One thing is for sure.
Our planet will not be powered with shine until we figure out how to disagree with civility.
It is easy to watch the news and assume that the recent problems in Cairo are reserved for places like Egypt; places 7,000 miles away and ruled by a corrupt regime. But, there is plenty of evidence suggesting that we are no better at managing conflict than our Egyptian neighbors.
The shooting in Arizona last month and increased incidents of school-aged bullying are proof of our nation's growing incivilities. While closer to home, these examples are still distant enough that many of us will feel absolved and want to believe I am talking about someone else.
I am not. Me included.
The truth is our ability to disagree with civility about big things depends in large part on how practiced we are managing disagreement over little things. So let me ask you:
What do you do when, to your dismay, a neighbor parks his car in front of your home for days on end? Ring the doorbell and politely ask him to park his car somewhere else or outsmart your neighbor by parking your own car there?
How do you handle it when a colleague oversteps his boundaries and offends you? Address it professionally, from one colleague to another, or vent to a third party over lunch?
How often do you default to Facebook, email, or texting to confront a friend about something that is bothering you? Ten years ago a faculty member of mine shared that she loved email because it was easier to confront people electronically than it was in person. The irony that this woman was employed to educate future leaders has never escaped me.
Disagreeing with civility - instead of aggressively or passive aggressively - is similar to developing a muscle. The more you exercise the confidence and skill it requires, the stronger your muscle gets. I think the same is true of our nation. The better our nation gets at disagreeing with civility, the stronger we get.
Shining off until tomorrow...