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We are excited to welcome Jonathan Lever, our first-ever executive vice president and chief operating officer, to the Fetzer Institute. Jonathan will work closely with our board and president to drive program strategy and expansion; lead the management of the Institute; and represent the organization externally. He begins his work with us on February 4. 

This spiritual practice comes from Jack Kornfield in The Wise Heart.

Democracy cannot flourish without civility, a.k.a. good manners. Such simple behaviors as saying “please” and “thank you” signal our respect for other people. Manners are important for any gathering when people are sharing views and trying to make decisions, including social media, where it’s far too easy to forget our manners or civility as our emotions and righteousness take over. In fact, since fall 2017 in “democracy conversations” that we and our partners have held, we’ve heard over and over how social media contributes to the growing divisions and incivility in our society.

The decay spreads over the State, and the sweet smell is a great sorrow on the land. Men who can graft the trees and make the seed fertile and big can find no way to let the hungry people eat their produce. Men who have created new fruits in the world cannot create a system whereby their fruits may be eaten. And the failure hangs over the state like a great sorrow. —John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath

Takie a plunge into engaging narratives, humor, cultural criticism, and spiritual wisdom, through the year-long We the People Book Club. Its 12+ selections reveal our democracy’s failings and successes and implicitly urge us as readers to keep alive what American author John Steinbeck called that “stumbling-forward ache.”

“I had no idea you were genuinely interested in what I had to say.” Jenn Stanley is a self-described liberal. Her father, Peter Stanley, votes Republican. Over time, a deepening chasm between them made it difficult to talk about the things they care about—until they sat down to try and listen to each other’s points of view.

The very essence of democracy is the absolute faith that while people must cooperate, the first function of democracy, its peculiar gift, is to develop each individual into everything that [one] might be. —Edwin H. Land

We get so firm in our positions on issues of all kinds that we assume we know best. Adopting an attitude of "not knowing" supports an attitude of openness and awareness of complexity. 

This practice is from Everyday Soul by Bradford Keeney.