Smith - Remaking the Space Between Us

Diane McLain Smith offers discerning analysis and real hope for how to heal the vicious partisanship that has overtaken America in her Remaking the Space Between Us: How Citizens Can work Together to Build a Future for All (2024). Hope is possible, even in the face of the divisiveness of the 2024 federal election. The fact is that 87% of the general population comprise the center of a more flexible and pragmatic citizenry. The other 13% are far out on either end of the political spectrum yet they exert an outsized voice in political discourse, and we give them undue attention in the media.

Smith's proposition goes back to two human potentialities that have served us well as we evolved - cooperation and competition. The problem is that these natural tendencies have very different outcomes. "At this state in our evolution, cooperation and empathy are much more likely to flourish within groups while competition, even hate, is much more likely to break out across groups" (p. 3). We are drawn together inside groups and driven apart between groups. "81 Percent of Americans believe the resulting divisions pose a greater threat to our future than foreign nations" (p. 8). The way out of this is deliberating to identify shared purpose that transcends different identities, life experiences, politics, and results in a new national identity coming out of a more interdependent way of being.

Many Americans, both conservative and liberal, recognize Donald Trump as a purveyor, if not the originator, of contemporary inter-group complaint. By catering to disaffected and disappointed citizens, billionaire Trump drew a significant number of middle and struggling class white citizens into his MAGA movement by making them feel that they were part of the golden toilet class. In Heather McGhee's analysis (The Sum of Us, 2021), give someone who is struggling someone else to look down on, and loyalty is not only secured but almost guaranteed. This strategy relies on a belief that "Some groups are innately better or lesser than others"... and "One group's gain must come at another's expense" (p. 28).

Imagining something better and committing to make it possible is the place to start remaking the space between us. Robert Putnam's Upswing (2020) cites times in U.S. history when citizens came together to create a more compassionate society and the question remains, are we on the cusp of a swing toward a new better self? The swing is dependent on embracing another evolutionary stage where cooperation across groups is fostered even when biases, values, and different life experiences tend to separate us. Smith recounts examples of such swings taking place - responsiveness to immigration in Lewiston, Maine, election reform such as fusion or ranked-choice voting, the compassionate response after the Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh, the Braver Angels debate initiate, and engaging communities in restorative storytelling. In these and other examples it only took one cross-group friend, which led to increased receptivity to ideas not considered before, and a commitment to pursue more.

Vaclav Havel's admonition that, "Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope" (p. 127) is an insight to employ for those who seek to remake the space between us. The headwinds we face include the decline of investigative journalism and migration to profit-driven national and social media, politicians who drive extreme positions to capture the headlines, disinformation and misinformation, and our own biases reinforced by social media echo chambers. The potential to turn these around is in activating the peripheral majority, encouraging them to engage others, and showing up where conflict is present or is likely to emerge. Navigation in conflict-ridden situations requires a commitment to 1) refuse to simplify and face complexity, 2) explore what happened and cast a wide net, 3) make sense of conflicting accounts, 4) explore options with others, 5) make a decision, explain the reasoning, and acknowledge other views, 6) be patient in waiting for a response, and 7) reflect on mistakes and continue to learn (pp. 159-163). From the Valedictory speech in 2022 of an Upstate NY high school senior, "Having hope is never stupid. No matter how buried it gets or how lost you feel, you must hold on to hope, keep it alive. We have to be greater than what we suffer" (p. 174).

El Sistema - transforming lives through music

Cultivating leadership of all types and including under-resourced and stressed communities is key to shared prosperity across the world. As climate change, economic inequality, and political polarization become increasingly visible through social media, empowering leadership from all places and people will have to be undertaken with sincerity for the good of all.

El Sistema, begun in 1995 by Jose Antonio Abreu, is fostering a youth music revolution. Abreu's vision was to introduce music education among Venezuelan children as a way of buoying hope and lifting them out of poverty. The TedTalk featuring Abreau, describing his purpose and its unfolding impact, is startling in its simplicity as well as the difference being made in Venezuela, the U.S.A., and elsewhere.

