A Culture of Dialogue Is Foundational to Democracy

The skill to have dialogue across our differences is crucial for a shared national identity built on the values of democracy. Embracing democratic values can help us recognize our shared humanity and all the ways in which we are more similar than different.

The Fall 2024 Learning for Justice magazine focused on the importance of dialogue in creating opportunities to reach across our differences and to engage and understand one another. Two magazine articles, “Dialogue Across Difference” by Brandon Haas and “The Promise of Building Bridges” by Maia Ferdman and Felicia Graham, examined the role of dialogue and offered models. This learning journey summarizes key points of the two articles in addressing the questions: What is dialogue across difference? How is dialogue foundational to democracy? 

What Is Dialogue Across Difference?

Dialogue can be defined as engagement in shared conversation and inquiry, involving deeply listening to one another to understand and “build bridges.”

Dialogue across differences focuses on intentional opportunities to enter into shared inquiry with others who hold different identities, backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to develop understanding of one another, thereby opening ourselves to listening with the mutual goal of learning. 

Consider the following key concepts for dialogue across difference:

• Unlike debate — in which opposing perspectives on a topic are defended to convince others of a particular viewpoint — dialogue is a joint effort that honors participants’ diverse experiences and perspectives.
• The heart of dialogue is not in speaking to convince but rather in active listening and questioning to understand one another.
• Dialogue across difference is not simply for one person to change their beliefs; instead, dialogue focuses on growth and progress through newfound understanding of others.
• Having dialogue engages people with the stories of others as they listen and learn about different experiences, fostering emotional connections.
• Identities and experiences determine our positionality to social issues and ideas. Engaging participants from across various parts of the community is essential.
• Since difference does not solely occur across the political aisle but also within our own in-groups, we should equally commit to dialogue about differences with our allies to better understand how we can jointly address problems.
• Combined, intra- and intergroup dialogue helps people to recognize the interconnections necessary for understanding through dialectical thinking — holding contradictory ideas and multiple perspectives.

How Is Dialogue Foundational to Democracy?

“Values connect us as a society, even when the particulars of how society operates differ. These differences, and the imperative to have dialogue about civic life, are fundamental to democratic society.” 
— from “What Are the Values of Democracy?”

In a democracy, government should serve the needs of everyone. This is “both a commitment and a challenge, because within the collective whole there are diverse experiences and perspectives to be heard and respected if they do not cause harm to others — a concept known as pluralism.” Pluralistic systems of political parties, organizations and media are essential for democracy to thrive because differing perspectives are a central feature of democracy. 

Understanding that pluralism is a core feature of the democratic process underscores how dialogue and the goal of building bridges across our differences are foundational to democracy. 

• Dialogue can serve as a marker of “intrinsic equality” or the assumption that the good of all human beings is fundamentally equal, according to political scientist Robert A. Dahl.
• Within groups, learning and consensus-building can lead to stronger decisions because, as political scientist Diana Mutz points out, it familiarizes them with legitimate rationales of opposing views, and it normalizes political difference as part of the democratic process.
• Political tolerance is about the ways that people agree to disagree. However, understanding that there are political differences does not mean acceptance of injustice nor validation of hate and bias.
• Dialogue skills address differences in direct and respectful ways, centering the ability to engage in and facilitate difficult conversations and handle conflict.
• Differences in power dynamics and structural hierarchies cannot be ignored as we seek to understand one another. The reality of these unequal structures and the history of injustice needs to be integral to the consideration of how we engage in and facilitate dialogue.
• Dialogue across difference and on critical topics allows conversations around issues of injustice and inequality so that we can strive for a more just and democratic society.

Political and social issues often challenge deeply rooted beliefs and perspectives that are tied to our identities, experiences and backgrounds. Dialogue across difference can move us beyond our comfort zones and help us to learn about others’ perspectives and experiences. Developing a culture of dialogue to bridge differences can have a range of aims and outcomes, including:

• Deepened intellectual engagement with difficult concepts and increased critical thinking skills to become more nimble, flexible and thoughtful problem-solvers.
• Added nuance to discourse and broadened understanding, especially on topics that often lead to polarization.
• investigation of why people are so divided on various political issues rather than make assumptions about others’ moral character.
• Improved dialectical thinking skills, helping us examine opposing or contradictory ideas and face complicated or even unanswerable problems with greater resilience.
• Increased empathy and an environment where everyone can show up as their full selves, feel seen and connect with one another more authentically.
• Creation of shared group norms that everyone buys into, and strengthened ability to share perspectives openly and invest in intentional relationship-building.
• Improved ability to effectively address and resolve conflict.
• Improved decision-making for leaders as they learn to incorporate the considerations and expertise of diverse constituencies.

As Margaret Huang, the SPLC’s president and CEO, explained in a 2023 Q&A: “The values at the heart of a multiracial, inclusive democracy are freedom of expression and assembly and authentic representation of the communities our democracy serves. The leaders we elect should not just hold office to put forward their own interests but to meaningfully advance the interests of everyone in their jurisdiction.” 

The ability to dialogue is essential for there to truly be authentic representation of our communities and across our nation. Our leaders in a democracy must be held accountable to their responsibility to serve everyone within their jurisdiction, whether it be a town, state or the entire nation — not merely one constituency and their supporters. And dialogue across differences can help to remind us of the shared democratic values that are a cornerstone of our national identity.

A National Problem: Polarization Harms Society

Polarization is toxic to democracy and limits us — as individuals, organizations and nations — in our ability to respond to the critical needs of today. The current political and social polarization of our society — the increasing divisive movements away from the center — can affect our ability to communicate and understand one another. 

• Polarized discourse often oversimplifies complex issues, masking difficult concepts in two-dimensional ways that can make it difficult to recognize or consider how these issues impact diverse individuals or groups in different ways.
• Increasing polarization across our nation, and local communities, means that we often find ourselves in “echo chambers” in which we are only exposed to those who share our perspectives. This can lead us to vilify those viewed as “the other.” Social media and, indeed, other forms of polarized media, can exacerbate this echo chamber effect and further divide us.

Polarization harms our society in many ways, including:

• Viewing those who hold different political or social opinions as threats and questioning one another’s humanity.
• Increase in implicit and explicit acts of hate and bias.
• Active dislike and even fear of the perceived “other” — this “affective polarization” is not based on engagement or knowledge, but rather on distorted, generalized or caricatured views of a perceived “other.”
• Deterioration of trust and an extreme divisiveness between opposing “sides” that in turn breeds organizational, civic and communal dysfunction.
• Intractable disagreement at the national level, which grinds the gears of government to a halt.
• Erosion of public trust in one another and in democratic processes and institutions.
• Increase in the potential for political violence.
• Deterioration of our individual and communal well-being.
• Retreat from the public sphere (according to legal scholar Norm Spaulding), in which people remain silent and disengage from public discourse due to fears of saying the wrong thing, expressing controversial ideas or being canceled by their peers.
• Anti-inclusive legislative efforts that create hostile environments for targeted groups and serve the agenda of those who wish to cling to power at the expense of our democracy.

Embracing democratic values and the ability to have dialogue across differences can counter the toxic effects of polarization — in our communities and across the nation. Understanding the values of a pluralistic society fosters respect for diversity so “the spectrum of experiences and worldviews can peacefully coexist for the common good.” 

Through dialogue and a shared national identity founded in democratic values, we can connect with others who have different beliefs, lifestyles and cultures and learn more as we share this world together.