"America in One Room" study has vital clues to healing our democracy

This study highlights vital information about politics in our country today:

https://www.nytimes.com/…/…/america-one-room-experiment.html - study shows that polarized Americans moderate their views after a weekend of information and discussion with people of other views.

https://www.nytimes.com/…/these-526-voters-represent-americ… - the same study, highlighting how discussions built trust in democracy and empathy.

Having studied civics education in U.S. high schools and its various effects on how people interact with democracy as adults, I can see how these studies point towards useful, healing ideas. Starting at a young age, we can empower classrooms to hold thoughtful discussion with complex issues and compromise-heavy decision-making as a model for a healthy democratic society. As we grow into adults, we can strengthen our skepticism-muscle for sound-bite media, quick-fixes, and vilification of the "other side". As creators, customers, and citizens, we can work towards healthier and more ethical products in media, entertainment, and technology - leveraging our dollars, our labor, our vote, activism, lobbying, nonprofit missions, word-of-mouth, and many kinds of financial, political, and social pressure.

Are you worried about the damage of divided, antagonistic politics? Then wading out of the deep end of our sound-bite-driven media is likely part of the solution. The shore may seem far away, but the only way to get there is to turn in the right direction, keep our heads above water, and keep going.

There's bad news, and there's good news about our current way of life

"There’s good news, and there’s bad news. The bad news: civilization, as we know it, is about to end. Now, the good news: civilization, as we know it, is about to end."

I feel a powerful tension when I consider the globally critical issue of climate change right now, in 2019. I can think of few issues where human beings hold the fate of so many other human beings in our hands. The only one more immediate, catastrophic, and precarious could be nuclear proliferation, where the actions of so few could so drastically affect the suffering of so many, so quickly. In the case of environmental activism, the changes are longer, slower, of a more epic scale - until, of course, they too become immediate, catastrophic, and impossible to ignore.

We are in this very moment - and perhaps in the moment that has just passed us by - saying goodbye to our chances at keeping something resembling our current way of life. We have missed opportunities to make gradual adjustments and less painful transitions. We have opted out of global agreements and made our collective action problems worse. There is a deep tension at letting go of the familiar and the comfortable, and a wrenching sadness at the suffering we have caused, are causing, and will cause. We are seeing crises of food, water, disasters and conflicts, refugee and migrant movement around the globe, worsened by human-influenced climate change.

Yet at the same time, this painful point comes with an inevitable, creative force behind it. We must say goodbye to our current way of life: we must start a new one. We have missed opportunities for gradual change: we will change anyway. We have struggled with collective action: yet we can never really opt out of being here, on this planet, together, and sharing one other's fate. In letting go of the familiar and comfortable, becoming unmoored, we must trust that we can reach something new. There is no more gentle coaxing, unfortunately; we are facing crises now. Yet as long as there is a "we" to have a perspective, hope is the only one to choose: there is no future for us without it. There is no possible way out of this mess that includes us giving up as step one.

The bad news is, this is the end of civilization as we know it. The good news is, this is the end of civilization as we know it, and I expect the failed selfishness, isolationism, short-term thinking, and callousness that got it to this painful point must go with it.

There once was a good king choosing an heir

There once was a good king who wanted to ensure that there was an heir to his kingdom. He didn't have any children, and he was growing old. But being a democratic type, a kind of egalitarian, he decided that he would invite anybody who was interested in the job to come to the kingdom. in order to really make it equal, before they were to come up and be interviewed for the job, he provided an amazing wardrobe room for everyone to choose from. Everyone could wear whatever they wanted to wear; no one was going to be shown up as less than someone else; they could appear as their best.

So the great day arrived, and a huge stream of people came through the gates, excited by the idea of being king or queen. The king and his minister were waiting patiently in the upper chambers as people first enjoyed the bathhouses, then enjoyed special perfumes if they chose, then the dress and the jewelry. Of course, the king didn't want them to go hungry as they waited, so they were graciously supplied: all the food that they might like. All the people were milling around, flirting, admiring themselves, and also criticizing. And again, the king didn't want them to go bored, so they were also enjoying puzzles, games, and so on.

Hours went by. The king and the minister wondered why no one came up. They could hear the sound of people having fun, fighting and playing and the whole deal.

Finally, it got quiet. The king sent the minister down. When he came back, he reported that sadly, everyone had left - and they had taken the remainder of the food, the clothing, and the jewelry. They were full, they were tired, and they forgot why they came.

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This is a story about us. Every day - maybe every hour. We forget why we're really here. But every moment is an opportunity to ask ourselves and remember.

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- from a talk by Tara Brach, "Realizing Your Deepest Intention", dharmaseed.org

Anne's list of things I'm Grateful For, 2018

What if Facebook was designed by Buddhists?

What if our apps were designed by Buddhists?

I don't mean just meditation apps or mindfulness apps. You might consider how odd it would be if Christian programmers were only concerned with Bible verse apps. What if what we aimed for, in designing our everyday technology, were to embody and promote values of leading a meaningful life?

In reality, our apps are already designed by teams of religious and secular ethical people - people who care about health, a meaningful life, families, making the world a better place, and long-term human good. But those values are rarely framed as the value to optimize. Deep customer needs are not often the customer needs that we set out to solve, with teams of considerable talents and skill.

But they can be - and sometimes are. How we frame the problem and present the choices has an immense influence on what we do, as designers know. If we frame technology "merely" as entertainment, it can be an uphill battle to go deep. The movie and video game industry can attest to this, as over the decades they've struggled to craft meaningful messages, seek to raise values other than laughter, comfort, relaxation, etc., and be recognized for deeper artistic or cultural value.

If we frame technology as "merely" tools of convenience and consumerism - with efficiency, sales, quarterly growth, or leisure as the ultimate values - it can be an uphill battle to re-frame it to seek other values.

If we were to design, from scratch, a tool for universal communication and access to knowledge, that we would be proud to give to our 6-year-old nephew, what would it look like? What choices would it promote? What choices would it take off the table?

How could I create settings options that made it easy, by default, for my friends and neighbors to manage their time and interact in the way I'd want to see in my ideal world? And of course, proactively made it much harder for malicious actors to cause harm through hate, ignorance, or greed?

How could I do my part to help all my friends and families who want to make healthier choices, get outside, take meaningful political action? Escape cycles of anxiety, worry, and distraction that leave them not feeling well?

What if the next way we connect was designed with these concerns not as an afterthought, or a side note, but as the mission and vision underlying all of our work?

I think we're seeing the demand for this kind of work begin to be answered. I can't wait to explore what we'll do next.