Sun 10/4 @ 9-10AM
Every other Sunday the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland in Shaker Heights hosts a series called Forums That Matter, dealing with current issues that are on people’s mind, with various community leaders and experts speaking each week.
Its next topic is “Lowering the Temperature: How to Listen & Learn in Divided Times,” and good luck with that, since this requires good faith from both sides. City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop will talk about the increased demonizing of opponents (something amplified to an extraordinary level starting with New Gingrich in the 1990s), building identity around grievances and labeling disagreements as disqualifying. It explores how hate speech has become mainstream and how it’s become OK to publicly use labels that were once considered forbidden — I mean, what can you say when the PRESIDENT calls someone “retarded” or refers to a woman reporter as “piggy”? The guardrails have been smashed — how do we rebuild them?
The forum is free and open to all. It will also be on Zoom and posted on the church’s website.
uucleveland.org/community-forums/