In our previous episode (Ep. 36), Tim Shriver says America’s widening political and social divides are, surprisingly, not due to our differences. “We’ve always had differences,” he says, “Contempt is the problem.” Shriver explains why treating others with dignity is more likely to produce the results we want and why contempt usually does the opposite. He and his colleagues created The Dignity Index to help us recognize the various ways we can regard our adversaries—either with contempt or with dignity.

In the current episode, Futernick interviews four college students who are ambassadors for Students for Dignity, an organization with over 25 chapters on college campuses across the county. Preston Brightwell, the founder of this organization, also participates. Each student explains how he or she uses the Dignity Index to assess their interactions and help others see the virtues of dignity over contempt.

Key questions addressed in this conversation:

Why did you choose to get involved with Student for Dignity?
How have you experienced contempt or been contemptuous yourself?
What fuels contempt (adult models, social media)?
What pushback do you get from other students who may be reluctant to treat their adversaries with dignity?
What can students do if they want to get involved?

Notable Quotes

I feel like there are moments where we push for a world of dignity, but we don't hold friends accountable when they're being contemptuous. And it's the level at which when you're throwing contempt at me or my loved ones, I will react, but when my loved ones throw contempt at you, I'm going to turn a blind eye. - Iradukunda Manikandan

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I would say what frequently fuels contempt is that it's much easier. It gives you that spike of adrenaline. You tend to build your in-group because the minute that you say something fiery on social media, everyone who agrees with you is like, YEAH! And then you feel seen. It's much less interesting to say, “I don't agree with that.” And no one watches that on TikTok. - Alexa Merrill

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I really think contempt breeds contempt. When our dignity is violated, it's easy and almost justified to respond with contempt. And so it's just contempt, contempt, contempt. And somebody has to be the one to take a step back and say, “I am going to respond with dignity.” - David Witt