Highly recommended: Speaking of Faith podcast - The Religious Roots of American Democracy (October 26, 2006) – I don’t know how to hyperlink to a podcast so you’ll just have to go to iTunes and pull it down – sorry.
Krista Tippett interviews philosopher and author Jacob Needleman about his book The American Soul, which examines the “spiritual and moral ideals of the American founders — and how these ideals resonate in our culture today.” According to Tippett, Needleman describes democracy “as much an inward discipline as a form of governance.” He says that we have obligations that come along with our rights, and one of his statements about that resonated with me enough to make me this post: “the right of free speech implies the duty of allowing others to speak…I have an obligation inwardly…to work at listening to you. I don’t have to agree with you, but I have to let your thought into my mind in order to have a real democratic exchange between us.”
Sublime.
[emphases mine]
I can barely listen to Krista Tippet because of how she enunciates words, and her voice is weird.
ReplyDeleteOther than that minor detail, great ideas there. I guess I need to get over my judgemental nature before i can really listen to others...
I agree. That's why, before the last Presidential election, I took the time to listen to some conservative radio broadcasts, etc. I wanted to see what they were saying.
ReplyDelete