The timing is perfect — this year’s Nevola Symposium is all about civil discourse. Don’t I wish every one of Maine’s elected officials and candidates would attend. This is the 32nd annual Thomas Nevola, MD Symposium, scheduled for June 19 at Colby College. And here’s some really good news — it is open to the public.

The audience will include people involved with health care and human services, the religious community, education, and business, as well as other community members. You can get information about the conference, plus a registration form, at www.mainedartmouth.org. You can also call Ann Byron at 626-1889.

I attended a fantastic Nevola Symposium a couple years ago, when my brother Gordon, sister Edie and I presented a talk on gratitude at the end of life, about our experience when Dad was in the hospice unit at Togus.

In addition to the Thomas Nevola Memorial Fund, the symposium is sponsored by Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency and MaineGeneral Medical Center in partnership with the National Institute for Civil Discourse.

This year’s symposium will focus on the outward and inward work of bridging divides and finding peace in the face of differences: “We live in a time when everyday differences and occasional woundedness and estrangement among people have been magnified by a toxic environment of polarization,” the conference’s material says.

From Augusta, Maine, to Washington, D.C., this is so true, and we just have to fix this problem. I’m afraid this year’s political campaigns are going to be especially nasty, and I have decided I will not vote for any candidate who trashes his or her opponent. This doesn’t mean a candidate cannot discuss ways he or she disagrees with his or her opponent, but it does mean that discussion must be polite and civil.

Some of the issues we’ll explore at the Nevola Symposium are how we might best be able to: engage in difficult conversations with other people, relate to people and patients with very different values, balance compassionate understanding and forthrightness, orchestrate or support reconciliation among estranged people, and find peace within ourselves as we experience powerful feelings about differences, perhaps allowing those feelings to energize meaningful action.

I can’t think of better and more timely issues and goals.

The keynote speaker is Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Ph.D., a national leader in the field of deliberative democracy. Lukensmeyer will address the causes of incivility and political dysfunction and how they have impacted our families, neighborhoods, places of worship, and workplaces. Together we will explore how the public, elected officials and members of the media can help restore the social norms of civility and respect. I can’t wait to hear that.

There are two sessions of workshops on a very interesting set of issues and initiatives. I’m having a hard time choosing the two workshops to attend.

Right now I’m leaning toward a session on the value of public discourse and the need for many voices, led by leaders of Maine’s news media, and another session on improving civil discourse through shared community stories. But there are several other sessions that I’d like to attend, so I may wander around from one to another.

At the beginning of the day, each of us will answer the following questions. How do we feel about the widespread incivility and deep divisions in our politics and the impact they are having on us as a people and nation (my response will start with “disgusted, disappointed, and depressed”). What can you do to revive civility and respect and to work more effectively to bridge divides and find respect in the face of differences (very good question, I’ll have to think about this).

A couple weeks ago, during a session of the Maine Senate, a dozen senators got up to say nice things about me. It was wonderful and I joked afterwards that it took me 40 years of hanging out at the Legislature to finally get them to say something nice about me.

But as the speeches continued, and senators told nice stories about their experiences with me over the years, I thought, wouldn’t it be great if every session of the Senate and House could be so nice and collegial.

I do hope some of our politicians will join us, along with some of you. And I look forward to sharing what we learn that day with all of you.

George Smith can be reached at 34 Blake Hill Road, Mount Vernon, ME 04352, or georgesmithmaine@gmail.com. Read more of Smith’s writings at www.georgesmithmaine.com.

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