[Vision2020] Jack Hill and citizen empowerment

[Melynda Huskey]

Judy writes:

>As a reader and (not-frequent) poster to Vision 20/20, I'm afraid I'd be
>inclined to agree with J. Hill's characterization of V20/20. It does 
>promote
>polarization. It does give, new readers especially, a skewed view of our
>community (refer to postings just this week)

The article connected with some thoughts I've been mulling over about Vision 
2020 in the last couple of days.  I may well be one of the residents Jack 
was scolding for intolerance and impoliteness; I've certainly posted some 
sharp words.  And that's okay with me.  But I disagree that our listserv 
"fuels" polarization.

The polarization(s) pre-existed the listserv.  People with mutually 
incompatible worldviews, dozens of them, live in Moscow.  Our peaceful 
co-existence cannot depend on our local government, or on citizens 
preserving a smiling failure to communicate.

Vision 2020 focuses a certain element of our community--it's certainly not 
representative of all of Moscow--and has fostered some conversations that 
would probably not have happened otherwise.  They haven't always been 
pleasant conversations, but they have sometimes been useful, it seems to me.

We also represent a lot of different discourse communities.  Academics, 
lawyers, theologians, and politicians spend their working lives arguing.  We 
expect passionate dispute, and we generally enjoy it.  Other discourse 
communities experience that kind of conversation as painful, inappropriate, 
or pointless.  We have different ethical understandings of the value of 
speaking up or remaining silent.  And we have different degrees of 
confidence in our own contributions--some of us (like me) may feel 
over-empowered about sharing, while others hang back who could offer 
something of value.

I think our community needs more conversation, not less--and I don't think 
we always need to smile.

Melynda Huskey

Go, said the bird, for the leaves were full of children,
Hidden excitedly, containing laughter.
Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind
Cannot bear very much reality.
Burnt Norton, T.S. Eliot

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