From Bill Freeman âThere is no vaccine for polarizationâ: Vanderbilt project to tackle the hard work of fact-based reconciliation Tweet Share
Organizers of Vanderbilt Universityâs Project on Unity and American Democracy hope to help our country realize what we have in common by using well-documented events from our past. âThereâs no vaccine for polarization,â say the projectâs leaders. This project has a lofty goal, and one that will be reached by walking the long road to recovery, step by step.
The most significant goal of the project is to separate fact from fiction â to ensure that more of our opinions are rooted in fact so that we return to a place of cooperation based on a shared history and experience. By finding commonality and illustrating pivotal points in our history where we have faced similar issues, we can better identify which actions led to improvement and which worked to t
Stand up for facts: How universities can lead America back toward reasoned debate Daniel Diermeier, Opinion contributor
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The mob violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was a deeply disturbing event many of us never thought we would see in our lifetimes. This grave flashpoint, coming amid the COVID-19 pandemic and renewed demands for racial justice, marked the culmination of volatile forces that have been building in an increasingly polarized America for years.
How did we get here? Unfortunately, the nation’s tumult is the result of a culture that has steadily devalued the rightful place of facts and reason.