My Way or the High Way People get very ugly around election time. The natural polarizations in our societies get magnified. The drama of win/lose is in the air. People are insisting: “My way is the right way.” How Do We Find Common Ground? My sense is that the drive to be right is an urge to create safety, a predictable world where we can feel at home, and a way to try to create peace. With six billion points of view in the world, this strategy is unlikely to succeed.

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The other night I ran into a woman I hadn’t seen in a long time and was surprised to discover that she has become a passionate, and incredibly busy peace activist. This woman, who has always been a fierce, proud and strong woman, is now more fiery than ever. Her sons are teenagers and she is doing everything she can to keep them out of the hands of military recruiters. I understood, as she spoke about this, how deep her love for her sons is, and that she is absolutely committed that her sons not be killed in a senseless war she completely disagrees with. She has also become convinced that 9-11 was an inside job, and is totally certain a conspiracy took down the Twin Towers–a conspiracy of the US government. What is it that spurs her on in her quest to enlighten others about this conspiracy theory?

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