In November 2021, an elderly man, thin and with a dignified demeanor leavened by an impish smile, traveled from Salt Lake City to the University of Virginia with an urgent message.
I embrace the idea of society as a permanent state of negotiation and agree that we should never seek to dominate others. The idea that we could or should have total agreement with our own position is unwise. Instead, it is wise to exercise patient engagement, patient negotiation, and deliberation to build a better future to inhabit. We should study the past and learn from it, but we are always constantly moving forward and must keep moving forward. Negotiation, principled accommodation, and the wise exercise of agency really are the best bet for a better future.
I embrace the idea of society as a permanent state of negotiation and agree that we should never seek to dominate others. The idea that we could or should have total agreement with our own position is unwise. Instead, it is wise to exercise patient engagement, patient negotiation, and deliberation to build a better future to inhabit. We should study the past and learn from it, but we are always constantly moving forward and must keep moving forward. Negotiation, principled accommodation, and the wise exercise of agency really are the best bet for a better future.