Help Depolarize American Politics

Building a House United 

 

​"America can’t move forward in any type of useful manner unless we listen to each other – really listen."
~Carolyn Lukensmeyer, National Institute for Civil Discourse

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Braver Angels is a national citizens' movement to bring liberals, conservatives and others together at the grassroots level - not to find a centrist compromise, but to find one another as citizens. Through skills trainings, discussion workshops, debates, and town hall style meetings, Braver Angels helps Americans understand each other beyond stereotypes, form community alliances, and reduce the vitriol that poisons our civic culture.

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Braver Angels seeks to depolarize American politics by following these principles:

• State our views freely and fully, without fear.

• Welcome opportunities to engage with those with whom we disagree.

• Treat people who disagree with us with honesty and respect.

• Seek to disagree accurately, avoiding exaggeration and stereotypes.

• Look for common ground where it exists, and if possible, find way to work together.

• Believe that all of us have blind spots and none of us are not worth talking to.

• Believe that, in disagreements, both sides share and learn. In Braver Angels, neither side is teaching the other or giving feedback on how to think or say things differently.

 

If this sounds compelling to you, here are great ways to get involved: 

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• Become a member. 
   

• Participate in a Braver Angels event: book or film discussion, documentary screening, debates, workshops, and more. Some of the workshops include: Red/Blue Workshop, Skills for Bridging the Divide, Depolarizing Within, Family and Politics.
   

• Connect with the newly forming Finger Lakes Region (FLX) Braver Angels group:
   

  • Be added to the FLX Braver Angels email list for updates and monthly newsletters
    (Email Doug at dougdellapietra@gmail.com)
     

  • Join the FLX Braver Angels leadership team – with monthly meetings
    (Email Doug at dougdellapietra@gmail.com)
     

  • Join one of the emerging work groups:
     

    • Member Engagement & Outreach: connecting current and reaching out to new members to know of and benefit from the Braver Angels offerings and resources most relevant to their current life situations (Email Tim at tdoud1950@gmail.com)
       

    • Braver Politics: Fostering opportunities for elected officials, candidates, and their staffs to participate in Braver Angels programs with each other and with constituents, developing skills for communicating across difference, and building constructive relationships across partisan divides to influence our politics at the local, state, and federal level going into the 2022 elections and beyond. (Email Elizabeth at elizabethdeancoaching@gmail.com)
       

    • Red-leaning Recruitment: Helping our Region get to know and engage red-leaning and other citizens to level the playing field of our current local leadership as well as opinions and viewpoints. (Email Kaitlin at kpricepontzer@outlook.com)
       

• Support Braver Angels workshops and trainings at the local and national levels.
   

  • Braver Angels Moderator. The training is free, and trained moderators are a critical next step for the Finger Lakes Region Braver Angels group to host and run local/regional Braver Angels events.

  • Zoom Event Manager

  • Braver Angels Ambassador

  • Event Organizer

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