Words To Win By - Elections in the face of Racism

 I have puzzled about what is going on with our electorate for more than a decade - I think I understand it a bit now. If you really want to see that, here is my blog post. The answer is simple - we are a racist nation. What to do about it is the problem. 

When I found this Words To Win By Podcast it hit me just right. This is an approach that seems to work in our fractured world.. This podcast has used science, research, interviews, and a lot of work, to discover the best way to deal with this racist world in our elections. Our natural inclination is to be polite, and just ignore the racist dog whistles and fear mongering sent our way by the opposition. But that is a mistake. We do not want to repeat their message, but we do want to call it out, counter it, send an inclusive message to overcome it. That is what the rest of this entry is about.

So, if you are of the "racist" leaning - you should probably stop here. You could of course write me a nasty note at the bottom - I promise to read it. If you are brave, you might read just a bit more. Thanks for that.

Greater than Fear - Minnesota
Over the last decade, it has become crystal clear that politics is not a rational debate. People are so driven by fear that their thinking freezes up. Politicians on the right have become adept at “dog whistle” messages - using racial threats masked by clever wording to make people afraid. The Words to Win By researcher Anat Shenker-Osorio came to Minnesota in 2018 to help the state overcome this fear mongering. The key is to expressly counter the racism - not to ignore it.

This was not a simplistic get out the vote campaign. This was a focused message based on a lot of research and work. The Greater than Fear banner is one result. And the tagline is just as important. “In Minnesota we’re better off together.” The message is that we are stronger with a multi-racial, multi-ethnic heritage. The popular wisdom is to ignore the racial threat message - but that does not work. The other side simply repeats it. A better approach is to counter it with a positive multi-racial message. Once people understand how the messaging works, the power of the fear is defeated. 

Their research on the political attitudes in MN is also significant. I was surprised to learn that only 27% of MN voters are on “our” side, with 30% on “their” side, and a “persuadable” population of 44%. The numbers are different in metropolitan MN, but the statewide ones are scary. 

https://wordstowinby-pod.com/greater-than-fear-minnesota/ 
To listen to the podcast there is a small PLAY button near the top of the page. It’s just 30 minutes, and I am sure you will find it very enlightening. 

Below is a pointer to a PDF with a nice summary of the research behind this effort. It also contains simple wording messages, pictures, and more details. 
https://bravenewwordspod.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Minnesota-Race-Class-Narrative-research-brief.pdf 

Unfortunately, the certificate for that site has expired and most browsers will alert you to a potential risk. Feel free to click on the link, and go to "advanced". It will simply download a PDF of the research. If that causes you concern,  I put a copy of the document here which you can retrieve without qualms. 

All In Wisconsin -  All in for All of Us.
WI was a key swing state in the 2020 election. This podcast describes the methods, the words, the messages, the talking points they used to win the state. Remember, this is based on research - not someone’s opinion. We are about science, aren’t we? If you find better information, better science - let me know. 

Podcast is here:  https://wordstowinby-pod.com/season-2-episode-1/  
The play button is right at the top. Our prior President won WI  by 0.77% of the vote. Our current president won by 0.63%. A 1.4% point move.

The key point again is that we cannot just ignore the race / class fear raised by the other side. We need to confront it expressly. AND - this is a whole lot of work - no magic bullet.

I put a copy of the WI Messaging Guide here in case you want to review it. What to say, what to focus on, etc. The MN research is here, in case you missed it.

Additional Resources

• More on the Race / Class narrative https://www.wemakethefuture.us/about
• Messaging Guides, outlines https://www.wemakethefuture.us/resources#messaging

People Across Borders - Mission Today

 PEOPLE ACROSS BORDERS

If you are at all interested in the following topics, you should thoroughly enjoy the presentation that you will find below.  Topics:

1. Missionary Methods - you thought you understood that at some point - well, it has changed. It’s not about conversion - think broader. 

2. Sister Parish or parish twinning - if you have some history in that - this will change everything you ever thought about it.

3. Conflict Resolution - between individuals, countries, cultures - how to help heal them. 

4. Peace on earth - I could not resist that one. But that really is the fundamental Christian message, isn’t it?

Maryknoll Mission Direction

This weekend, Jude participated in a Maryknoll Full Circle discussion via Zoom that was amazing. Maryknoll does a good job in holding on to all of the “ex” members. The President of Maryknoll introduced the session, and spoke about their work on recasting their fundamental view of mission. The keynote speaker brought an amazing perspective to that discussion.

She is Rabbi Victoria (Vicki) Armour-Hileman. (Page down a bit for the text.) She was born in New York City. She has been a Catholic lay missioner since 1988 and has served in Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United States. She is the admissions manager of Maryknoll Lay Missioners. She is an ordained rabbi, and has extensive experience in education.

See longer CV at the bottom of this piece.

To cut to the quick, here is the link to her talk. If this disappears for some reason,let me know - I made a copy.  https://youtu.be/YZ-AELx7650 

This is a recording of a PPT. Her internet was unstable, and they decided to go with the pre recorded presentation. If you want to see what she looks like, see the link below.

The talk covers the history of “mission” in the church, and the actual accomplishment of the first 3 waves. She describes the fourth wave as 

• Building the “One Earth Community”. 

• Building bridges in a broken world

• Missionaries as bridges across cultures and nations. 

• Mission is about recognizing our kinship and connection as part of the whole earth community, 

• Spreading the gospel means to act out of a sense of community and connection with all creation, human and non human.

At the end of the conference, she also did the final prayer - a reflection on an old Hebrew song. The video lets you see what she looks like, so you might want to watch it first. It includes:

a) the explanation of the Hebrew of the song, b) the song itself,  and c) a final blessing after the song fades. Here is the link:    https://youtu.be/Sn4d6UBF3is 

New Maryknoll Leadership

This is a relatively short video by the newly elected Maryknoll Leadership about their new direction:  https://vimeo.com/705952479 Password:  fullcircle07. 

Maryknoll Lay Missioners

If you want to know more about this outfit, here’s their page: https://mklm.org/ 

The speaker has written quite a few articles published there: https://mklm.org/author/vicki/ 

My Comments

I love her read of Christian history and tradition and the path forward. This is beyond converting the heathen - this is to change the world. This is how we extend the good news message, person to person, group to group, to heal a broken planet. If the gospel means anything today - this is part of it. 

The future of mission is Sister Parish, Twinning, cross cultural, cross religions, international. It is building relationships across national and religious boundaries to create a single human community. The world needs this healing at every level. The focus is on relationships - between families, parishes, countries, and individuals via visits and technology (ZOOM)! Missionaries are channels to build relationships. Direct conversations mediated by ”missionaries”.  I have many good friends who do exactly that in their work in Africa and elsewhere. A new global community - the real gospel. No barriers, no walls, people without borders! We need a name??

    PEOPLE ACROSS BORDERS! 

--------------------------------------------

Vicki Armour-Hileman was a lay missioner in Hong Kong and Thailand before being elected to the first leadership team of the newly founded Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful in 1994. In 2018, after several years of teaching at various universities, she returned to Maryknoll lay Missioners, where she currently works in the Mission Services and Communications Departments. Over the past year, Vicki has been researching and reflecting on a question about the future of mission: Given a world that is simultaneously more connected and more splintered than ever before, what can and should mission look like, and how can we all be involved? She will share her reflections on this topic during the April Full Circle Gathering.

Education: MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, PhD in British and American Literature from the University of Iowa, and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College.