The power of lawn signs and the responsibility of community leaders
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The power of lawn signs and the responsibility of community leaders

For more than a year, I have passed lawn signs purposely placed around my Bergen County neighborhood declaring that the residents, my neighbors, stand proudly with Israel, condemn Hamas’s vicious attacks, and demand the release of the Israeli hostages. Walking through the streets, I have felt a sense of kinship with the residents of my town, and even though we send our kids to different schools, worship at different synagogues, and hold different views on an array of topics, I felt that we are one united community. But as the leaves began to change and as we entered into the final phases of the election season, I saw more lawn signs strewn around town. These signs proclaimed support for national, state, and local officials vying for office, and as I passed these signs, I felt a growing divide in my community.

While walking with others, I heard, and admittedly participated in, conversations about the signs and about the residents, most of whom I did not know, based solely on whether that sign aligned with their or my political views.

Lawn signs have the potential to unite communities and to destroy communities, and the power of these lawn signs only exists when the community gives them that power.

Four years ago, NPR’s All Things Considered aired a podcast, “‘Dude, I’m Done’: When Politics Tears Families And Friendships Apart,” that highlighted the divide centered around the 2020 election. Four years later, the political climate is similar and the divide felt among neighbors remains.

In her book “Beyond the Bubble,” Tania Israel outlines ways to prepare and engage in discussions with people who are not aligned with you on political or social issues. She asks the reader to think critically about the purpose for conversations. If you realize that the goal is to persuade others, vent about issues, or enter into a debate, then perhaps it is best to avoid discussions, she suggests.

But how can that happen when our neighbors openly express support for candidates, views, and ideals with whom and which we do not agree? Should we simply ignore the opportunity to talk and harbor ill-will towards them or talk about them negatively within the confines of our home or with peers who share the same views?

For good reasons, community leaders often avoid engaging in political discussions and taking political stances, but leaders, especially synagogue, school, and youth group leaders, should encourage its members to engage in discussions with one another, despite political differences. Yet many leaders might not be aware of the ways in which its members, our neighbors, can successfully bridge a divide during another divisive election season.

The first step for leaders is to acknowledge the divide in the community and to remind its members, including synagogue members, students, and parents, that judging someone solely based on a sign adorning one’s lawn is a rush to judgment. Don’t look at the container but at what is inside us, Pirkei Avot teaches us. We must see our neighbors for who they are and for who they might be, especially when we only know them as living in that house with the lawn sign.

The second step is for leaders to remind us that discussion for the sake of changing someone’s mind or to engage in debate to ridicule or vent is fruitless. We often think that we cannot talk to others about politics if they do not share our views, yet this is short-sighted. In her book and in her Ted Talk, Ms.Israel explains how discussions are different from debates, and we need to adjust our goal of winning the debate to winning at building connections.

The third step is the most difficult, but one that will help the community see the power of unity even when there appears to be division. Leaders can teach how to engage in respectful dialogue by inviting experts to help members, organizing book or article discussions focused on the topic of respectful dialogue, or even promoting an issue for which the entire community would agree, such as cleaning your campus or neighborhood fields, improving the town’s street safety for cyclists, or any other issue that would be unifying rather than dividing.

This third step is difficult, but for those leaders who feel ready, it can be a productive task as we head into Election Day. But even if the third step seems too difficult, the first two steps should be embraced. Every Jewish community, whether in Teaneck, Englewood, West Orange, or Elizabeth, or far outside the state, should not allow lawn signs to divide us, especially in a year in which lawn signs had united us.

November 5 will pass, our neighbors will continue to be our neighbors, and regardless of our political views, we must find ways to remain a united community.

Eytan Apter of Teaneck, a seasoned educator with 25 years of teaching, administration and consulting experience in a variety of schools across the country, received his Ph.D. in education from Fordham University and has focused his research on the teaching of controversial issues in the classroom. He believes that empowering student voices allows for schools to continue to progress, and whether in the classroom, working with teachers, or engaging with the community, he is a firm believer of transparent communication.

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