One of the key ways we learn as humans is imitation. We see, we mimic, we build on the direction that sets. While that is most pronounced when we are young, it’s a way we continue to be formed throughout our lives. When it comes to what we are being given to learn from in the realm of civil discourse (which includes having conversations with people that see the world differently than we do) , there doesn’t seem to be a lot that calls us to “rise above”; to find the better views of the world, of one another, of the mysteries beyond what we can see and touch. Often, it feels more like we’re being schooled in how to enact the lowest common denominators of human behaviour – me / mine first, I’m right / you’re wrong, there is nothing I need to learn from you, and so on. The results are easy to see, and they’re not good. In fact, not only are the results not good; they point to the profound erosion of what we might call a “common good”. This week in the Talky Bit I want to begin an exploration of the necessity of that notion of common good. As you can imagine, that’s a big topic so we’ll just have to see how things unfold. As usual, I’m not headed toward a “one right answer” sort of destination and I’m committed to not stopping when I hit the first familiar feeling landmarks. I just want to get started and see where we end up. I hope you’ll join me, and that we can explore together.