- What if we raised a generation so that they learned to be “conflict literate?”
- What if we students in business, management, law, and even medicine learned how to turn conflict from a liability into an asset?
- What if all of us at diverse faith-based schools taught about other systems of belief?
- What if we created in every community a public space designed for dialogue?
- What if we developed news media that were a laboratory for negotiation and dialogue?
- What if those of us in education learned and applied the tools of the Mediator?
- What if we voters supported political candidates who ran campaigns that strengthened communities rather than dividing them to get the most votes?
- What if we encouraged the U.S. Congress and other national legislatures to have an Office of Facilitation?
Some do not understand
that we must die,
But those who do realize this
settle their quarrels.
~ The Buddha
What if we provided every serious conflict, particularly civil wars, with a mediation team that used these eight tools? What if we reformed the UN so that it had not only a Security Council but an Inquiry Council? What if we challenged defenders of the environment and defenders of economic growth to work together for a sustainable, equitable human future?
Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities by Mark Gerzon
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