Book Recommendation: “The Certainty Trap”

I’ve been taking a Braver Angels workshop called Walk a Mile in My News. All participants are paired with another person of a different political viewpoint. The goal is to meet 3 -5 times over three weeks to discuss where each person gets their information regarding issues that are important to them, including blogs, news programs, articles, podcasts, etc. The workshop begins with an introductory meeting run by moderators to explain the rules for all participants. An meeting at the end allows people to unpack the experience. The goal is to reevaluate how and where we look for data, facts and opinions, and possibly change our news sources, i.e., let some go by the wayside and add others to our list.

For example, since joining Braver Angels, for example, I consult fewer mainstream media outlets and seek out more nonpartisan organizations like AllSides and Tangle News. I also listen to more podcasts that include opposing viewpoints or focus on depolarization, such as Derate the Hate.

For this workshop I was paired with a man from New Hampshire. During one of our discussions, pointed me toward a book titled “The Certainty Trap: Why We Need to Question Ourselves More―and How We Can Judge Others Less” by Ilana Redstone, a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

George sent me the notes he took while reading the book. The information seems to jive with other books I’ve read about how the mind works and why we humans so strongly feel the need to be certain and right, which makes us susceptible to polarization.

In one note from the book, George wrote:

“It ultimately comes down to control. We want to feel in control of our lives and of our environment. We want our universe to be predictable. Lack of control challenges our agency. Randomness does not sit well with us. We become uncomfortable when we feel we are not in control of our fate. We want clear, unassailable rules of cause and effect.”

To gain that sense of control, we rely on “blind certainty,” which Dr. Redstone describes as a form of imprisonment that prevents us from asking questions, leads to sloppy thinking and causes us to dismiss others who hold different views.

Here are a few more notes to entice you to put this book on your to-read list, too (thank you, George!):

• Avoiding the certainty trap is more than just taking part in “civil discourse.” It is recognizing that there is a chance that our view may be limited or wrong, no matter how confident we are.
• Fallacy of Equal Knowledge means if someone had the same information as me, they would agree with me.
• If someone disagrees with us or views something differently, it is easier for us to assume they know less than us.
• Uncertainty does not sit well with most of us. Leaning away from certainty and seeing complexity takes more energy.

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Definition of Common Ground Movement: placing your loyalty with other Americans, rather than any political party, and embracing the fact we have more in common than not.

Hope, Kindness, Action: A Review of “Beyond the Politics of Contempt”

One of the first things that struck me when reading “Beyond the Politics of Contempt” (due out in September) was the authors’ fervent urging that Americans return to kindness. That if we can accomplish the feat of reminding ourselves that we’re good people, and those who have a different political perspective, are good people, a lot of the political polarization we’re experiencing will diminish and everything else will fall into place. Namely, we’ll build relationships, find common ground and take action to solve the problems our country faces, whether at the local, state or federal level.

The authors then give us the actual steps toward achieving those goals.

“We need to find a way to turn the politics of fear and contempt into the politics of hope… America is not as fragile as it seems. We believe that, but it is up to us to live it and embrace it. If we don’t like what we see, it is our responsibility to act with a hopeful spirit.”

The authors are former Rep. Doug Teschner, R-NH, Dr. Beth Malow and Becky Robinson. All three are members of Braver Angels, a national nonprofit dedicated to depolarization through civil discussion. (You can view transcripts of my previous interviews with Doug and Beth, or watch the videos on the Vigilant Positivity YouTube channel.)

The authors don’t make any claims that it’ll be easy to return to a country where kindness is more routinely practiced, especially between people of differing political view. They go on to explain the many reasons why, such as the decline of community involvement overall, which used to provide people with a strong sense of purpose and importance in their communities. And because people no longer get together as often to problem solve issues in their areas, there’s a growing isolation among citizens, an emptiness people are filling by more strongly identifying with one political party over another. The authors address the success and prevalence of conflict entrepreneurs — politicians, political parties, journalists, media companies, countries like Russia and China — who purposely sow discontent and misinformation for their own benefit. They talk about a cultural shift in which bad behavior is not only accepted, but lauded, in a time of hyper-individualism.

“We are witness a deteriorating social dynamic with declines in basic manners and interpersonal skills. Adults increasingly model rude behaviors, which get passed down to children as normal. Bullying is severely impacting children’s mental health. Attitudes of entitlement, arrogance and narcissism also contribute.”

Yet after outlining the serious ills of our era, the authors get down to business by showing us what actions we can take to decrease societal ugliness and reinstitute kindness, which will help us pull together as citizens to insist that our political leaders act on our behalf, rather than their own.

“You have a lot more power than you think. Yes, there are conflict entrepreneurs and tech giants who play division to the max, but that only works if we let them. Change and moral awakening can start with us.”

To challenge us, the authors provide questions at the end of each chapter that are meant to help us examine our own thinking.

For example, the authors ask us to identify our values and think about how they apply to others with differing viewpoints. If we value relationships and family, why do we allow politics to interfere with both? How can we change our behavior so that our actions align with our values?

After laying out the obstacles, the authors offer a slew of tools we can use to shift our thinking from one of confrontation to that of cooperation.

Ultimately, the authors encourage all of us to change ourselves rather than try to change others. They tell us we already have the power to influence others, which we exhibit in our various life roles as spouses, employees, bosses, volunteers, parents, etc. By opening ourselves to new ideas, we can use that influence to engage others in order to learn where they’re coming from. By establishing those connections, we can build trust and teamwork with the goal of uniting the over 75% of Americans defined as “the exhausted majority” who have the power to drive change through action such as joining citizen-led bridge building initiatives that tackle issues at our local, state, federal or global level.

That means changing ourselves and learning to have respectful, but hard conversations:

“Sometimes you don’t have the time or energy for this hard work. You especially need to walk away if you feel physically or emotionally threatened. But if we always choose to walk away from hard conversations, we limit our potential for change and growth.”

In terms of information, the book is a treasure trove of resources for further reading; statistics regarding education, income inequality, peoples’ perspectives and other issues; anecdotes from the authors’ own lives that demonstrate various concepts; and lots of encouragement.

I thoroughly enjoy reading this book. More importantly, the authors did what they set out to do by providing hope and guidance for uniting Americans, despite our political differences, with the goal of taking positive action to exact change.

You can read a chapter for free.

Join the Common Ground Movement!

If you’ve found this post helpful, please subscribe below and share with others. Please also join the Vigilant Positivity Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Definition of Common Ground Movement: placing your loyalty with other Americans, rather than any political party, and embracing the fact we have more in common than not.