Search results for: dehumanization
Countering Dehumanization
We counter dehumanization by bringing neighbors across difference into real relationships that restore dignity, belonging, and shared responsibility. Dehumanization happens when fear and division cause us to stop seeing each other as fully human. Paths to Understanding responds by creating spaces where people meet across differences, listen deeply, and rediscover our shared humanity. At PTU,…
Read MoreReconsidering 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 MoreDehumanization Du Jour
I have learned a lot about how dehumanization works in the last 8 years. One of the most heart piercing lessons for me is that dehumanization is not only suggesting people to be targets of violence to those already prone to violence. It does that. But not only that. Dehumanization is a process in which…
Read MoreShadow of Dehumanization
I began working on a farm when I was in sixth grade. One of the tasks I was assigned a few years later was to take down some barbed wire fencing. There were miles of it. I would go out with good hardy gloves, pull out the “U” nails from the fence posts for about…
Read MoreGovernance for Thriving: Why We Need a New Kind of Growth – Part One
American democracy feels worn thin. Too many people feel left out, unheard, or unseen. For decades we’ve measured success by how fast the economy grows—but not by how well people are doing. We built a system that rewards rivalry between groups instead of relationships between neighbors. The Deeper Problem: We humans naturally form groups. It’s…
Read MoreSeeing the Human in One Another
I was recently at Princeton Seminary to support one of our staff members at a program for young Christian leaders. It’s an excellent program—full of bright, committed people. One of the presenters talked about how many younger folks have mixed feelings about “institutional” religion. Afterward, I joined a small group conversation. I said I wasn’t…
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