The devastating exodus of tens of thousands of Venezuelans to the U.S.A. has created political polarization about "the border" that was substantially responsible for Donald Trump's election as President in 2016 and threatens to bring his return in 2024. That exodus is seen very graphically in Chicago and includes heart-rending stories of survival both on the path and after arrival. As the documentary "Desde cero: The migrant journey in Chicago" demonstrates, Venezuelans are seeking a better life and are risking everything for the opportunity to be free and productive.

We had the opportunity to see Gustavo Dudamel, a product of El Sistema and prominent world conductor, direct the National Children's Symphony of Venezuela at Ravinia this last week. The performance of 170 children ages 10-17 of classical Latin American music as well as Shostakovich's Symphony #5 was stunning. It was almost inconceivable that they were able to perform at such a highly proficient and artistic level. The following day we witnessed the open rehearsal of Dudamel with the Children's Symphony of Venezuela coupled with El Sistema youth from Chicago. The rehearsal was of Sibelius' "Finlandia," a piece that was composed to celebrate Finish pride in the face of the Soviet threat of the early 20th century. At one point in the rehearsal, Dudamel explained the sequential emergence of the main theme first in the woodwinds and then in the strings as the proud voices of two countries. The theme is both proud and yearning for fuller expression - much like the aspiration of Venezuelan citizens who now find themselves in the U.S.A. but mourning the loss of culture and family.

In closing the rehearsal, Maestro Dudamel offered high praise by saying "you are not the future... you are the present" to the young musicians who had been enthralled in the exploration of music for one and a half hours. This was hard work requiring focus, patience, and perseverance. These youth were healed from whatever gaps that might have emerged out of a lack of resources, and they were bound in common purpose - recognizing each other's worth and making incredible music together!

Glaude - We are the leaders we have been looking for

We are the leaders we have been looking for (Glaude, 2024) asserts a belief that many leadership scholars and educators have advocated for years - expanding leadership capacity by cultivating leadership in everyone is essential to tackling the challenges we face. Glaude's focus is on the empowerment of African Americans in righting the wrongs of slavery but the principles are applicable to any organization or system of oppression. He asserts that while key figures of the civil rights movement such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X did much to improve the condition of African Americans in the U.S., moving beyond heroic figures is essential if systemic racism and inequality are ever to be eradicated.

"The ugliness of life is assumed, ascent has happened, and what matters is the insistence on flying anyway. You must maximize your gifts no matter the costs" (p. 1) is both jarring and hopeful. By the "ugliness of life" Glaude is referring to everything from slavery to overt discrimination, harsh parenting, and other challenges in life. In relation to racism, the evidence of the slow march to justice for people of all races has, and presently does, include moments of elation but it also includes the almost inevitable retribution that results from the fear and retaliation of those who perceive they are losing power. "You must maximize your gifts no matter the costs" reflects the necessity of rising above the assumptions, resistance, and persecution of one's oppressors.

Glaude's writing is eloquent and engaging and integrates multiple philosophical perspectives. John Dewey, the early 20th century education reformer, is cited as one of the most influential thinkers in advocating methods based on pragmatism, "an instrument of social improvement aimed principally at expanding democratic life" (p. 16) which could then unleash the imagination to solve human challenges. This pragmatism potentially replaces the expectation of prophetic or heroic figures who are deemed by virtue of their special gifts to have answers for social ills. Instead, Glaude calls for critical engagement in pursuit of what could be (imagination) and acting in the faith that change is possible. In his words, "Faith, then, can be understood as a tendency toward action and imagination as its central conduit" (p. 38).

In addition to challenging the place of prophetic figures, Glaude faults neoliberalism as a "particular way of life and governance that extends the market into the very idea of who we take ourselves to be" (p. 22). The neoliberal way of being reduces the focus on public good by lifting up the values of selfishness and greed as the path to individual fulfillment. By contrast, pragmatism empowered by imagination "opens us up to the wounds and joys of strangers, forging habits that enable us to be suspicious of actions that deny the dignity of our fellows" (p. 44). This opening up is the "politics of tending" that affirms the value of others and encourages receptivity to listening and empathizing with them.

