Radical Civility

How are church-sponsored schools doing on sexual assault? Jacob Mayberry joins me to look at the data, ask what the limitations of the data are, and what lessons we can learn.

Disclaimer: This episode deals with difficult topics. While we feel it is an important conversation to have, it may not be suitable for some ears.

#churchschools #byu #civility #discussion

I sit down with Carl Cranney and Christopher Cunningham to talk about white christian nationalism, which is making the rounds in the news. We discuss what the Latter-day Saint response should be to the phenomenon, and how we're really doing on things. We also talk about two recent articles, one by Christopher in Public Square Magazine, and another by Dr. Taylor Petrey in The Salt Lake Tribune.

"I sit down with Carl Cranney and Liz Busby from Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree in this (ambitious!) crossover episode to discuss an episode of Netflix's dystopian technology show Black Mirror.  We had a blast talking through the Black Mirror episode "Hated in the Nation." The discussion focuses on social media, and how it  encourages bad behavior. We also talk about how we can resist the pull of cruelty and the "epistemology of hell" that drives the attention economy."

Tired of our current tax structure? I visit with my friend Joseph Addington about Georgism. We nerd out over what it is, what problems it could solve, and possible areas of application.

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I discuss President Biden's recent student loan forgiveness policy with a good friend, Dallin Crump. We uncover the ins and outs of the policy, the implications it has, and other potential solutions to the deeper issue.

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Content Warning: This episode discusses sexual abuse.

I sit down with my friend, CD Cunningham to discuss his recent article regarding the associated press article about a case of abuse. We talk about the options for policies and the pros and cons of each option.

It seems too often people rush, with their heart in the right place, to conclusions. When it comes to something so tragic, perhaps taking some time to think allows greater clarity. I learned some things in this episode, and I hope you do, too.

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Content Warning: This episode discusses sexual abuse.   

Jennifer Roach is a friend, and also a therapist and clerical abuse survivor. When I read the recent AP article about a case of abuse, I knew that it was something I needed to learn about and understand better.   

My goal on the podcast has always been to tackle hard issues well. This is among the hardest I've tackled. I think it's good to think through and process--espcially if there are things we can do to make things safer.  If you are looking for an apologetic, this probably isn't it. At the same time, if you're looking for a condemnation, this isn't it either. In fact, one of the things I'm frustrated by is that everyone has focused more on validating their own private narrative rather than keeping their focus on the victims in this case, and how to keep them safe.   

That doesn't mean I don't have bias: I'm a faithful and unapologetic member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I love my church tremendously. You'll feel that come through. Ultimately, though, my primary goal is to talk about hard issues well.

I get together with my friends Thomas Stringham and Meagan Kohler to discuss their opinions on the the sexual revolution and what role men play in teaching men proper sexual ethics

Or watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZtqOrNqs-jM

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I get together with some friends to discuss Brad Wilcox's recent comments--and the strong response they received. We talk about intent and circumstances, but also the reason the comments were hard for so many.

Note: we tried to get this right. I guarantee we didn't manage perfectly. A group of thoughtful people talking it out helped me though. There were some really good moments and insights, and if nothing else, I think we modeled what it looks like to grapple with something hard in as faithful a way as possible. That sounds me as worth doing.

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I sit down with Dan Ellsworth and a couple other friends (Meagan Kohler and Jeff Bennion) to discuss his article on "Exploring Conservative and Liberal Religion".

Or listen on Youtube:   https://youtu.be/YVIxln7whyw

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Why is the trust declining in today's society and how does forgiveness factor into the solution?  In this quick episode, Ben shares his thoughts and insights into these two important questions.

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I sit with several of my Public Square friends to discuss their recent articles discussing some of the accuracies, and inaccuracies, of common assumptions about Utah.  

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I sit down with several friends to discuss Texas's recent abortion law.  We break down the common stances, how to maintain a civil dialogue about difficult topics, and the details of the new legislation.  

