Dear PeacePodcast.org Friends,
When I received this Substack post and the headline
Two factors predict Civil War……Both are flashing red in the US
I immediately thought of my PeacePodcast #163 with best selling author John Paul Lederach.
We discussed the key ideas from his book The Pocket Guide for Facing Down a Civil War. Surprising ideas from everyday people who shifted the cycles of violence. John stressed the importance of local engagement, strategic relationships, and dialogue for addressing violence. Conflict must be managed at the local level. He introduced the idea of moral imagination: imagining the well-being of others, curiosity, creativity, and calculated risktaking. Transformational conversations and local action are crucial for building peace and sharing the conversations. Watch PeacePodcast.org and have discussions about transforming conflict through Dialogue. John Paul explains the concept of looking for your pockets which encourage people to engage with conflict dynamics at the local level.
He urges us to take a pause and look carefully at what is happening in our own backyards. In the broad landscape of facing down a civil war, each of us matters.
