This is not to minimize all culture war issues. While our political debates can sometimes be over inane and contrived issues, at other times these are important issues that affect our lives in significant ways. We need spaces and an ethos where we can debate political and cultural issues in productive ways. But we also need spaces that are a break from conflict.

I was reminded of this with the death of Jimmy Buffett on Saturday. In a public Facebook post, former Wall Street Journal reporter Neil King shared some correspondence he had with "remote cancer comrade" Buffett.

Buffett wrote to King, "I always thought about how the warring tribes in the Sahara, and Union and Confederate soldiers in the Civil War, usually had to rest and water at the same oasis, then they went back to fighting. I always felt what we provide was that Oasis, which is why I never took politics to the stages, when people paid good money to be simply entertained."

In the book High Conflict (Amazon affiliate link here), Amanda Ripley recommends that to move from high conflict to good conflict, we use the "magic ratio" of five to one — five positive interactions for every negative interaction between our polarized communities. We won't have Jimmy Buffett concerts anymore to provide an oasis for these positive interactions, but we can recognize the role we can play to provide these oases at certain times and places through our clubs, churches, local governments and the like.

What Else We're Reading

AVC in Dallas Morning News

This blog was mentioned in an op-ed by Dallas Morning News columnist William McKenzie on breaking out of our news bubbles.

Of course, we are now diving headlong into the 2024 elections, where information constantly will flow our way. Along with voting, we as citizens have a big role to play in how we consume news about the campaigns, no matter our candidate or party.

We could live in our news bubbles, where we read, watch and hear information and perspectives that reinforce our views. Or we could engage in media literacy practices that help us understand the legitimacy of the reporting we are consuming.

Napp Nazworth, executive director of the American Values Coalition, made an eye-catching blog post on this topic this summer on the faith-based organization’s site. He provided two examples of how living in news bubbles can influence our views on crucial topics like race.

Read the whole thing: Breaking out of news bubbles will help strengthen our democracy

Death Threats for Government Officials

The Justice Department's Election Threats Task Force has been active arresting people who've been threatening government officials.

AP reports,

More than a dozen people nationally have been charged with threatening election workers by a Justice Department unit trying to stem the tide of violent and graphic threats against people who count and secure the vote.

Government employees are being bombarded with threats even in normally quiet periods between elections, secretaries of state and experts warn. Some point to former President Donald Trump and his allies repeatedly and falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen and spreading conspiracy theories about election workers. Experts fear the 2024 election could be worse and want the federal government to do more to protect election workers.

One Georgia man pled guilty for offering to pay someone $10,000 on Craigslist to kill three public officials. According to DOJ, his Craigslist ad read in part,

"It’s our duty as American Patriots to put an end to the lives of these traitors and take back our country by force. . . . If we want our country back we have to exterminate these people. One good loyal Patriot deer hunter in camo and a rifle can send a very clear message to these corrupt governors.. milita up Georgia it’s time to spill blood…. we need to pay a visit to [Official C] and her family as well and put a bullet her behind the ears. Remember one thing local law enforcement the key word being local….. we will find you oathbreakers and we’re going to pay your family to visit your mom your dad your brothers and sisters your children your wife… we’re going to make examples of traitors to our country… death to you and all you communist friends.”

Join Our Book Club

For the next AVC book club, we'll be reading Russell Moore's Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. Moore will join us for one of the meetings. We meet Monday nights at 8pm eastern on Zoom. Register here.

If you still need to purchase a copy of the book, you can help AVC by using one of our affiliate links at americanvalues.org/resources.

I hope you can make it!

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