March Blog Post

I really enjoyed the idea in chapter 12 of Advocacy through Dialogue. The very basis for advocacy is to publicly support the ideas of others or yourself to an opposing audience. In order for anything to be achieved, we have to be in a situation in which a healthy steady dialogue can be reached. We can, of course, express our opinions and those of our side. However, in order to be productive we have to be willing to open ourselves to the criticism of not just those who agree with us but also those who oppose us and we, in turn, must be willing to give honest feedback of the other side. This type of open honest dialogue is what we need to come together and improve.

The problem with this concept is that it requires that both sides open themselves to criticism and in turn by being honest with each other we help to make the argument for the other side stronger. We can’t accept that even as the other side deals with the same reservations we are trapped in a theoretical stalemate where neither side is willing to move to help itself for fear of also helping their opponent.

Without trying to get political, this is the main concern with politics both sides are so concerned with protecting their ideas from the other side that they refuse to open up and discuss the flaws in their plans. When ideas are brought forward “dialogue” if you want to call it that has degraded to attacks that have no constructive backing. This doesn’t help the process, it only causes people to revert back to their original plan of not saying anything or attacking right back. Politics is perhaps the worst place for this to happen. We need an open healthy dialogue to stimulate new ideas and concepts rather than attacking them. (sorry political rant over)

Circling back to advocacy, the hope to effect change is based on the concept of open willingness to listen and critique the ideas of others. Not to shoot them down but to expand and solve their ideas. We often think of advocacy as a one-way street but it’s two way and it requires feedback to succeed.