Neighbors Can Bridge Political Divide
My Sunday piece on media coverage of the “No Kings” rallies exacerbating toxic political divisions down to the local level has sparked more than 125 comments in my community’s Nextdoor.com neighborhood group. One participant accused me of “opposing free speech.” Sigh. I didn’t say anything about censoring the media.
I’m interested in changing the incentives for political discussion from online outrage and “angertainment” to face-to-face meetings where people naturally seek common ground with their neighbors. I will try to organize a neighborhood meeting of a Braver Angels group in the fall. Could you do the same in your community?
More than 90 of my neighbors “liked” the piece or my comments on Nextdoor, leading me to believe that moderation and common sense do represent the overwhelming majority of opinion in America.
Meeting monthly in local groups of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to discuss issues, Braver Angels try to understand each other, and find common ground. That doesn’t mean we have to give up fierce advocacy for the causes we believe in. It does mean we have to learn to listen and try to understand the points of view of people who don’t agree with us.
"I am done with big institutions and am for those tiny invisible moral forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world…If you give them time, they will rend the hardest monuments of humankind." — American psychologist William James.
In my last post, I mentioned that for several years, I’ve been at least peripherally involved in a regional group of Braver Angels, based about 30 miles away in Raleigh. It’s now time to widely expand the reach of these groups.
Recently, we met to discuss immigration. Despite all the hot-button rhetoric on social media, I came away feeling that reasonable people of different political persuasions can help each other understand their viewpoints and reach consensus.
The complicated immigration debate will not be solved by one side winning and the other side losing. There is no partisan Republican “solution” nor partisan Democratic “solution.” This is true of so many issues.
Judging from news.google.com reports, Braver Angels has recently expanded in Arizona, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington State.
Neighbors gather at my local dog park. I find salt-of-the-earth people of all political persuasions there.
Previous post, in 2021:
'Braver Angels' Grassroots Movement Seeks to Heal Hyper-Partisan Divide
The national non-profit, grassroots organization “Braver Angels” seeks to restore civil discourse and teach Americans to rediscover their shared values. Founded shortly after the 2016 election, it had grown from less than 5,000 in its first year to about 40,000 members by early 2021 in all 50 states, with at least weekly online events, and plans to hold…
Hi, Jim - First, thanks for starting this column (?"Substack" - I'm a bit behind the times on the new digital media 🧐). As a Fearrington neighbor, I'm wondering if we have a Braver Angels group in our community and how I might get involved?
Thank you for doing this, Jim. I have come to a point where I believe the connections we each make are where the most important "power" resides. This is where we grow and become a better community together. I am excited! I hope your plea to others to follow your path is generative!