CONNECTIONS QUARTERLY WINTER 2025
WELCOME
DIGNITY
Dignity is one of those concepts that seems akin to mom and apple pie. That is to say, everyone can be united in their support for this concept. This issue of Connections aims to deepen our understanding of dignity. Experiencing and treating others with dignity is an ongoing journey. For instance, many of us became aware of how important it is to speak with more dignity by using terms like an unhoused person versus a homeless person, or an enslaved person versus a slave. Once I switched to these terms that provided more dignity, I was surprised at how it started to change how I understood people in these plights.
Often treating people with dignity starts with how we understand who the other person is. It may be easy to treat relatives, friends, and classmates with dignity. But even people who are committed to treating others with dignity need to grow in awareness of who they might consider an“ other.” Today the“ othering” that leads us to treat people without dignity could be based on any number of things, such as political judgment if someone is MAGA or Woke.
The“ advanced” dignity work is for those I disagree with, do not like, or who do not treat me with dignity. One might ask, why? What if the person is not worthy of my efforts? What if the person is in fact a horrible person? The key to keep in mind in such a case is that dignity is not earned— it is an inherent worth; we treat people with dignity not because of who they are, but because of who we are. •
Bob Mattingly, Executive Director of CSEE
CSEE Connections Winter 2025 Page 1