Last week I had the unique opportunity to participate in and present my work at a national conference focusing on intercultural communication in Portland, Oregon — a place that has been called a burned-out hellhole and a violent cauldron by our current president. It was an extraordinary experience, bringing together several hundred folks with a goal of deepening connections and conversations around how to bridge cultural divides and differences whilst continuing to manifest respect and appreciation for diversity, inclusion, and equity. I felt deeply blessed to have introduced Creating the Intercultural Field: Legacies from the Pioneers, which I co-edited and authored, due out from Springer Nature/Palgrave Macmillan this week. 

The conference provided a poignant and stark contrast with the current agenda that is being so actively advocated by this federal administration. As opposed to the mean spirited, divisive, distorted and even hateful objectives of 47’s policies and agenda, this five-day gathering encouraged its participants to dig in, listen, learn and collaboratively learn and teach to its large and critical topic: “Inclusive Interculturalism: Purpose, Possibilities, and Progress.” 

Its bold theme flies in the face of all that is being done and undone daily by our president and his cronies and sycophants. I was pleased and proud to be a facilitator and trainer during my days in Portland — this is a crowd with whom I hold much in common. The conference offered a strong vision as to how we as a nation need to pivot immediately toward a more inclusive, open-minded, and respectful way of thinking, doing, and being in all our individual and collective endeavors: a far cry from where we have been and where we seem headed at this cultural and national inflection point.  While many presenters were critical of the current challenges our government faces and espouses, the overall ambiance was positive and engaging. Hope was amply evident throughout the keynotes, plenaries, and breakout rooms. 

One of my close professional colleagues/friends, Dr. Jack Condon, a professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, introduced his recently published volume entitled It Goes Without Saying: Culture as Communication, an elegant and profound treatise on how we as humans perceive, think, and communicate. In it, he points out that the vast bulk of human communication occurs through facial expressions, eye contact (or the lack thereof), gestures, and body language and that only seven percent of our shared communication is via speech. 

Our differing abilities and shared human rights are being trampled upon and minimized at every turn. By bringing thought-leaders from around the U.S. together to reconstitute and refine our intercultural identities, this conference offered a rebuke and antidote to the way of thinking and being that orders us to be less than, fractured, and isolated from one another. It’s valuable to note that one needn’t be a bigwig to speak and act in order to restore sanity. Presenters at the conference were not household names or superstars and that matters. As thought leaders, they include professionals from many fields, doing everyday work as educators, researchers, trainers, and consultants. They demonstrated that each of us has a part to play in restoring a caring and inclusive society. At a time when the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) are on the outs in too many ways and places, conference attendees celebrated these values and the people who work daily to forefront them in their lives and livelihoods. 

I ask myself every day how I may continue to demonstrate sensitivity and care with those who differ from me in one or more ways — which is to say, everyone. Awareness of difference and diversity comes first and foremost — observing and experiencing that we are each unique beings, but that our common humanity holds much more depth and importance than our singular idiosyncrasies. With this sense of 24/7 mindfulness, I can then begin to practice its corollary term, kindfulness, to one and all. Showing respect and appreciation for our differences is both human and humane, and it is the way forward. 

I know that I myself still need reminders and wake-up calls to keep on this path. There are too many contradictions in our society that collude against building a strong and thriving DEIB world. Learning, re-learning, and practicing an intercultural life is not but is essential. We all need the support of others to rebuild our communities and world with an intercultural framework — one that recognizes, appreciates, and celebrates the unique contributions and potentials we each have. Today, this column is one way of walking the path: sharing the care that I feel for others who have different ways of thinking, doing, and being so that we all may thrive in our individual and collective lives.

Daniel Cantor Yalowitz writes a regular column in the Recorder. A developmental and intercultural psychologist, he has facilitated change in many organizations and communities around the world. His two most recent books are “Journeying with Your Archetypes” and “Reflections on the Nature of Friendship.” Reach out to him at danielcyalowitz@gmail.com.