The combination of recognizing the limits of heroism and the emptiness of neoliberalism that drives us apart rather than drawing us together opens the way to abandon the prophesy of others and instead cultivate dispositions among everyone that are required for true democratic life and leadership. The new dispositions include valuing the dignity and worth of all and having confidence in the sanctity of everyone to do good even in the face of evil. Ultimately, Glaude advocates "Black democratic perfectionism," nurtured through self-cultivation, informed by tending to self and others, and reimagining our world "in the context of a society shaped by the value gap that distorts and disfigures our characters" (p. 111). Generalizing beyond African Americans, Glaude suggests "The answer to the troubles in this country rests, as it always has, with the willingness of everyday people to fight for democracy" (p. 120).

Spain - al-Andalus

The al-Andalus region of Spain is extraordinary in its history and beauty. Our recent visit was a trip offered by our undergraduate alma mater, Colorado State University, with a central hotel stay in Antequera. From there we took day trips to Granada, Seville, Ronda, Cordoba, and Malaga, returning each evening without having to move hotels to enjoy a time of year that was ideal - May temperatures in the mid-70s, sunny days and cool nights, and early summer blossoms everywhere.

I read two books to prepare for the trip. The first was Ornament of the World and the second was The Alhambra. I won't recap either book, but I encourage you to read my summaries for background. The Alhambra was a must see on my bucket list and the primary motivation for choosing the trip. It is considered to be the best example of Moorish architecture with its complicated and exceptionally beautiful design. One can only imagine what it was like to see the Alhambra fully furnished with rugs, art, books, and ornamentation to match the extravagance of the architecture. The interesting issue is that, while the Alhambra is one of the most celebrated examples of the influence of Islam in Spain, it was not built until Islam's influence was actually in decline. As the author of The Alhambra indicated, it was a lament of the loss of the achievement for what al-Andalus had become while the rest of Europe huddled in the Dark Ages. There is so much to the Alhambra and it's hard to choose one image to represent its magnificence, however, the Court of the Lions pictured here literally took my breath away when I first walked into the space.

All of the cities we visited were a treat. Each was important on its own either in terms of history or the uniqueness of its setting. Besides Granada, where the Alhambra is, my two favorites were Ronda and Cordoba. Ronda is the second oldest city in Spain and spans a spectacular gorge in the mountains. It was also the first city to engage in bull fighting, a ritual that has become very controversial among Spanish citizens. Cordoba was founded by the Romans and the bridge into the city still serves as the major pedestrian access passage. Cordoba's Mosque is immense but it's not the size that is most notable but instead it's the fact that the original Mosque was eventually overtaken by Spanish Catholics who built a Baroque cathedral inside it.

The al-Andalus trip was rich and informative, partially the result of good local guides in each city but also because of the preparation for the journey. One of the many good fortunes in my life is that I didn't start traveling until 2005, which is when I started this blog. My travel in 2005 was an intentional experience in learning and teaching, firmly cultivating in me a desire to always prepare for travel, seek to be respectful of local cultures, and work very hard to not be the stereotypical browsing tourist checking off the boxes of "been there - done that." Travel is a privilege that carries a responsibility to prepare, show respect, and draw all the possible learning from the experience.

Al-Andalus is fascinating as an example of a time in history when Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived peacefully together. Perhaps it was the tone set by Abd Al-Rahman, the Muslim prince who fled Damascus when his family was slaughtered. When he unified disparate Muslim groups in the siege of Cordoba in 756 it became a moment in history where mutual needs and the desire to create new knowledge and innovation inspired those of different faiths to put aside their differences. Historians speculate about the why and how al-Andalus fell after only 300 years but there is no question that it stands as witness to the possibility that peaceful inter-faith existence can create a level of shared prosperity and creativity seldom matched in history.

Music illuminates

We are particularly privileged to live in the Chicago area and attend the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts on a regular basis. On April 6, 2024, we were lucky enough to have tickets in our season package of conductor Klaus Makela directing three pieces. The first piece was the U.S. premiere of Batteria by Zinovjev. The second was the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1. The finale, and one I will never forget, was the Shostakovich Symphony No. 10. WFMT, Chicago's classical radio station, provides background and on-demand recording of this momentous concert.

