Fredrick Douglas

Often I find a robin or two sitting on top of my worm depository, a compost pile for growing worms. The robins are waiting for a worm to come near the surface to snatch it up for food. When I turn over the pile or after rain or when it is watered are the best times for the robins. This conflict between robins and worms is one sided but it is a conflict.

There are all kinds of conflicts, some violent, some nonviolent, some creative and some destructive. Conflicts, as Frederic Douglas talks about in the quote below, when healthy, is essential to good leadership and a healthy society. Without conflict he says we would have ‘group-think’. Although Frederic Douglas spoke these words below in 1857 they are relevant today, especially the part of what is true conflict: “The problem in our communities today is not that we have conflict, but that we manufacture conflict and exaggerate differences to the point where it is very difficult to make meaningful change. Too often we abandon basic civility and cannot disagree without questioning the motives of our adversaries.”

I find many people avoid healthy creative conflict by avoiding any type of conflict or by taking a dogmatic side of a concern and not open to change. For a true democracy we need to struggle for the truth and yet be open to opposing views. Gandhi called his side of conflicts ‘opinion of the truth’ and Dorothy Day when pursuing a conflict said “we must follow our conscience, even an erroneous conscience.” They, as many great leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that from healthy conflict the truth would emerge.

Politics these days are so polarized. The side with the most money and best negative ads usually wins. Although Republicans and Democratic are so similar in what they do they, as Douglas says “manufacture conflict and exaggerate differences to the point where it is very difficult to make meaningful change.”

So to develop a true democracy in this country we need healthy and creative conflicts.

Words of Frederic Douglas on conflict are below:

“I am not trying to abolish conflict. There is great value in healthy conflict. And the dangers of group-think are real. Conflict can inspire creative leadership. Where there are fundamental conflicts over values, they should not be ignored in a sentimental yearning for consensus. The problem in our communities today is not that we have conflict, but that we manufacture conflict and exaggerate differences to the point where it is very difficult to make meaningful change. Too often we abandon basic civility and cannot disagree without questioning the motives of our adversaries. Our standard as we debate should be similar to doctors’ Hippocratic Oath: “Do no harm.” Disagree, but don’t tear the community apart as you do.” — Frederick Douglas in a speech in 1857

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