I was struck by Maxwells last post about Krolls piece. Mediation strategies are forms of facilitating communication, especially communication that is within the bounds of argumentation. Reconstructive strategies and approaches that are grounded in critical thinking, mediation and deliberation, and respect for all parties involved have potential to bring about resolutions that may not “solve” the deep seeded differences between parties, but may create room for conversation, common ground, and produce space to move forward on a path that may appease the parties involved.
Reconstruction in practice could potentially be a strategy that our congressional leaders could participate in, or it could be something teachers employ to diffuse tensions in a classroom, or could even be a possible practice for mediating family and friendship tensions.
A potential road block that immediately comes to mind is first, getting people to approach uncomfortable topics of conversation. It seems as though many people will avoid tough conversations and would rather ignore them, even at the expense of well being or resolving conflict. In my own personal experiences and general observations I have had the misfortune of watching people remain silent or avoid tough talk because it is uncomfortable. The general unwillingness of people to take even those first few steps of approaching uncomfortable topics and issues is not I think unwarranted, but has the potential to create flare ups of emotions. For example, if two people are in disagreement over an important issue and chose to avoid it - sometimes emotions can build up and lead to people meeting their breaking point. This can result in yelling, crying, and very emotional situations. Emotions aren’t inherently bad, and these blow ups can results in resolutions, but I find it interesting that instead of first approaching topics and issues when they arise, people can be more inclined to just avoid the issue openly and let things build up.
So, when a mediator isn’t there, and people have to rely on themselves and those who they are having disagreements with, how can people resolve the fears associated with becoming both the mediator and a party to the disagreement? Is this part of our culture of argumentation?
