Bridging the Divide: Blue Perspective

Following examples of notable people I provided earlier, in the concluding sentence of my March essay, I wrote, “Consider how you too, within and outside of Braver Angels, can form and strengthen positive relationships with people whose political beliefs and leanings differ from your own.”

One of the ways in which Braver Angels can help foster such connection is through its 1:1 Conversations program. Below, in a paragraph, is what it is about. The page I linked contains links to further resources and additional information is also available here.

The process involves one or two hour-long conversations between two people using a structured conversation guide. The goals are to better understand the experiences, feelings, and beliefs of the other person, discover any areas of commonality, and share ideas for how to bridge differences across our country.

Below are bullet points about The Process:

• Emphasizes storytelling, listening and learning.

• Both people share their views without trying to teach or give feedback on how the other should think or speak.

• Participants take turns answering deeper questions while the other listens without interrupting. Then, they share what they learned about each other's views and see if they have anything in common.

• Usually ends with both people coming up with action ideas to make a difference.

• After the structured conversations, participants often choose to keep talking informally. This lets them explore deeper topics, discuss current events, and stay updated on each other's lives—like health, pets, family, and hobbies.

I am currently engaged in a series of such conversations with a partner who holds a broadly different outlook, informed by different sets of knowledge and belief. It is a very valuable and constructive activity, which I highly recommend!

One further word about it, though. As I have shared before, our current times are very stressful. Legitimate grounds abound for strong opinions, and it is entirely appropriate to share those strong opinions. However, foundational to Braver Angels is the commitment to resist an impulse toward hard feelings toward another on the basis of that other person’s “different outlook, informed by different sets of knowledge and belief.” We can all do a better and/or more consistent job of honoring one another’s boundaries and engaging in ways that are more likely to achieve mutual understanding and fellowship.