It’s said that birds of a feather flock together. As social creatures who prefer harmony to discord, it makes sense that people with shared beliefs, experiences, interests, tastes, and perspectives tend to socially spend time together. The trouble is, that dynamic subtly leads to a self-segregating effect over time. This may seem harmless enough at first, but eventually it ends up producing the troublesome echo chambers that not only hinder our individual intellectual honesty but harm the quality of our collective public discourse. The question, then, is this: where do people go to have good faith discussions and build relationships with those who hold different perspectives?
Our ambitions are modest, but one of our goals is to build such a diverse community. Through our private Facebook group and a password protected bi-weekly Zoom gathering, we hope to build bridges of good-natured dialogue to connect people who are unlikely to peaceably interact otherwise. What will unite this eclectic group is not gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, religious belief (or the lack thereof), education, profession, sexuality, ideology, or even hobbies, but rather a curious desire to hear from other perspectives and a humble commitment to learn from one another. Amid our differences is a respectful mutuality found in tone if not in content.
This goes without say, but creating such a community requires intentionally swimming upstream against the pervading culture. That is why our Facebook group will have moderators and the Zoom gatherings will be moderated. The purpose is not to stifle freedom of expression but to inhibit the trolls who revel in petty conflict and enjoy watching people feud for the sheer sport of it. Such people will be publicly corrected and, if they refuse to adapt their behavior, inhibited from further participation. Subversive Discourse is committed to building a thoughtful community around the bedrock principles of civility and reason.
