These days, it's almost impossible to have a civil conversation with anyone of a different political view. But contrary to what you might believe, learning to talk to someone who holds deeply ingrained opinions that differ from yours without the conversation quickly devolving into an argument or nasty fight is possible, but it takes time and possibly training. That is the topic of the conversation that prompted this article.

I spent some time with Robert Jensen, author of "It's Debatable: Speaking Authentically about Tough Topics," because his book provides a way to have more in-depth and meaningful conversations on topics that are fraught with mine fields. Given the divisive political environment today, Robert Jensen and authors like him may be our only hope for being able to bridge the growing gap between the left and the right. Robert Jensen writes for those who want arguments to be grounded on facts, logic, critical introspection, and respect for one another.

https://www.laprogressive.com/

Robert Jensen, It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics (Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press, 2024).

https://robertwjensen.org/books/its-debatable/

https://www.interlinkbooks.com/product/its-debatable/

https://www.amazon.com/Its-Debatable-Talking-Authentically-Tricky/dp/1623716845/

Subscribe to the Robert Jensen Email Updates List at http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org/jensenupdates-info.html

Former judge Bill Blum chats with the LA Progressive about the ways in which the Supreme Court has supercharged the nation’s gun violence epidemic. He tells Dick Price and Sharon Kyle of the LA Progressive that the Supreme Court has left our schools, streets and communities soaked in blood. He says we'd be wrong if we justed pointed the blame at the National Rifle Association and their lackeys in the Republican Party. Raise another finger.

You can read Bill Blum's article here:

https://www.laprogressive.com/law-and-justice/american-way-of-death

Henry Giroux is an American-Canadian scholar and cultural critic. One of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy in the United States, he is best known for his pioneering work in public pedagogy, cultural studies, youth studies, higher education, media studies, and critical theory. Henry Giroux sits with Dick Price and Sharon Kyle of the LA Progressive and explains how liberal education strengthens democracy. You can read the article Henry wrote on this same topic here:

https://www.laprogressive.com/education-reform/critical-pedagogy-in-dark-times