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Dialogue, the art of breathing in and living in a European democracy

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I was browsing through quotes about the role of dialogue in democracy. I came across this one from the late American journalist William Greider: “Democracy begins in human conversation. A democratic conversation does not require elaborate rules of procedure or utopian notions of perfect consensus. What it does require is a spirit of mutual respect – people conversing critically with one another in an atmosphere of shared regard.”

It's almost time for the European elections, and we live in a very divided world. Have we lost the ability for dialogue? This was, actually, the same question we asked when we set out to apply for our project. We wanted to bring dialogue to everyone in all kinds of settings to prevent polarisation. Schools, workplaces, voluntary organisations or even blocks of flats are all micro-democracies because they bring people together to decide on matters that unite them and that are meaningful. This means that we need dialogue skills for democratic participation at all levels of society: from our own backyard to the European Parliament.

In this sense William Greider was right: Human conversation will help us understand each other and eventually lead to more informed and better decision-making. But we need to remind ourselves of a critical dialogue skill: breathing in. We have learned while testing dialogues with learners around Europe that suspension is the most difficult skill of all: learning to reflect and wait until we enter the conversation. This means that we don’t follow our immediate gut reaction, but we breathe in first. In our dialogue guide we say that “suspension is a virtue that is needed of all of us”.

The skill of suspension and breathing in first are, indeed, virtues that we need whether we are in a debate at our local football club or at the European Parliament. When in a conversation, breathing in gives you time to remember what dialogue is all about: mutual respect and shared regard, as the quote says.

Democracy is of course not only about dialogue but built of many kinds of actions and processes. So: breathe in and don’t forget to vote!

Marion Fields 

Comments

  1. Bernarda, SloveniaJuly 4, 2024 at 2:21 PM

    Democracy does start at our doorstep, I fully agree. To nurture dialogue in our day to day communication for me means to open doors for the whole story we are about to hear from another person and to accept that our view is not morally superior to another person’s point of view just because it reflects OUR experience. And the same goes for another person. Mutual respect and shared regard, indeed, are the key. Without mutual respect and shared regard we don’t stand a chance to be heard and we cannot really hear another person either.

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