I was recently biking on my favorite wooded trail, listening to the podcasts listed below. Pulling my bike to a quick stop, I immediately ordered a copy of the book The Persuaders.
The author brings serious hope (and actions) toward a more inclusive society. Not the plastic-y, false, glossy hope that feels good for a moment and is tossed into the trash with the next example of racial inequity, violent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, or organizations that posted inclusive commitments in 2020 but haven't followed through.
The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy, by Anand Giridharadas, describes our penchant for writing each other off in general and especially when working for justice and equity.
“The tendency to write [each other] off is rooted in the assumption that differences of identity are unbridgeable, that people are too invested in their privileges and interests to change. That the failure to achieve change in the past predicts failure in the future, that people and their opinions are monolithic and strong rather than complicated and fragile, and therefore the purpose of politics is to protect yourself from Others, ‘capital O, Others,’ and galvanize your own, instead of trying to reach across.”
In Part 1 and Part 2 of the interviews with Anand Giridharadas on Unlocking Us, the author wants to help "us to build movements and spaces, and a pro-democracy, pro-human rights, pro-justice cause that is big and boisterous and self-confident enough to take in anybody on any stage of the journey and educate them in the movement."
Many of you are leaders working in teams that want to build onramps to the superhighway for political, social, and economic change. I hope this book and these podcasts are onramps for us all.
Once my book arrives, might you be interested in joining a virtual book study with me?
Fellow leaders and learners, I wish you courage and resilience for the journey.