In the immediate aftermath of the US Supreme Court overturning Roe vs Wade, it is hard to conceive of writing about anything other than abortion. This is a ruling that embodies much of what is going wrong in the US and the dangers of polarization, us-vs-them breaking, and a fracturing democracy. This should serve as a cautionary tale.

“For more than 50 years, Muslims and Jews have been portrayed as natural enemies. I always struggled with this naturalization, which is nothing natural, but constructed through history. The discourse has always been polarizing. Divisions between these two main ethnoreligious groups in France or Germany, countries I know best, are also instrumentalized by different political parties for their own gain. Interfaith bridging can bring a new process of identification of Arab-Jews and an acknowledgment of Jewish history and life within Arab-French-Muslim people. It is a way of deconstructing essentialist identities.“

Tasked with developing OBI’s emerging work to link belonging efforts in Europe and the US, I set myself on a mission over the past five months to speak with social justice leaders in both regions about their work in this challenging moment. My interest: gauging how much, if at all, polarization and democratic degradation have affected their efforts to advance belonging, which generally requires coalition-building across lines of difference and an assumption that civic institutions will (or at least can) be responsive to citizen demands.

Ultimately, differences can be used to divide us, and scapegoating a chosen out-group is often wielded to make sense of an uncertain reality. But we can also make meaning of those differences differently, so that they are not a source of pain, anger, or disenchantment but rather contribute to greater belonging for all, including engagement in the core democratic political process that allow for the co-creation of our societies.

“But we need for soon-to-be-powerful young people to recognize that other 13-year olds who might live on social housing estates or might be the children of drug dealers are also valid and they need to be heard. And sometimes it's time for rich students to close their mouths, demonstrate humility and just listen. Roots has been about challenging all young people to use their voice, and making sure they've got equal space in that room to challenge each other, to listen to each other, to be intrigued about each other, especially for the young people who aren't often in those rarefied spaces to ask the questions they need.”

“‘Othering’ and ‘belonging’ seem like pretty malleable concepts to me, but in the context of borders they are instructive. We are great at creating tribes. They have been to our evolutionary advantage in the past, and they are a fundamental aspect of our nature…I think ideas of othering and belonging color that tribal mentality. To ‘belong’ in a place or society really implies that you don’t belong outside of that society. And that creates room for the notion that some people don’t belong in your society, and instead belong elsewhere. So I think even the desire to belong comes from the tribal instinct, which is necessarily ‘othering.’”

Our leading premise is that art is a powerful tool to translate complex issues in a language that provokes empathy and understanding. By opening these works to the world, and by allowing adaptation and implementation in local contexts, we multiply their impact exponentially. What is more, we promote and foster openness in the visual arts sector, where the practice of licensing works under Creative Commons is low.

“There is a lot of idealization of Europe when it comes to racism and social inequalities, and these are based on false assumptions. Europe is doing better in terms of some social policies and maternity leave, and the justice system is a little bit better, but it's not great either. So I think it can break the idea of a Europe that overcame racism after World War II.”

“Covid 19 is not necessarily a good opportunity for far right parties. When they govern, they face the same difficulties as other parties in office, because no one has the solution, no one knows the best way to tackle the pandemic efficiently without damaging the economy. When they are not in government, they loudly criticize the parties in office, but most of them do not appear as legitimate to take over—they lack credibility. “

“At nearly every level of society, Italians, when thinking about when meeting someone who's not white, automatically think they are a migrant, not an Italian. And this is the main change I think that our society is going through right now—to understand that you might be Italian but not white or not Christian.”

“When speaking of polarization, we often refer to a phenomenon known as conflict extension: when members of the group converge across a range of issues. This is not happening in the UK. In fact, there are issues such as climate and the protection of nature and the countryside where we see widespread agreement and a shared desire for change.”