just like me: the challenge to avoid sameness

7/29/2019 Just Like Me: The Challenge to Avoid Sameness

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Just Like Me

The Challenge to Avoid SamenessBruce Freeman and Jean Stang

Summit College

Associate StudiesFebruary 7, 2013


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We live in these United States withmany divisions, including largegeographic divisions


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Concentration of Black Population 2010-by County


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Our urban counties have racialdivisions


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Concentration of Black Population, Cuyahoga County 2010


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At the same time, our country isbecoming more diverse Multlingual Multi-hued Multi-ethnic

Minority-majority communities arebecoming more common, not just inCalifornia, Hawaii and the Southwest, butin the heartland


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Sociologists are saying American cultureand society is bifurcatingsplinteringinto three distinct, separated groups thathave little in common and are like livingon different planets : The New upper class The Permanent lower class

Those in the middle (aka the shrinkingmiddle class)

Jonathan Rauch- Washington Po st, May 12, 2012


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Psychological studies have shown wechoose partners based on physicaland cultural similarities (most, but not

all, of the time!)


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Homogamy- the tendency to marrypeople who are psychologically and/or physically similar to ourselves

Endogamy- the practiceof marrying within a specific ethnic group, economic class or socialgroup, rejecting others by choice or by our social mores, as beingunsuitable for marriage or other close

personal relationships
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_group


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Class Matters


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Physical/Ethnic


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Physical/Ethnic


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Physical/Ethnic/Cultural


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Physical/Ethnic


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Social/Cultural


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The Baby Lab


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Increasingly, we listen to and seek tobe with those who views are just likeours


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Walter Cronkite-CBS News-Reporting the News for All Americans


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Rachel Maddow-MSNBCLiberal Commentator


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Rush Limbaugh-Premier Radio NetworksConservative Commentator


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Weve evolved into having moreextreme liberal or conservativesviewpoints, and are less inclined tolisten to each other, even if the actualfacts on many subjects are seemingly quite accessible: Is health care a government responsibility Is global warming occurring? When does a human life begin? What should our government do? When should we go to war?


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Clinton 1995 State of the Union


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Bush 2005 State of the Union


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Elmhurst, Illinois


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Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn, New York


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Walnut Creek, Ohio


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So Now What?


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Contact Hypothesis-Muzafer Sherif Kumbaya coming together philosophy is substantiated by

his work with young boys in a camp settingThose with Graduate degrees have the most homogenous political interactions! Those who arent high school grads have most diverse politicalinteractionsDeliberative polls; town meetingsgathering together

Produced more polarization for participants before vs. after Emerging church (vs. mainline churches) has tradedtraditional certainty with doubt with a commitment todialogueExtreme political interest >extreme partisanship>rigidfanaticism


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Emerging Church

Vineyard Church, Cleveland


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Indifferent citizens leavened thesystemgave it partisanship Some political scientists say no

apparent benefit to increasing number of persons who actually votebut there is good reason to increase the

conversation leading to tolerance But were nurturing our certainty over what is true


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Caffeinated Federalism Ad HocGovernance

Rise of Interest groups (e.g., AARP/NRA)Non-elected decision-makers

Use of Philanthropy to produce asocial outcomeUnlimited use of money to influence

elections (Citizens United)We arent exposed to a grand nationalnarrative; no communal drive to

unanimityis that bad?


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Need to be connected,..cross -cutting,.in contact .with others inmany wayscreates a dynamic

relationship of supporters andopponentsfriends andenemiesthose like us and different

than us on varying subjects over anextended, lifelong period, not just atcollege


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Diverse


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Not Diverse


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Overall Rankings


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Your Thoughts

Where does this mix of diversity, with regular contact and cross-cutting exchange, occur now? How embedded in our daily life is it, if it does

occur?

How can this cross-cutting occur throughout our lives? What does it take?

What can one person (you) do to change thepatterns we see?


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Next WeekVisit www.F2FJustLikeMe.blogspot.com

This PowerPoint, with NBC Video andF2F Comment Summary

Add your comments as a posting!
http://www.f2fjustlikeme.blogspot.com/http://www.f2fjustlikeme.blogspot.com/


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Primary SourcesMooney, Chris, Liberals and Conservatives Dont Just Vote Differently; They ThinkDifferently, Washington Post, April 12, 2012

Rauch, Jonathan, Two Americas, Growing Apart, Reason, May 5, 2010 (book review)

60 Minutes, Babies Help Unlock the Origins of Morality, Show aired November 18,

2012. Leslie Stahl, correspondentLee, Barrett A., John Iceland and Gregory Sharp, Racial and Ethnic Diversity GoesLocal: Charting Change in American Communities Over Three Decades, US 2010Project, September 2012

Fiske, Susan T., Are We Born Racist, in Marsh, Jason, Rodolfo Mendoza -Denton, andJeremy Adam Smith (eds.), Are We Born Racist?, Boston. Beacon Press. 2010

Bishop, Bill, The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of America is Tearing Us Apart

just like me: the challenge to avoid sameness

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