Taming the Wolf

There are few innovations that compare with Facebook when it comes to no-waiting-required social feedback, particularly the type of feedback that identifies your considerable character flaws in graphic detail. Dare to suggest a popular plan of action might suffer from flaws…

This past week, I returned to the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University Law School, where I earned a Masters in Dispute Resolution, for an event co-hosted by the prestigious Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics.

In previous blog posts I discussed Taming the Wolf concepts using health-care legislation as a working example. This past week the vote in Massachusetts validated my anticipation the public dissatisfaction that results from a corrupt process.

When I was a student at the Straus Institute at the Pepperdine Law School I was blessed with the opportunity to study with the Right Reverend Brian Cox who is active with the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy.

A mediator facilitates a process the parties consider fair and just; a mediator encourages candor and respect between parties; and he fosters a collaborative approach to satisfying party interests. Nonetheless, the outcome may be sabotaged by flawed decision-making.

How do we measure success in mediation? Typically we assess party satisfaction. We look at three variables: procedural, psychological, and substantive satisfaction.

St. Francis frequently admonished his friars to eschew domination and coercion. Thus, I was surprised when the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) recently endorsed coercive aspects of healthcare legislation.

People love stories. We flock to the cinema to experience vicarious thrills, we seek the escape a novel can provide, and we find ourselves glued to the television, mesmerized by scripted drama or unscripted “reality.”

Early in the life of the Taming the Wolf project I received a number of messages from Sisters active in Franciscan communities asking, “Where is Clare?” Great question. My focus was on our mentor Francis but a study of Francis cannot ignore the contributions of Clare.

This past week the “Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience” was released. As a mediator who advocates spiritually transformative conflict resolution I have mixed feelings regarding the declaration.