Global Dialogues

This semester, I took a class in political psychology, where we spent a lot of time grappling with one of the biggest tensions of our time: how globalization is rapidly integrating our world while nationalism and division continue to rise. It’s a paradox I can’t stop thinking about: how the same world that gives us TikToks from Tokyo and Big Macs in Berlin is also marked by border walls, travel bans, and language policing.

In this class, Professor Fathali Moghaddam taught us about the “sudden contact theory”: how, for the first time in human history, migration can happen at scales of tens or hundreds of thousands in a matter of weeks. This new reality has exposed deep anxieties, forcing societies to respond. Some turn to assimilation or the melting pot model, where everyone’s supposed to blend into a single, unified culture. But more often than not, this means minority cultures are expected to shed their identities in favor of the majority’s.

(Re)imagining human fraternity in this context feels daunting, maybe even impossible. Political plasticity, the ability to fundamentally change people’s behavior, is notoriously hard. But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. We can still expand our moral imagination and draw on shared resources — ethical, spiritual, and secular — to build bridges where walls now stand.One of the most transformative experiences I’ve had at Georgetown that speaks to these efforts was taking my Problem of God class with Professor Lisa Zaina, an adjunct professor and an Episcopalian priest. I came to college as a pretty stubborn atheist, not expecting religion to have anything to offer a young, queer woman like myself. But, to my surprise, I left Professor Zaina’s class with a mentor and a deeper appreciation for how religious texts, particularly the teachings of Jesus, can be tools for justice. Jesus built his ministry with the very people society rejected. Mary Magdalene, a woman, was one of his most vital disciples. His leadership was rooted in radical love and inclusivity.

Even the Lord’s Prayer carries this spirit: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The Hebrew concepts here—Malkuth Shamayim (a kingdom of divine equality), mishpat (justice), and sadiqa (righteousness)—reflect a political vision of universal dignity. “Forgive us… as we also have forgiven our debtors” calls us to grace and empathy. If God can forgive, maybe we can too.

To build fraternity, we must begin by emphasizing our shared humanity. As Professor Moghaddam teaches, psychological differences within groups are often greater than those between them. Whether through scripture, psychology, or simple human interaction, like the “In Your Shoes” exercise I did with the Doyle Dialogue Fellowship, where we repeated someone’s story word for word, we can learn to listen, understand, and truly see each other. That’s how we begin.

Mackenzie Holian (C'26) is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgetown University.