The Constituent No. 2 | Dialectical Thinking and Politics
I hope this reaches you dry and stocked up on vitamin D supplements for the winter.
In this post:
What is dialectical thinking, and how does it relate to politics?
Introducing: Civic Engagement Cookbook
Very Selective Engagement Opportunities
September Recap
A Dialectical Approach to Representation
Last week I reunited with a teacher I hadn’t seen in almost 40 years, since fourth grade. We caught up over several conversations, and at some point the talk turned to politics, specifically how hard it has become to hold space for two different visions of the country without treating one as simply right and the other as simply wrong. My old teacher brought up a philosophy idea called dialectical thinking. I had heard the term before but never looked into it closely, so afterward I spent some time reading about it and found a framework that lines up closely with the idea at the center of Community Based Representation: the philosophy of both rather than either-or.
Dialectical thinking is usually explained as three parts: thesis, antithesis, synthesis. A thesis is a starting position. An antithesis is the position that pushes back against it. A synthesis is what you get when you take both seriously enough to build something new, rather than just picking one. The idea is often credited to Hegel, but Johann Fichte put the triad together first. Hegel argued that resolving a real disagreement is not the same as splitting the difference. A true synthesis keeps what is right in both sides and drops what is one-sided in each. It is not a midpoint. It is a new understanding that neither side could have reached alone, and that is where the both-and idea comes in. Either-or thinking assumes that if one side is right, the other has to be wrong. Both-and thinking assumes two positions can each point to something real and incomplete at the same time, and the job is to find what each one protects rather than decide which one wins.
Picture a town council deciding whether to add a protected bike lane on a busy street. One side says the lane is necessary because cyclists have been hit there before, and a protected lane would keep them safe. That is the thesis. The other side pushes back, since the lane means removing the parking in front of the shops, and the shop owners say fewer spots means less business. That is the antithesis. The either-or move forces a winner: the lane goes in, and the shops lose parking, or the parking stays and cyclists keep getting hurt. The compromise move averages the two and leaves both sides a little unhappy. The both-and move asks a different question: what does each side actually need underneath the position they started with? Cyclists need safety. Shop owners need customers to reach their stores. Framed that way, a new answer becomes possible: build the protected lane and pair it with a small loading and quick stop zone nearby by reworking an underused stretch of curb. Neither side got their original proposal exactly as written. Both got what they actually needed.
Researchers have been studying a related problem called “affective polarization”, meaning hostility toward the other political side that has grown apart from actual policy disagreement, and has been found to be fairly even across states and hard to shake off once it sets in. A term that shows up often in this research is the “exhausted majority”, meaning most Americans are tired of the fighting and do not feel represented by either extreme. That is the audience both-and thinking is for, not a call to find the middle, but a method for treating disagreement as information instead of a threat.
If that research is right, and hostility has grown apart from actual policy disagreement, then the fix is not a better argument for one side. It is a different habit, looking for what is true in the other position before responding to what is wrong with it, and building from there instead of retreating to a corner. The exhausted majority is not tired of politics. It is tired of being asked to choose a side when the more useful answer usually means holding onto more than one truth at a time.
Introducing: The Civic Engagement Cookbook
A cookbook?
Most advice about civic engagement stops at "get involved" or "make your voice heard." That advice is true and still useless, because it never says what to do first, what you need, or how long it takes.
A recipe solves exactly that problem for cooking. It lists the ingredients, gives the steps in order, tells you how long it takes, and tells you what to expect at the end. Nobody opens a recipe wondering where to start.
That is the idea behind the Civic Engagement Cookbook: specific actions that make getting involved less of a vague idea and more something you can actually do. It is Community-Based Representation applied to the page: concrete, repeatable engagement open to anyone.
What to expect
Each recipe covers one specific civic action: what you will need, numbered steps in order, and answers to the questions that come up most. Topics will cover local, county, state, and federal engagement.
New recipes will go up on the site regularly, and each issue of The Constituent highlights a few new and old, so you don’t have to look for them yourself. You can find the full collection under Cookbook in the Newsroom section of the site.
Is there a specific action you want clear instructions for? Reply and let us know.
September Lookback
September was a busy month, with 17 events attended, coordinated, or led. Here are the highlights.
Local governance. The Greater Olney Civic Association Executive Board and two Countywide Recreation and Parks Advisory Board meetings.
Policy and legislation. A town hall on the 2027 Legislative Session, a subcommittee hearing on Flock's nationwide AI surveillance network, and a briefing on the new rules and risks under FARA (the Foreign Agents Registration Act).
Honoring law enforcement. A 9/11 ceremony, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Awards and Reception, and an open house at the National Law Enforcement Museum.
Out in the community. Two Olney Community Run and Walk events, including the EmpowHERed walk, plus Greek Fest, Washington Ukrainian Festival, and the Silver Spring Jazz Festival.
Campaign trail. A meet-and-greet with Councilmember Will Jawando and a morning of door knocking for his campaign.
October is much lighter, but it's full of community events. It also includes the Baltimore Half Marathon and a trip to Texas to meet with law enforcement groups.
Very Selective Engagement Opportunities
Local
Olney Community Walk with Sandy Spring Museum: GOCA closes out the season with a 2 mile walk or run featuring Sandy Spring Museum, the Regional Folklife Center of Montgomery County and home to 8 artists in residence, a working Pottery Co-op, and the annual Strawberry Festival.
Sunday, October 4, 11:00 AM
Olney Farmers and Artists Market, 2829 Olney Sandy Spring Rd, Olney
Starts and finishes at the market.
County
H2O Summit 2026: A free day on protecting the county's waterways, with this year's focus on "catching it at the source" through upstream action and community partnerships. Open to professionals, advocates, and anyone who cares about local water.
Tuesday, October 13, 11 AM to 4 PM
M-NCPPC Wheaton Headquarters, 2425 Reedie Dr, Wheaton
Register by October 6: H2O Summit details
2026 Community Survey: The County wants your take on services, communication, amenities, and quality of life where you live. Open to residents 18 and older.
Closes Monday, October 19 at 11:59 PM
Take the survey: polco.us/MCMD2026
State
Get Out the Vote with Comptroller Brooke Lierman: A campaign event in Montgomery County ahead of the midterms.
Tuesday, October 13, 6:00 to 7:30 PM
Silver Branch Lagerhaus & Biergarten, 8401 Colesville Rd #150, Silver Spring
Tickets from $50 (DCC/Young Dem) to $1,000 (Host). Kids free.
RSVP: BrookeLierman.com/RSVPMoCo26
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