News Above the Noise—Week of November 17, 2024
1. If You’re Sure How the Next Four Years Will Play Out, You’re Wrong
In the wake of the recent presidential election, many of us are projecting into the future, imagining how national and global events may play out under new leadership. Yet organizational psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant offers an insightful look at why we should stop doing this: “A hunch about the future can feel like a certainty because the present is so overwhelmingly, well, present,” he writes in a recent op-ed in The New York Times. “It’s staring us in the face. Especially in times of great anxiety, it can be all too tempting—and all too dangerous—to convince ourselves the future is just as visible.” To read Grant’s piece, click here.
2. Tim Shriver on Why It’s Time All of Us Reject Contempt
In a powerful op-ed for Newsweek, Tim Shriver offers a solution for what he calls a crisis of contempt: Dignity. “Contempt, not policy differences, is tearing us apart,” Shriver writes. “Now that the election is over, we desperately need a dignity strategy that can ease our national crisis of contempt. We need a deescalation of contempt and an increase in dignity in how we treat each other. This is our nation's most urgent priority.” To read more about how we might make progress on this front—and why it’s a job for all of us, not just president-elect Trump—click here.
3. Family Estrangement Doesn't Have to Be Forever
A staggering 27 percent of Americans over the age of 18 are estranged from a family member, according to a recent survey. Those who’ve experienced a fall-out may wonder: Is reconciliation possible, and what might it look like? Multiple experts—including Sunday Paper contributor Joshua Coleman, PhD—offer possible paths to reconnection in this excellent article.
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