PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

November 10, 2021

US VS THEM (Part III)

David Berreby in his article “What Divides Us” in the April 2018 issues of National Geographic, describes a 1954 experiment by researchers from the University of Oklahoma.  A group of sixth graders from similar backgrounds were divided into two groups.  Each group was turned loose in Robbers Cave State Park.  Within days of establishing a home base the two groups discovered each other and soon were at war.  This went on for two weeks.

The third week the boys were told that something had happened and the boys were needed o help unpack food which had been delivered in crates.  The two groups were forced to work together.  By the end of the third week they were all the best of pals and bygones were bygones.  One of the learnings from the experiment is that groups can change their perception of each other both for the positive or negative.

From the time of the conquest of the Promised Land until Saul becoming king, the Hebrew people were a loose confederation of twelve tribes.  They tended to have “us/them” thinking rather than they did to have “we” thinking.  This period is described in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible.  An exception to “us/them” thinking would be when one or more of the tribes would be under attack.  At such times various tribes would come together to defeat the invader.

A number of years ago when I was the chairperson of the North Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church’s Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns we sponsored a workshop with Jim Campbell who worked in the area of conflict resolution, especially between unions and management.  As a Commission we were looking to get some insight as to how we as United Methodists might have meaningful dialogue with Muslims.  As the workshop unfolded, we also discovered that what Jim suggested was also useful in fostering dialogue in other areas which were hot topics in the conference at the time.

Jim said that the essential question when doing conflict resolution is “Why are we in the same room?”  It is almost impossible resolve disputes if there is no reason for the parties to be in the same room.  In the case of the experiment in the National Geographic article, a reason was created for the two groups of boys to be in the same room: a common task of unloading supplies.  This activity fostered dialogue and a resolution of the conflict between the two groups.

What might happen if the members of U.S. House of Representatives would engage in a common task that had no political overtones? The House could be divided into smaller groups provided the subgroups had members from both parties.  Different tasks could be developed that fit in with the talents and abilities of different house members.  Furthermore, it would be important that this not be just a one shot deal, but would continue over a period of time.

What might happen if members of local city and county government here in Indiana would have regular sessions of volunteering in the community?  There are lots of organizations and groups that could use some volunteer help.  One month the officials might volunteer for one group, the next month with another.  The officials would learn more about the community, would come to know each other better, and foster an atmosphere in which ideas might be fruitfully discussed.