Growing Together: Our Diverse Values in a Thriving Civic Ecoystem
In every healthy ecosystem, diversity is not a problem to be solved—it’s the very thing that makes life possible. Forests thrive because trees, ferns, fungi, insects, and animals all bring different functions that nourish the whole. Remove too much of that diversity, and the ecosystem weakens. The same is true for civic life in Washington…
Read More
Growing Together: Four Commitments for a Thriving Civic Ecosystem
At Paths to Understanding, we often say that no single organization can solve the challenges we face. Polarization, disconnection, and distrust in our institutions are too complex for any one group to take on alone. These are whole-of-society problems—and they require whole-of-society responses. Think of a forest. No single tree makes a forest, and no…
Read More
Too Big and Too Small
It’s easy to spend hours each week reading about national politics, big court cases, or the latest viral controversy. These stories are important—but for most of us, they are too big. We have almost no direct influence over them. We can get angry, anxious, or exhausted, but that rarely leads to any action that changes…
Read More
A Whole-of-Society Response
Introducing a Series on the WA Statewide Civic Life Strategy — Last fall, I talked with a journalist who was curious about our work at Paths to Understanding. He listened carefully, nodded along, and said he believed that efforts to bring people together and build trust are necessary. But then he said, “But it doesn’t…
Read More
The Gift of Multifaith: What Our Tradition Offers the Bridge-Building Movement
As we reflect on how our mission at Paths to Understanding needs to evolve to meet today’s context, I keep coming back to this: multi-faith organizations have a gift to offer the wider bridge-building movement. A recent article by Allison Ralph put it plainly: advocacy and bridge-building strategies, on their own, are failing to create…
Read More
Beyond Bridges: Growing Something That Lasts
At a recent board meeting, we were deep in discussion about our mission statement. We were throwing around a lot of good ideas—words like “bridge-building,” “unity,” “bias,” “community.” Then, a few of our board members—leaders from Indigenous communities—gently pointed something out. They noticed how much of our language, and the broader bridge-building movement’s language, leans…
Read More
A Moment Made for Connection: Why PTU’s Work Is So Urgent Now
Something big is happening in our country, and not in a flashy headline kind of way. It’s quieter than that—but no less urgent. Across the United States, people are feeling lonelier and more disconnected than ever. Even as we live closer together and connect more often online, we’re growing farther apart in real life. Robert…
Read More
Reconsidering Our Mission: A Reflection on Dehumanization and Belonging
I’ve been working to counter dehumanization for over ten years now. In that time, I’ve learned a few things—and some things I already knew have come into sharper focus. I stepped into this work in 2015 after seeing a well-funded network of organizations spreading slander about American Muslims. But it wasn’t just slander. It was…
Read More
Looking for Answers, Finding Questions
by Viveka Hall-Holt, ‘Let’s Go Together’ Program Coordinator This spring I went to Turkiyë (Turkey) with my mother for a course about ancient Christianity, looking for answers. Who were some of the first people who practiced my tradition? How did they live? How do people live out their traditions in Turkiyë now? Instead of coming…
Read More