The news cycle is on high spin. The headlines never stop. In between, we have polarization, division, and civil strife. Are we at the brink? Or is democracy doing what democracy does: resiliently expressing the will of the people and channeling the passions of society.
Does it matter if we are civil? What's at stake if we do or if we don't act civilly? In 2011, we published 'Having Difficult Conversations' by Tom Warshauer, then Community & Commerce Manager in the City of Charlotte’s Neighborhood & Business Services Department. Warshauer writes, "Despite growing up in a democracy, we spend little time developing the skills to manage it well. Much of our life is spent learning to win, not learning to listen...We must learn a new paradigm for discussion, one that values difference and seeks understanding, not winning. We must allow for conflict and disagreement within the love of family, within the respect of work, and within the work of community building."
In 2012, we published "Empowering Human Capital' by Patrick Graham, then President/CEO of the Urban League of Central Carolinas. Graham notes that solutions to economic and social disparities are tied to activating untapped human potential. He writes, "Leaders must view the educational and economic development of communities facing the gravest disparities as sources of human capital that will help our region and nation gain a competitive edge in a global economy."
We include a review of Hollywood films about Hollywood by former editor John Schact, a moving story about trains and conversation by Meghan Barnes, and an artist gallery by Jon Cain. You'll also see links to two of our PDF magazines, one with a lead column from Elsie Garner in 2010 about truth in public media, and one from Vic Howie in 2004 proposing what would become the National Whitewater Center. To our democracy, Mark Peres
Charlotte Viewpoint Founder The Charlotte Center Founder & Executive Director |
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Having Difficult Conversations |
Our country is deep in discussions on discourse. President Obama, speaking eloquently at the memorial for those shot at Tucson, urged us to disagree without being disagreeable. While I appreciated the concept, I admit I had often wanted him to pursue his agenda more aggressively. Where was the winner-take-all attitude that many have wanted? Here he was again asking us, and that included me, to be civil, to think and act on higher ideals. His remarks challenged me to reexamine what was happening in my life and in my community regarding our conversations and conflicts. How do we disagree? What does civility mean? Is there something I can learn that can help me, personally and professionally?
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From 2012: Empowering Human Capital |
When I first arrived as a freshman on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University in August of 1988, I was excited about the new opportunities that awaited me in my new home. Charlotte was a growing city with a new coliseum on the way, a large banking presence, growing airport, and a destination for new talent from around the country. At first glance, it seemed a total change from the economically and racially segregated streets I experienced in my hometown of Long Beach, New York, where African-American, Hispanic Americans, and some poorer European Americans literally lived on the other side of the railroad tracks.
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From 2016: Hollywood Under Its Own Lens |
In his brilliant archeological culture dig into Los Angeles' backstory, 1990's City of Quartz, the progressive sociologist Mike Davis chronicles the city's Hollywood-driven mythology, at one point summarizing it via the long list of writers who've had their souls broken by the film industry: "To move to Lotusland is to sever connection with national reality, to lose historical and experiential footing, to surrender critical distance, and to submerge oneself in spectacle and fraud. |
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From 2012:
Trains & Spaces |
She says she believes in mermaids, but not in God, because she’d seen a mermaid at Ripley’s, during her first week away at college. That she’d never seen God, not even in lowlands where her mother and father were buried. |
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Former Art Director at Luquire George Andrews in Charlotte, NC, Jon Cain is now Associate Creative Director - Global Brand at Harley-Davidson Motor Company. His work can be seen at http://joncain.com/. |
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About Charlotte Viewpoint |
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Charlotte Viewpoint is a magazine about the city and culture of the Charlotte region that ran from 2003-2016. Charlotte Viewpoint published civic and cultural commentary and programmed events about Charlotte for engaged citizens to nurture creative capital, elevate civic discourse and promote intellectual and artistic excellence in the Charlotte region. |
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| Charlotte Viewpoint has been archived by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room for its historical significance. |
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