Truth Matters

I spend a lot of time around people who disagree: sometimes loudly, sometimes quietly, and sometimes by saying nothing at all. And I'll admit that I've done it too because it can feel easier to stay quiet than to risk saying something that lands wrong.

But silence doesn't grow truth.

That's why I'm starting this series: Disagree Better. Nothing here is rocket science, and I'm not pretending to be an expert. I just wanted to put what I'm learning in one place — for myself, and for anyone else who might find it useful. If it helps even one person speak up instead of shutting down, it's worth it.

Why I Started with Truth Matters

Robert George and Cornel West co-wrote this book, and their example is what makes it powerful. George is a conservative legal philosopher. West is a progressive public intellectual and activist. They clash on politics, philosophy, economics — you name it. But they've chosen friendship anyway.

That friendship is the point. They show us that truth isn't a prize one side wins. It's something uncovered together, through tension, respect, and the willingness to stay at the table.

What I Took From It

When I sit with Truth Matters, a few lessons rise to the surface:

Growth is uncomfortable on purpose. If I leave every conversation with my beliefs intact, I probably haven't really learned anything.

Dialogue depends on trust, not agreement. Their friendship is proof you can stay connected even when you part ways on substance.

Courage and humility are a matched set. Courage without humility is arrogance. Humility without courage is silence. Either extreme collapses the conversation.

How I Try to Practice This

I'll be the first to say I don't always get it right. But here are a few things I've been trying: In meetings, I restate someone's point in its strongest form before I push back. I ask, "What experiences shaped that view?" instead of "How could you think that?" And I sometimes let silence linger longer than feels comfortable, because that's often when the most honest things finally get said. Small moves, but they change the feel of a room.

Toolkit for You

If you want to test this out in your own world — at work, at home, or even with friends: Try "steel-manning" someone's point until they say, "Yes, that's what I meant." Ask your team, "What unsettled you most today, and why?" Replace assumptions with curiosity: "What shaped your view?" And when it feels awkward, try not rushing to fill the silence. See what surfaces.

Why This Matters

If universities, workplaces, and communities can't model this, we're failing the bigger mission. Knowledge transfer is easy. Forming people who can hold disagreement without shutting down? That's harder. And that's where truth and resilience really come from.

A Challenge for This Week

Pick one conversation you've been avoiding. Don't try to win it. Don't even try to solve it. Just ask what experiences shaped the other person's view — and listen. That's my starting point with George and West's Truth Matters.