I received a funny comment today. I'd mentioned that I write about a wide range of topics on my newsletter - democracy watch, media literacy, global humanism, climate change, economics, scientific literacy, historiography - but this more conservative person then explained why he doesn't engage with it.
The "moods" comment is hilariously patronizing, but I also know that, while I advocate for constructive dissent as critical to democratic thinking, many see dissent as intrinsically negative. /x
And I don't share the above to make fun of the person suggesting that my "moods" make him afraid to comment on my work.
The comment speaks to something bigger: a view of dissent I see a lot in our small-c conservative climate.
It's really hard to build a healthy conversation when folks (for whatever reason) are afraid to share how they really feel about something.
The question is how to build a society where people don't see dissent as dangerous. Constructive dialogue is hard--but necessary!