The reason the night was so momentous is that Klaus Makela had just days before been named to the highly coveted position of CSO Music Director. At the age of 28 Makela presently serves as the conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and as of 2027 he will serve both the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam and Chicago Symphony. The performance of the Shostakovich No. 10 was astounding, resulting in a loud roar at the conclusion and multiple curtain calls. Makela was humble, innovative, focused, and deeply prepared for the night and Chicago has many performances ahead that I know will be equally eventful.

The Shostakovich No. 10 is important because it was the first he would compose after the death of Stalin, who had repeatedly criticized and punished him during his music career. It is a profound example that "every piece of great art has two faces - one towards its own time and the other towards the future" (quote from esteemed conductor Daniel Barenboim). The Shostakovich No. 10 is the unleashing of desperation into possibility and, although dark in many of its orchestral colors, rises to a frenzied conclusion of optimism.

The audience response this night reflected what research indicates about music's power to synchronize. Subconsciously joining together, attendees at concerts begin to breath together and their heart beats align. The synchronization is even more common for attendees who are open to new experiences such as "art, travel, and exotic things," as reported by the researcher, Wolfgang Tschacher. Thank goodness that I've been blessed with an openness that is ready to align with others through great music.

The program notes for the night included a quote from memoirs that are attributed to Shostakovich - "Music illuminates a person through and through, and it is also his last hope and final refuge. And even half-mad Stalin, a beast and a butcher, instinctively sensed that about music. That's why he feared and hated it."

Rolheiser - The Holy Longing

If you follow my blog, you know that I read and devour experiences for new insights which results in my posts being all over the place. This summary of Ronald Rolheiser's The Holy Longing (2014) was read by a book group in my church and I became curious about it when several people commented on its relevance to today's world and the struggle for meaning that many people express. The book is coming from a religious perspective but I see many of the ideas that are advocated as more broadly applicable to general spirituality and yearning for purpose in living.

The primary thesis of The Holy Longing is that humans by nature are drawn to search for meaning - the existential question of what's this all about and what is my purpose here? Rolheiser offers the opinion, "Spirituality is not something on the fringes, an option for people of a particular bent... We do not wake up in this world calm and serene, having the luxury of choosing to act or not act. We wake up crying, on fire with desire, with madness. What we do with that madness is our spirituality" (p. 6). He goes on to suggest that what counts in this innate spirituality is what we do with it - the habits and discipline with which we choose to live that either brings us closer together with others and nature itself or drives us apart. In a surprising twist for a book coming from a religiously-based author, he identified Mother Theresa, Janis Joplin, and Princess Diane as examples of different ways to seek connections to the ultimate - women whose lives were shaped by deep energy and zest for life who, without pursuing their passions, would have fallen apart or died.

Turning to a more practical application, Rolheiser referenced naivete about spiritual energy, pathological busyness, distraction, restlessness, and a lack of balance as essential impediments to the search for meaning. These distractions of the modern day drive us from each other, from community, and away from the healing that faith communities can foster. What then is the antidote? Referencing C.S. Lewis from Surprised by Joy, he says that "delight has to catch us unaware, a place where we are not rationalizing that we are happy" (p. 26). Those surprising moments are quite simply when we say to ourselves, "God, it feels great to be alive" (p. 26).

I've had these "it's great to be alive" moments and I cherish them, and the interesting thing is that I experience them more in my senior days than earlier in life. Perhaps the result of constantly seeking as young or maturing adults, we just don't see that where we are justifies pausing for the moment of appreciation and celebration. Rolheiser suggested that growing in our "it's great to be alive" could be cultivated more by observing the New Testament teaching of Jesus. Specifically, four practices or attitudes are ways to seek spiritual connectedness as well as recognize it. They include; 1) private prayer and morality, 2) social justice, 3) mellowness of heart and spirit, and 4) community.

I've believed for some time that "conviction in action" was one of the central, if not a primary core, element to inspired leadership. The holy longing described by Rolheiser, and the four practices, may be another way of characterizing and pursuing the discovery and pursuit of purpose that I've previously advocated.

