Do sides matter any more?

That's the question that will drive the discussion when Kimberly Davis, Naya Lekht, PhD, and ☘️Mark O'Brien join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

Writing last week in the Wall Street Journal, Cal State University political science Professor Kevin Wallsten cited a national survey he conducted last year. Asked about “using violence to stop a speech” promoting a “personally offensive” position, 80% percent of Americans responded “never acceptable.” The percentage of republicans was only marginally more than democrats.

However, generational responses tell a different story. Here’s the breakdown of respondents who refused to condone using violence to suppress speech under any circumstances:

Boomers – 93%
Gen X – 86%
Millennials – 71%
Gen Z – 58%

This has nothing to do with hate speech, merely free speech. Watching clips of Charlie Kirk’s campus debates, it’s hard to find an example of him belittling or insulting those who challenged him. He rallied an impressive library of facts and offered coherent arguments to make his points. There were few who could hold their own with him in debate, and the college crowds often responded with applause.

It’s hard not to draw comparisons with Socrates, condemned to drink poison for the crime of forcing people to confront the inconsistencies of their own views. With more than 4 out of 10 young people believing that violence is an acceptable response to disagreement, how do we prevent society from disintegrating into chaos, both nationally and internationally? How do you engage others in discourse when they’ve already concluded that you’re not only wrong, but dangerously evil?

Meet the panel:

Kimberly Davis is an author, TEDx speaker, and founder of the Brave Leadership University, leading development programs world-wide, around authentic leadership, purpose, presence, and influence.

Naya Lekht is a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, promoting synergy between self-awareness and the world which we observe.

Mark O’Brien is founder and principal of O’Brien Communications Group, a B2B brand-management and marketing-communications firm — and host of The Anxious Voyage, a syndicated radio show about life’s trials and triumphs.

#ethics 

#culture 

#accountability 

#generations 

#leadership