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I sit down with several friends to discuss Texas's recent abortion law.  We break down the common stances, how to maintain a civil dialogue about difficult topics, and the details of the new legislation.  

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Radical-Civility-102031914734570

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Twitter: @CivilityRadical   

Check out our patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/radicalcivility

I sit down with a couple great friends to dive into our favorite talks, lessons, and miracles from General Conference!  It was a great time of personal reflection, and the presence of the Spirit taught all of us.  

What were your favorite talks?   

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Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/vJmaJJSEzqg

I sit down with Greg Matsen of the Cwic show to talk about Elder Holland's recent BYU address. We cover politics, critical race theory, religion, and my own personal rants about good teaching and tenure policy. It was fun to agree--and disagree-with someone thoughtful.  

Have thoughts? Now it's your turn. Comment below.  

Also, check out our Patreon page here https://www.patreon.com/radicalcivility and consider leaving a review for us here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radical-civility/id1500513156.

A bit of personal news.

My podcast has somehow changed from "five listeners, three of whom are my mom" to a real podcast. Someone showed it to the good people at Public Square Magazine, and they've asked to partner with me. That's pretty exciting for someone who is a total amateur. I'm honored and excited to work with people who have become my genuine friends.   

I don't know what I'm doing, still. I have no idea how to podcast, and I'll probably get some things wrong. But the paradox of civility is that decent people hold back, and keep quiet because they don't want to say anything wrong. This leaves the world in a worse place. I'm not perfect--I'm not even sure I'm all that good. But I'm trying, and that's something.  

Also, we're now launching a Patreon page. We're aiming to begin building a community of supporters who believe in the cause of civility. If you believe in what we're doing, your support would be most welcome. (Especially for Nick, who is really really hoping that we get some supporters so I can keep him on the job!)  

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/7uD25hHbtTg   
Anchor link: https://anchor.fm/radicalcivility/episodes/The-Paradox-of-Civility-e171n9v
Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/radicalcivility   

God bless all, and be well.  

Ben

Jeffrey R. Holland is a senior church leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In addition, he is the chairman of the executive committee of the church board of commissioners, and a former president of BYU. He recently gave a talk that has since become highly controversial.  

I'm an alum of BYU, and wanted to discuss more with thoughtful friends.   

Now, you should note just how tricky a topic this is. It's sensitive and difficult, and I guarantee we didn't handle it perfectly--but we tried to engage honestly, and that's a start.  

And I think we add a bit of signal (not just noise) to the conversation. From my background as a school administrator, I saw this more in terms of "we need to do better" than perhaps any other thing--in teaching, in research, and in the basic functions of the university. There have been numerous talks in recent years that have addressed this plainly, and I felt that it's impossible to understand this talk outside the context of the others.  

Even if you don't agree, I hope you get something from it. And also, I hope that this crowds out the less thoughtful voices out there who share my take.  

A number of articles are cited in our discussion, which I've included here. The most important, however, is Elder Holland's address itself:  https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-jeffrey-r-holland-2021-byu-university-conference   

After Elder Holland's talk, Tad Walch penned the following article: "The news people misssed in Elder Holland's BYU talk." Part of our hope in this podcast was to bring it back to these things, without taking attention away from other things.  https://www.deseret.com/2021/8/26/22639600/churchbeat-newsletter-lds-mormon-church-elder-holland-byu-talk-missed-news-clark-gilbert  

The first bit of context is then-Elder Oaks' talk in which he first mentions musket fire language, and also asks teachers to be better teachers. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/dallin-h-oaks/challenges-mission-brigham-young-university/  

Then there is the talk by Elder Bednar specifically addressing humility and meekness. When I read it, it felt like a kind, loving, but very direct rebuke.  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/david-a-bednar/walk-meekness-spirit/  

Then there is Elder Holland's address to the Maxwell Institute.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpUN29orJmM  

Finally, the Second Century Address by Spencer W. Kimball.  https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1829&context=byusq  

Taken together, I believe that the focus of these talks is that BYU has a unique mission, and that to fulfill that mission will require total unity and a commitment to excellence like we've never before sesen. BYU will not look like any other university--which will allow it to bless lives like no other university.  Hope you enjoy the podcast. Would love to hear you engage below.