Irwin - The Alhambra

A great complement to Ornament of the World, Robert Irwin's The Alhambra (2004, 2005) delves into the history, mystery, and extraordinary artistry of one of the most significant buildings in the world. Built in the 14th century (1334-91) in the latter days of the Nasrid caliphs, the Alhambra has come to be recognized as the quintessential example of Moorish art and architecture, although the height of the Moors in Spain was during the much earlier period of the 8th to the 10th centuries. Irwin's book is actually a travel guide and is probably read by tourists preparing for a visit, but it has enough historical depth to make reading it worthwhile whether touring or simply wanting to know more about Moorish architecture.

The Alhambra offers perspective on ambition, decline, and remorse about what could have been. In Irwin's final pages of text he bemoans, "The Alhambra serves as an icon of exile and loss" (locator 2022). The early presence of Moors in Spain brought religious tolerance, prosperity, and stimulated art and culture distinctive in Europe but in its final years all this would vanish, all but the Alhambra.

The Alhambra palace (actually 6 palaces) is sectioned into three areas; the Mexuar for public business, the Court of the Myrtles for private administrative use, and the Court of the Lions which included private apartments for the king (Emir) and his concubines. The uses of the palaces, barracks, mosque, and small town are sometimes disputed, and the reality is that it's impossible to determine the historic use of some areas in the palace. By contrast to many historic buildings that were erected to assert authority and power, the Alhambra was more scaled to the private use and comforts of Nasrids. But historic events did take place there, including a visit by Christopher Columbus to Ferdinand and Isabella years after Christians defeated the Moors. Columbus, with his Jewish Arabic-speaking interpreter by his side, appealed for resources to sail to the east by going west on his 1492 expedition. Why an Arabic-speaking Jew? Because Columbus assumed that those he would encounter in the east would speak Arabic. The preservation, and subsequent renovation, of the Alhambra was as much a victory statement of Reconquista as it was a commitment to great architecture.

The phrase 'La Ghalib ila Allah' ('No victor but God') is found throughout the Alhambra, displayed in fabrics as well as incorporated into the permanent decoration of walls. The pleasures of life, a veritable heaven on earth, are reflected in arresting vistas, proportion of buildings and arches, landscape, and pools and fountains. The hammams (baths) in the Alhambra are both beautiful and functional, allowing for ablution in preparation for prayer as well as for cleanliness. The Hall of the Ambassadors is the most impressive room, clearly intended as a chamber for reception of visitors, and is sheltered by a ceiling of twelve-sided stars in seven levels, reflecting the seven heavens. The Court of the Lions is a sunken garden of low plants (or "Riyad") and is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. This garden and others served as extensions of the buildings, with the buildings simply framing the beauty of the gardens, which might have served as meditative spaces for Muslims to study and pray (madrassa). All the Alhambra buildings reflect a harmony of space that suggests the infusion of mathematical principles in design, although no evidence confirms such a scientific approach.

Music was also an important element of the Alhambra, with music itself being highly mathematical and proportional. The 'ud, an instrument popular today throughout the middle east with Marcel Khalifa its undisputed contemporary master, is proportioned to match the relationship of the spheres. Ibn Khaldun declared that the meaning of music "is that existence is shared by all existent things" (locator 1219) and that vocal music reflected the apex of cultural development. The predictable mathematical relationship in music are reminiscent of the symmetrical tessellation found in abstract decorations in textiles, carpets, tiles, and other adornments, with arabesques depicting leaf and tendrils and atauriques depicting vegetation such as palmette, pinecone, and palm leaves.

The perspective of the Moors, and the Alhambra their personification, for some Spaniards is that the Moors undermined their unique cultural identity. For Arabs and Muslims, the Alhambra stands for all that has been lost in the centuries after the decline of the Moors in Spain, the Ottomans in the Middle East, and persecution in far eastern places such as India. I've come to understand this through Marcel Khalifa's sculpted portrayal in the music of "Concerto al Andalus" and in the mournful playing and singing that I previously thought was Spanish but now recognize as a blend of Spanish and Muslim/Arab cultures.