John P Dorris

Learning to Hear the Whispered Screams from a Collective Soul John P Dorris

The growing animosity between liberals and conservatives is contributing to advocacy efforts that exclude the broader community and focus only on results. This extremism disregards the principles that connect people across the political spectrum ignores the collateral damage to the broader community. This book describes a type of advocacy that draws from the leadership and learning potential we all have to promote community progress that can be sustained long-term. The Visible/Invisible Advocacy (VIA) model presented in the book calls attention to an unseen and more fundamental divide in the community; an emerging divide that is critical to consider when fighting for a cause. The VIA model emphasizes the importance of not only how we advocate for a cause, but how our advocacy approach can be yet another form of advocacy. Barriers to effectively advocating for community progress are discussed, along with suggestions for how the VIA model can help overcome these barriers. Essentially, the argument made in this book is that the issues that divide us, as important as they are, are like bright shiny objects that distract and prevent us from seeing things as they are; from seeing our more fundamental potential for personal connectivity. And, ironically, it is such personal connectivity that can help us build communities that are better equipped to handle these important, but divisive issues.