"Rehumanization, in this capacity to mobilize compassion and integrity, is really about the ability to reach in and be honest with yourself and learn to love yourself."
I want to weave that question of how we understand compassion back in to where I think we are today in our both local and national and global setting. I think we are facing, interestingly enough, a kind of a paradox. And the paradox is that those of us that study the issues of war and peace know that there has been a pretty significant decline in the number of wars. In fact, there’s kind of a pretty significant debate about whether this is a pattern that we can more fully see happening in ways that are going to be significantly sustained. But at the same time, we seem to be far more fragmented in our societies…I think we live in an age of fragmentation, and far too often I think fragmentation breeds dehumanization. This, for me, has led to some reflection about my own field and some exploration around what it is that is both the purpose and the deeper motivation for why we do the kind of work we do in conflict and peacebuilding…
Lederach, John Paul. “Compassion and Integrity in an Age of Fragmentation.” Address presented at the Hesston College 2016 Homecoming, Hesston, Kansas, October 6, 2016.
Recorded at and shared with the permission of Hesston College.
Thoughts about the challenge of to all of us as leaders when we live in settings of social fragmentation and at the same time are committed to pursue justice and healing in our relationships.
Reflections on the signing of the Colombian Peace Agreement, informed from practitioner experience and scholarly research.
A tribute written in honor of Rosa Jiménez Ahumada, a peacebuilder who committed her lift to building a more peaceful and just world through peace education, research, and practice.