Civility and beyond
October 21, 2021 |
I had reason recently to attend a school board meeting, my second or third in the past two decades. A child I know was being recognized.It wasn’t anything like I had remembered. Standing room only. Uniformed police officers at the door. Cold looks between neighbors whose t-shirts and bare or covered faces announced their motives for attending.
This won’t surprise you. It’s hardly even news anymore when our local elected officials and so many others find themselves targets of demonizing accusations, threats, and worse.
How might we navigate such days, let alone make progress to dismantle systems of racism and injustice? What might we, as members of a Jesuit Catholic university, especially contribute? How might we prepare our students for such a world?
And is civility part of the answer? Good question.
I was heartened this week to learn that the fall edition of Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education contains multiple voices from across the AJCU on “Ignatian antiracism” and the question of civility – not to mention a great piece by our own Sean Rhiney on co-learning in the community.
The authors don’t entirely agree with one another. All the more, I commend to you their brief articles.
You’re awfully busy, I know. So let me recommend one pair of two-page articles:
- “The Trouble with Civility” by Alex Zamalin (UD Mercy), echoing his 2021 book, now on my reading list; and
- “Imagine Civility as a Tool of Compassion,” by Gwendoline M. Alphonso (Fairfield), in part responding to Zamalin
Zamolin and Alphonso left me with new questions, such as whether we should (or even can) conduct ourselves differently in public and private (and campus?) spheres, and how “civic radicalism” or “feminist care-based theory” might look in practice.
We have hard work, tough thinking, and many important decisions ahead. Plus more than a few missteps, I’m sure.
I’m glad that the AJCU is engaging this work, even arguing that our Jesuit Catholic universities are uniquely placed for it. That conversation continues, for instance with a panel-discussion webinar, “Practicing Reconciliation,” on November 8.
I also take encouragement from our brave and thoughtful Xavier colleagues, from whom and with whom I intend to keep learning – those who have experimented with new models of public discourse in our community, who are leading our Take It On initiative, who host teach-ins against anti-Black violence, who foster challenging class discussions, and who are unafraid to call out misinformation whenever and wherever they encounter it. Not to mention those courageous enough to serve on school boards!
