Learning the Divides

The work of being a reconciler is not an easy one. Reconcilers are called to bridging. And bridges get walked on.

At my university I am beginning this work and have the great honor of learning under amazing professors and alongside some fabulous people. This field of study doesn't require hours of studying for exams, but it does demand major paradigm shifts and deep hitting application points. The work of the heart, in conjunction with the mind, is not simple nor easy.

I am training to be continuously aware of power dynamics, the voices heard, and the voices not heard.  New stories, popular music, friends' anecdotes, and textbooks are all pieces of the work which I take in and analyze with the lenses I've learned to see through. When conflict arises in my own life or others' I am scouring for multiple perspectives, cultural pieces, and next steps that can lead towards greatest redemption. I am learning to be acutely aware of inequities and injustices.

In the work of bridge building, it is important to learn the divides.

There are many pieces that make me who I am, but there are key ones I have to keep in mind as I approach this work: I am a heterosexual white woman who is English-speaking, a U.S. citizen, and college educated. Many of the systems in place which have created divides are systems and divides which benefit me. I have many privileges, one of which is the ability to be apathetic towards divides and societal injustices. If I am not extra intentional, society has been set up so I can return to apathy and still be benefitted.

So, I am learning how to fight this apathy and learn the divides. These divides are not pretty. They are often systematically set up for oppression and privilege to persist. They are deep and heavy issues, filled with brokenness:

Racism.  Homophobia.  Sexism.  Classism.  Xenophobia.

The list goes on.

Each divide has had profound impacts on individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole. Below is how I've started learning the divides with the hope of being able to do the work of building bridges:

Listening up. What are those around me experiencing? What have they experienced? To learn the divide from listening up I have to remember to:
--shut up and listen
--not take things personally
--compassion in towards the pain and dump my own crap out away from the pain

Reading up. Fiction and nonfiction books alike can be valuable mediums for understanding social systems from different perspectives. To learn the divide from reading up I have to remember to:
--be aware of the perspectives and power from which the authors come
--vary the perspectives (Most of my book shelf and blogs read are by white people...what message is that sending?)
--engage with topics that may make me uncomfortable

Thinking in. In all situations there is culture and history being played out. As I engage with those around me I need to use my knowledge to inform my interactions. To learn the divide from thinking in I have to remember to:
--consider all four "I's": societal ideas, institutions, interactions, and internalisations that are at play
--check myself for what pre-conceived notions and power dynamics are happening
--ask myself when, where, why, and how silence needs to broken

Educating out. To learn the divide from educating out I need to remember to:
--put the narrative back on the one(s) oppressed from the divide, and not keep it about the one(s) privileged because of the divide
--keep mental notes of how the responses go to see the divide from their lens
--offer grace because I've been offered much grace


What about you? How do you learn the divides? What is another divide you need to learn?