Some Back and Forth Ideas to Communicate and Tune into the Fourth of July Freedom (of speech and association, community and country..)

o the Editor:

 Being open to hear people with differing views is part of how we can tune into our local and wider sense of humanity, culture and politics. 

 

Plenty of people and positive networking efforts continue yet the challenges of talking things over 'even in theory for a few minutes' or in open forums online are challenging whether people disagree a little or a lot.

 

As a game like charades but with various topics to practice if not scripts, we could all talk that over the idea of being more planned or even playful about interacting on the phone, in emails, in person with people we know or meet in various social settings.

 

 Every faith group, non-profit, business, school or other group needs to clarify what is expected on their physical property or even in online gatherings to help everyone 'remember what the guidelines are so everyone can feel more clear about that.' Those may evolve over time and a few members of any group could be appointed as contact people to be more inclusive or clarify what the limits are.

 

 We can use games, plays or practical guidelines to define and 'toe the line' of what is okay to say or not in various circumstances or respectful ways to let one another know 'social distancing' is still in place for one reason or another.

 

 One idea would be to create a nametag (even with a code name or first name) with color and number codes like '1 Green means okay to talk' about simple non-personal matter for a 1-2 minute share or for a 4 minute 2-way conversation; 2 Yellow means please ask to speak for a few minutes about anything that may involve an opinion or personal question for 1-5 minutes of a shared conversation, and 3 Red means please ask if to speak about any hot topics in politics, religion, finance, personal matters etc.

 

 Also an option could be to  use the spoken or gestured code (holding up 1, 2 or 3 fingers for instance) for starting or any continued talk. Set boundaries, interact and 'repeat' if people agree to do so. This is often done informally by setting appointments to talk but on the fly, asking if one would like to talk lightly or share more deeply for a few minutes may be an option to navigate social interactions.

 

 Feel free to extend the time parameters to allow each person to set social boundaries that work for them, possibly agreeing to be in touch another time with an email, phone call or a third party assisting with other interactions. This is only an example of helping one another tune in to one's emotional and social signals that have been muffled during the pandemic terms.

 

 There is a talk about this kind of idea in a playful manner on the Southern Berkshire Toastmasters FB page. I have used the number system with a few folks and some schools use the green-yellow and red lights as guides for class behavior. In some groups that can be used as guides to timing a speech agenda usually from 1-7 minute intervals for instance.  

 

 Trying to understand where one another is coming from in terms of personal, family, cultural, national histories and values could shed more light on what is happening in our communities.

 

  What might assist people in sharing more of their concerns and hopefully creative healing ideas in one forum or another? Doing so anonymously likely works best, but with the monitoring of everything online and off and even in any court or legal proceeding and in many public arenas, few things can be shared in the spirit of hearing what one another is thinking, believing or able to consider even in terms of WIT (What If Thinking.)

 

 Let's try to find a few spokespeople and form online and local 'message centers' for each age and stage of life to help all people understand the needs and options for managing basics such as having housing, support for care and schooling, work and travel to work and appointments and other basics. Tackling politics and problems would be worthwhile too with some supportive questions and ideas to explore as well. 

 

More team efforts in every town to provide for ways for people to 'talk shop' about being part of a community even with many connections online or in neighboring areas can help people feel part of a tribe with a team effort rather than isolated and silenced. Thanks to all working along these lines and for being willing to bridge gaps and face challenges of all kinds together for the greater good.