COMMENT: Accepting different views helps humanity to flourish

One of my preferred ways of learning is by asking questions, and interacting with human beings face-to-face.

One does, though, have to be very aware of the sort of questions one asks, and to whom one is asking them (especially in Jersey, and especially if you are English).

This approach can appear to be a sign of ignorance and rebellion, but I am prepared to accept both of these charges if it keeps me on the path of life-long learning.

If we can ask questions in the spirit of understanding and mutual respect, then I believe we can build real relationships which can be mutually beneficial and encourage communal flourishing.

In most cases, though, the real problem is that we are unable to hold, or are not prepared to consider, contradictory points of view.

We invariably gravitate to a binary position where someone is wrong and someone is right. In my view, this is made more difficult by social media and the need to respond in an instant without any pause for consideration or reflection.

For humanity to thrive and flourish, we must endeavour to find ways to hold differing views, even if we may profoundly disagree, for we have much to learn from each other.

If you are a fan of the drama series Homeland on Channel 4 you will know that the introduction begins with a voiceover that states (something like) the following:

‘The revolution begins by changing one’s mind. Understanding that there may be another way to see things that you never knew about, because no one has told you, or no one has shared with you, or you have never been prepared to listen before.’

Billy Joel, one of my favourite singer/songwriters, once recorded a song called Shades of Grey with this memorable line: ‘Shades of grey wherever I go, the more I find out the less that I know.’

I can subscribe to this because it frees me from the arrogance of believing that I am always right, and informs me that there is still much to learn and many people to learn from.

I believe we all need to have questions asked about our own cherished and guarded convictions, to allow us, and others, to break down our fortresses of prejudice and stereotyping.

Before I was ordained I worked for British Telecom. One of the jobs I did was to run a department called Continuous Quality Improvement.

They paid me big bucks to ask difficult questions about how or why we did things the way we did in running our business.

No department was off the agenda and any question about how/why was down to me. If the answer to the question ‘why do we do it this way’ was ‘we have always done it this way’ then we knew that there were more questions to be asked. At best, it was considered a lazy answer and, at worst, arrogant and condescending. The acceptable answer, of course, was ‘because this is the best way to do it’.

My ex-boss, the former Dean of Jersey, would often say that those who come to Jersey need to do it the ‘Jersey Way’ and ‘go native’.

I never did understand what he meant by this and I have found it extremely difficult to get a clear definition that is both transparent and consistent when it comes to the Jersey Way.

I suspect that the answer may be different, depending upon whom one asks, so I continue to struggle to understand clearly how Jersey works.

Due to my naivety, and lack of understanding, (after all, I am English) it would be easy to perceive that the Jersey Way is not always transparent to everyone. But there should be no secret levers that are operated by the select few for the benefit of the select few.

At the moment, the Jersey Way seems to depend on who is advocating it, and in what context it is said, and can be open to multiple interpretations.

If the ‘Jersey Way’ is the best way, then let it be open to the clear light of day, transparent for all to see, and if appropriate, enshrined in law, where all are accountable for their actions.

One final point of learning – what does the Jersey expression ‘there’s a boat leaving in the morning’ refer to?