What is informed consent when it comes to religions? How do you know if someone is consenting for themselves or doing it for social pressure or parental approval?  This is an interesting--and sticky--issue. I sit down with Dan Ellsworth and Leo Winegar to talk through in depth.   

Note: this is a little longer than normal because we wanted it to be thorough and open-ended. We tried to address it as thoughtfully and earnestly as we could.  Would love to hear your thoughts. Comment below.  

See here for the original article:  https://publicsquaremag.org/dialogue/persuasion/the-seductive-deception-of-informed-consent/

Just before the election, I sit down with a good friend of mine to ask how faith influences politics.   

We focus on civility, and avoid talking directly about candidates--Jason is in the military, and we tried pretty hard to live up to his promises not to speak against any members of the sitting government. But we still had a thoughtful, interesting discussion.  

How does yours influence yours? (No wrong answers here--and 'worldview' counts too, or ethics, etc.)

There is something even more conservative than voting conservative: Upholding the peaceful transition of power. 

If you are a conservative who is planning to vote for the incumbent, I disagree with you. I find him insufficiently conservative. 

But I hope you'll join me in this: if the president wins, I'll do all I can to protect his legal right to serve as president. And if he loses, I'll do the same for his opponent.

I hesitate to post this one, but I have decided it's important to discuss.   Most of the people I know who are involved in large-scale social movements are good people who care a lot about making the world better. But there are bad actors out there who are trying to radicalize and stir the pot.

I'm at ten episodes, so now it's time to reflect on what I really want this podcast to be about. I'm not sure what I want it to be.

But I know I don't want it to be Upworthy.

No intention of offending, but I do want to be honest about what I see them doing that I want to avoid, and how we want to be different.

Is it possible to save money during a crisis?   

Yes--and we'll talk about how. My friend Justin Garritt is starting up a new firm www.garrittfinancialsolutions.com all about helping service-industry folks get high-quality, high-integrity, high-transparency help on financial decision-making. We also talk about working together,  old stories of students, and how not all  financial advisers (cough cough insurance salesmen cough cough) have your best interests at heart.   

We also talk about how this crisis will look in six months.  

Note: we talk about some generic teacher advice in this video that may not apply to everyone. There simply isn't a way to sensitively handle such a big topic with any nuance in a 45 minute podcast. If you would like to discuss further, however, head over to the laboratorium!  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/196041658160585/

Grace is a pretty big concept, so I'm trying to break it down: today's episode is about having good will and assuming good will from others.  

A fun game: what would it take for you to vote for someone that you really, really don't like?

I did it for Senator Sanders, and the President deserves a turn.

Fun times: I tried to keep this one short. Still made it to 20 minutes.  *shrugs*

What's the first commandment of radical civility? Radical civility.  Obviously.

Civility is about engaging. That's what it is built for. This podcast is about how.

So a friend asked a question, and all of a sudden this episode happened.  *ashamed face*

Also, it's 20 minutes, which is four times longer than I want these to be.  Alas. 

But the question is a good one: why won't I consider voting for Sanders given that I so deeply oppose Trump? Rather than respond directly, I consider what it would take for Sanders to convince me to vote for him. It's possible, just not likely.

In my first nickelodeon,  I talk about coining a new term: motivated scrutiny.  Have you ever had people compare two identical resumes but fault-find with one and leave the other alone?  

The ask: find something that you disagree with, and comment about it. On Facebook, YouTube, wherever you feel like it. Do it civilly (obvs) but engage in something that I say that you'd like to correct.

Why start a podcast? Why Civility? What is civility? Why does it matter?  

A Micro-cast on the topic with a free Sister Act reference. :)