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Wednesday, April 12, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Civility and Socrates
By Brtce Rognlien
Guest Columnist
I am involved with the
Citizens4Civility (C4C) non-
profit here in Sisters Country.
For about 18 months we have
been hosting quarterly Civil-
ity Project/Speak Your Peace
meetings to share ideas and
techniques for how we can all
be more respectful with each
other. We have been focusing
on nine core tenets of civility.
I’ve noticed the word
“civility” sometimes gets a
bad rap as an antiquated, puri-
tanical or heavy-handed con-
cept — one that will quash
debate or somehow curtail
the human spirit. In today’s
culture it’s often considered
more “cool” (and entertain-
ing) to be an impassioned dis-
rupter or sarcastic critic.
T h r o u g h o u t h i s t o r y,
though, civil discourse has
been considered very hip by
many leaders and scholarly
thinkers. Included among
these is the 5th century B.C.
philosopher Socrates. The
“Socratic Method” named for
him argues that disciplined,
civil discussion (i.e., civility)
is key to productive debates;
and this type of communica-
tion enhances understanding
and advances — rather than
curtails — the human spirit.
Wikipedia defines the
Socratic Method as: “a coop-
erative argumentative dia-
logue between individuals
based on asking and answer-
ing questions to stimulate
critical thinking and draw
out ideas and underlying
presumptions.”
The ground rules are that a
topic is selected by a group to
discuss. (To put it into Sisters
Country context, topics could
be the roundabout, hiking
trails, local economic growth,
etc.) The purpose of the dis-
cussion is to hear differing
viewpoints and offer partici-
pants opportunities to better
explain their perspectives —
without quarreling.
A key to a Socratic discus-
sion is there are no winners or
losers. Because of the format,
the participants in a Socratic
discussion know they will
not be personally attacked.
They are therefore more able
to engage in a free flow of
ideas and positions. The goal
is a healthy, fun and intellec-
tually vigorous discussion.
Everyone goes home better
informed about other points
of view; and everyone gains
more knowledge about the
meeting’s topic.
Civility is important to
all of us. And hopefully,
in Sisters, it will always
be considered on trend
and “cool.” Indeed, C4C’s
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community-wide, quar-
terly meetings are often
as entertaining as they are
informative.
C4C encourages using the
Civility Project/Speak Your
Peace tenets throughout Sis-
ters Country — at City Hall,
in HOA settings, etc. — wher-
ever citizens gather to address
local issues and develop
effective solutions. I suggest
using the Socratic Method of
discussion also could enhance
local discussions, especially
when we need to learn more
about a subject before decid-
ing on a course of action.
Socrates is credited by his
student Plato as saying: “Life
without examination (dia-
logue) is not worth living.”
I don’t know about that, but
certainly we need to look at
our community and enter into
healthy Socratic discussions
(without arguing). This better
informs us all; and it encour-
ages all of us to “speak our
peace” in a cooperative man-
ner that promotes safety.
Try a Socratic discussion
with your friends. See how it
works — but remember the
ground rules!
WORKMAN’S
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Workman’s comp.,
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541.549.3583
Registration opens for
trail volunteer training
Registration is currently
open for volunteers interested
in an annual training week-
end focused on developing
skills to perform trail main-
tenance on the Deschutes and
Willamette National Forests.
Each year the Deschutes
and Willamette National
Forests, The Pacific Crest
Trail Association, and
the High Cascades Forest
Volunteers host trainings,
called Trail Skills Colleges,
which train and certify vol-
unteers to do trail work.
The sessions are designed
to train both new and return-
ing volunteers and to allow
them to meet other volunteers
who work to provide quality
recreation experiences for
forest visitors. Learning trail
stewardship will enhance
your trail experience and help
make the trails we enjoy bet-
ter for all.
Class offerings include
Chainsaw and Crosscut certi-
fication, Introduction to Trail
Maintenance, Trail Design,
Wi l d l a n d R e s t o r a t i o n ,
Drainage Design and Drain
Dips, Working with Packers
and Pack Stock, and many
others.
The training is free of
charge and volunteers may
attend the full weekend or
only portions of the training.
In Sisters Country, training is
available at Allingham Guard
Station near Camp Sherman
June 1-4. Registration for
Allingham closes May 15.
For more information and
to register visit: http://www.
highcascadesvolunteers.com/
Training/SpringTraining.
html. For more informa-
tion contact Joe Welke,
Deschutes National Forest
trails volunteer coordinator,
at 541-383-4040.
Classifieds are online at
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