberately designed to focus on the importance of voting.
Center President Steven Dinkin, who will be leading a question-and-answer session after Brooks’ keynote speech, said our country has become increasingly polarized and remains so even in the aftermath of the recent election.
“The 2020 presidential election is over, but the learning has just begun,” Dinkin said.
In his book “Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt,” Brooks said although we may not ultimately agree on every issue, we can still come to understand one another.
“We may disagree — we should disagree — over how best to achieve safety, prosperity and happiness for the most people, and we should compete over the best way to help all people build better lives. To do so, however, we must maintain the shared objectives and moral core around which a true competition of ideas should radiate,” Brooks wrote.
Dinkin said our country has become increasingly polarized and remains so even in the aftermath of the recent election.
“As misinformation perpetuates and tensions continue to run high, we have to consider how we got to such a divisive and tumultuous point as a country. More importantly, we must look for ways to move forward and this is why I am looking forward to hosting Arthur Brooks, who has raised serious considerations for how we can overcome a ‘culture of contempt’ and heal a deeply divided United States.”
Visit www.ncrcevents.com for more information or to register for the free event.
