THE CHRISTIAN POST: THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT AND LEFT FIND COMMON GROUND ON POVERTY
Christians on the right and left tend to distance themselves from one another. Oftentimes, the decision of which place of worship to attend depends mostly on the political leanings of the congregation. However, recently The Poverty Forum, a group of 18 diverse Christian leaders with expertise in poverty initiatives and policy reform, brought together a diverse group from the Democrat and Republican camps to discuss the problem of poverty in American–recognized as a issue to prioritize by both sides.
Question to the Blogosphere: Often we hear about differences among religions that cause strife, but how do differences within religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam affect internal security and community unity? What other issues can most Christians agree on (for that matter most Jews or most Muslims)? What characteristics of poverty make it an issue upon which many people can agree? Are there other issues like this?
FOREIGN POLICY: ALL ABOARD THE RECONCILIATION TRAIN WITH THE PALESTINIANS
Marc Lynch’s new Foreign Policy article investigates the recent meetings between different leaders of the Palestinians including Hamas political bureau leader Khaled Meshaal and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas. Lynch predicts the different outcomes possible as a result of the meetings.
Question to the Blogosphere: Is finding common ground always a good thing? Should Fatah and Hamas be negotiating or should Fatah be distancing itself from the more radical Hamas group in order to maintain legitimacy? Of the different outcomes suggested by Lynch, which one do you think is most likely?
THE JAKARTA POST: YEARLY RECONCILIATION IN SEMPER BARAT, NORTH JAKARTA
The first Sunday of every new year, after church, people of Kampung Tugu, gather at a house of a respected elderly to hold a new year celebration called ‘mandi-mandi’. They say mandi-mandi is a Portuguese word meaning “to forgive each other”. About 300 members of the Tugu community smeared each other’s face with a light brown powder. It is their way of saying, “let there be no adversity in our hearts”.
Question to the Blogosphere: Do iterated apologies lead to continued reconciliation? Do these rituals keep the memory of the past alive? Is that a good thing? Can you think of other cases where this type of behavior has been successful? Does culture matter in determining the success of these sorts of efforts? For example, would this work in Germany?
The RU-486 abortion pill has made waves in the debate over abortion. But as the excitement or outrage dies down, is it possible to discover common ground between pro-life and pro-choice constituents?
Question to the Blogosphere: What common interests do pro-life and pro-choice constituents have? How might abortion policy change under the Obama administration? How is the conflict over abortion like other conflicts? What specific characteristics make it unique?
AL-JAZEERA ENGLISH RESEARCH PROJECT: MEDIATING CONFLICT: AL-JAZEERA ENGLISH AND THE POSSIBILITY OF CONCILIATORY MEDIA
As one commenter noted on this blog last week, the Al-Jazeera English Research Project, in conjunction with scholars Mohammed el-Nawawy of the School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte and Shawn Powers of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, have analyzed the impact of media on reconciliation efforts. Media outlets like CNN and Al-Jazeera are becoming actors in international conflict. The increase in the number of media outlets has allowed people to choose the network that best complement their own personal opinions and beliefs. This could reenforce pre-existing attitudes and opinions–stifling the search for common ground. Al Jazeera English has attempted to create a forum for cross-cultural communications. The scholarly article includes some interesting conclusions from the authors’ research:
1. Al-Jazeera English viewers found it to function as a “conciliatory media,” which is a media that is more likely to cover contentious issues in a way that contributes to creating an environment that is more conducive to cooperation, negotiation and reconciliation.
2. The more months viewers had been watching AJE, the less dogmatic they were in their thinking.
3. Viewers tune into international news for affirmation rather than information.
The Common Ground Blog encourages its visitors to read the document and provide their own feedback and opinions. How has the media hindered or helped negotiations in the past? Has the media been instrumental in bringing people together or tearing them apart?
