For many people, the world feels more polarized than ever.
Two friends from Sandwich say it doesn’t have to be that way.
Jeanie Yaroch and Tim Mahoney led an online workshop Monday on depolarization, hosted by the Barnstable County Human Rights Advisory Commission.
People can learn to communicate better across differences, Yaroch said in an interview before the workshop.
She said one thing to understand is that the “red” and “blue” sides of American politics each have their own moral reasoning.
If individuals can understand why they are red or blue, “then we can have a conversation about our moral reasoning, rather than fighting over an issue or a policy,” she said.
Each side uses its own terminology. One side’s terms can be off-putting to the other, and that gets in the way of dialogue, she said.
For example, liberals use terms like “social justice," she said.
“They're not really adjusting their language. … So when they try and have these conversations across the political divide, it's very difficult to get ‘reds’ to come to the table,” she said.
Yaroch teaches communication at Cape Cod Community College.
She said when language feeds stereotypes, it can make two sides seem more polarized than they are. And polarization oversimplifies conflicts — among people and among nations.
