Join us in a Braver Angels workshop on April 26th, 8:30 -11:30 am at the Riverside Hotel prior to the opening of our Annual Rotary Conference. Register here.
With malice toward none, with charity for all…. Let us bind up the nation’s wounds.
~Abraham Lincoln, 2nd Inaugural address, March 4, 1865, at the Civil War’s end
Bridging the Political Divide: Braver Angels Online Red/Blue Workshop
- Part one – 3 hours
- April 26th
- 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Designed to help conservative and liberal Americans begin rebuilding trust and engaging in production conversation, Braver Angels’ Red/Blue Workshop brings together eight to ten “red” (conservative-leaning” and eight to ten “blue” (progressive-leaning) participants in structured and moderated discussions. These discussions focus on reducing stereotyped thinking, clarifying disagreements, listening and learning rather than declaring and debating, and building the relations needed to find common ground.
The workshop allows participants to make their voices heard and listen to others–all in a respectful environment. It is for citizens who are interested in developing a deeper understanding of and connection with people whose political beliefs differ from their own.
Observers are welcome to attend the Red/Blue workshop. Observers do not participate in moderated conversations or exercises but have the opportunity to listen, learn, and reflect.
Braver Angels values and pledge:
- As individuals, we try to understand the other side’s point of view, even if we disagree.
- In our communities, we engage those we disagree with, looking for common ground and ways to work together.
- In politics, we support principles that unite rather than divide us.
Although currently named Braver Angels, the organization was formerly Better Angels. The term “better angels” and the idea of recognizing shared humanity amidst fierce conflict come from Abraham Lincoln’s use of the expression “better angels for our nature” in his first Inaugural Address in 1861, on the eve of the Civil War.
Today, we find ourselves divided once more. It is our hope that even and especially during this time of polarization we can all remember the “better angels of our nature” to which Lincoln appealed. We can all be touched by something “better” within us and the institutions we build. We can “bravely” work together and reconnect with our shared humanity.
This is part one of the Red/Blue workshop if you want to participate or be an instructor in “Bridging the Political Divide: Braver Angels Red/Blue Workshop,” register here.
Braver Angels is a national grassroots, volunteer non-profit organization that started in 2016 in response to the division within our nations. The organization is now in all 50 states with local alliance groups in urban and rural communities. For more information about Braver Angels, click here.