If you’ve lived in Northampton for at least the last few years, you’ve likely noticed that we in Paradise City at times descend into Hadestown. We did for sure in the spring of 2025, when Northampton High School staged the Broadway musical Hadestown and it seemed like everyone in town was there. But I’m speaking about another kind of underworld in which we increasingly find ourselves, one where those with whom we disagree become our mortal enemies.
Northampton is not alone in this tendency — it’s a nationwide epidemic — but it’s hard not to point out the irony, in a city that prides itself on its progressive values of freedom, equality, dignity, and justice. Indeed, for all the well-intentioned lawn signs proclaiming All Are Welcome Here, in practice often only certain ideas, opinions, and viewpoints are considered acceptable while opposing ones are dismissed and demonized.
The flashpoints are many: Project Main Street. The Resilience Hub. School funding. Affordable housing. Weapons contractor L3Harris vs. antiwar activists. Trump fans vs. No Kings protesters. Supporters of Israel vs. supporters of Palestine; Zionists vs. anti-Zionists vs. non-Zionists. There have been shouting matches in person and vicious attacks online. Lawsuits have been brought. Doxxing has occurred.
Some among us have grown to distrust local government. Some have waning faith in people’s good intentions. Some feel afraid and unsafe, and don’t know how to remain calm and measured with so much on the line. These scenarios can lead folks to cut off contact with those who think differently and retreat into their silos. This polarization doesn’t help matters. In fact, it may deepen feelings of alienation and despair.
The reasons for toxic polarization are well known: political and government dysfunction, wealth disparities, identity politics, social disconnection, social media algorithms, the media landscape, conflict entrepreneurs, and more. It can feel like things are so broken in our civic spaces that we’ll never be able to restore our sense of dignity and common cause.
Happily, locally, there are exceptions to the rule. In early September, a letter was printed in these pages attesting to how two groups — the Downtown Northampton Association and the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts — managed to resolve a conflict over the coinciding of this year’s Taste of Northampton with the Jewish high holiday Rosh Hashanah.
We would hope such civic partnerships become customary, but until then we have some work to do. As President Lincoln stated during his 1862 State of the Union address amid the Civil War, “The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.” Learning to disagree better takes time and effort — a combination of personal reflection, skills building, and practice.
Let’s keep in mind that disagreements and conflict are not in themselves the problem. Differences of opinion are at the very core of our nation’s founding. Strong feelings, debates, even arguments are inevitable in a democratic republic. It’s when these conflicts escalate into contempt that we begin to see the fraying of our social fabric.
This is where our project comes in. I’m part of Braver Angels in Western Mass, the western Massachusetts contingent of the nation’s largest cross-partisan volunteer-led organization promoting Courageous Citizenship. Formed in 2016 in response to Red/Blue political polarization and still largely dedicated to that mission, Braver Angels has more recently begun championing Citizen-Led Solutions, whereby citizens take ownership of problems in their communities to rebuild civic trust and find common-ground solutions, using respect and courage as guiding principles.
As our first step in composing a group of Northamptonites committed to working across differences to resolve disputes, BAWM will offer a free skills workshop to the public titled “Challenging Conversations: Turning Arguments into Discussions.” Scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 18, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at College Church at 58 Pomeroy Terrace in Northampton, the workshop will cover topics including how to disagree without demonizing, dismissing, or stereotyping; listening to understand, not to persuade; and speaking in a way that others will hear.
Workshop co-sponsors include College Church, Edwards Church, First Churches, Unitarian Society of Northampton & Florence, Congregation B’nai Israel, Beit Ahavah, Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts, and Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership.
As the 13th-century Sufi poet Rumi wrote, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
Meet us Oct. 18 and help us begin rebuilding civic dialogue in Northampton. To register for the workshop (there’s a 50-participant maximum), visit https://tinyurl.com/northampton-civic-dialogue or email depolarizewmass@gmail.com.
Rachel Markowitz lives in Northampton.