The Sum of Our Parts
By combining the ideas of very different people—and organizations—to discover not only what each can contribute but what collectively we can create, we might finally accept that together, we’re greater than the sum of our parts.
Resolutions for a More Patient Year
BA Leader Randy Lioz reflects on better ways for 2023.
On Doggedly Sustaining Connection
Each one of us can, and should always seek to, keep growing and changing for the better. But our only hope is for others to give us the space, and the grace, to do so.
We Are All God’s Fearful Children
We must go beyond the anger and vengeance of those who see us as the sinners, and focus on the narratives that create it.
The Right to Bear… Dogs?
And indeed, my feelings about the two issues are fairly similar. Given the numbers, I feel that both pit bulls and guns should be subject to fairly aggressive restrictions. But my certainty over these issues is weakened by my understanding of the good-faith concerns and beliefs of those on the other side.
What a pit bull taught me about humanizing the other side
In our latest Sunday newsletter, Randy Lioz relates his experience playing with a pit bull to America’s political divide. Perhaps if our country was less fearful of the other side, we could avoid our own bouts of tug-of-war.
Imposing Our Values: Piece of Cake!
There’s an inherent tension between this desire to enforce common values that we believe are important for creating a free and prosperous society and allowing individual communities within that society to choose their own values, to the exclusion of some chosen by others. So who gets to decide where this line is drawn?
The Heroes Of Our Own Stories
I’ve heard several people declare that they are uniquely impervious to the human tendency toward emotionally motivated reasoning. But I tend to conclude instead that this person is the opposite of unique. They’re blind to the impact of their own biases, just like the rest of us.
Kyle Rittenhouse Is Not Who You Think He Is
If you take the time to watch not just the shootings themselves, but the preludes that lead up to them, even in the days preceding, you see a lonely, bullied kid who had sought acceptance and community with a group that claimed to be the allies of the police.
Now, More Than Ever, Red and Blue Need to Talk
After some initial uplifting optimism that the common challenge we face might bring us Americans together to some extent, we have (entirely predictably) fallen back to being utterly divided in …
Lemonade for America: A Note on Our Response to COVID-19
As many organizations have, we’ve been engaged in an ongoing conversation about the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it might and should have on Braver Angels. As we are so …
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The Nordic Model, and Why Reds and Blues Need Each Other
In the younger days of the Internet, when Facebook was first hitting its stride, the world felt a boundless sense of optimism about the potential of this technology to bring …
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Identity Politics: Should We Just Call It Fairness?
The ever-present debate about “identity politics” continues to rage. It’s a conversation that gained strength during the civil rights activism of the latter 20th century, but it truly became a …
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Lessons in Depolarization from Learning Vietnamese
A few weeks ago, I was trying—feebly—to learn Vietnamese. My girlfriend is from Vietnam, and my first encounter with her parents was around then. It seemed like the very least …
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Dispatch on One-on-One Conversations: Talking Ourselves Into a New Perspective
By Randy Lioz and Paul Norris Involvement in Braver Angels can be a highly rewarding endeavor, and each of us feels an increasing pull towards the organization, taking on more …
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Dispatch on a Debate at UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley, holds a distinct place in the history of political discussion in America. In fact, it’s practically synonymous with left-wing campus protests. In the midst of …
Let’s Talk About Politics On Facebook! An Exercise in Applying Braver Angels Skills Online
In my experience, it’s entirely possible to use these skills online, and indeed, if people did so more consciously, our digital world would be a much kinder place.
Political Violence and Bullying on the Left: We’re Better Than This
In The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff argue that we’ve been fostering a sense of fragility within an entire generation of Americans. I think they …
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Some Benefits of the Large Democratic Primary Field
I’ve been moderating Braver Angels workshops for around two years, and there are several experiences that have been consistent for me from one workshop to the next. Among these is …
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Thoughts on Gun Violence
From the “This is why we can’t have nice things” file: last month a new internet “challenge” broke, with copycat videos being posted of people licking ice cream and putting …
Thoughts on the Return of Aziz Ansari
As we’re making progress with ourselves, we should also extend a “generosity of spirit” towards those who don’t have the same ethical framework as us, who haven’t “evolved” the way we insist is necessary. As we’re asking others to exercise their empathy, to perhaps finally address the harm their behavior or inaction has caused, we can offer the same empathy to them, and realize that we cannot fully know what’s in their hearts.
The Democratic Debates: A Blue Take
It would be wonderful for the frontrunners to incorporate some of the passion of the underdogs, so the ultimate Democratic nominee might speak more effectively not just to the left, but to Americans from all over the political spectrum.
The Case for National Service
Universal national service remains a highly worthy proposition, given the potential gains to our civic unity and ability to address the looming challenges that face our nation.
What Trump Gets Right on China and Wrong on Tariffs
China’s unfair trade tactics must be addressed but tariffs are not the way to do it.
Animals and Our Widening Sphere of Empathy
I’ve found myself much more concerned these days with the welfare of other beings, including those with which we don’t associate the same sort of “sentience” we ourselves or our beloved pets possess.
Common Threads: Reasons for Faith in Humanity
If you’ve been looking for reasons to take heart in the state of humanity, I offer that there are plenty of them around.
We Are All God’s Children
In the wake of a shooting at a San Diego synagogue, Randy reflects on the end of Passover and violence against “the other.”
Mulling Over the Mueller Report
My take on the Mueller Report focuses on not just the report itself, but on the environment into which it’s dropped with a thud. I think understanding that landscape is vital to reckoning with the potential impact, or lack thereof, of the report.
What is a Progressive?
The belief that we must create a more inclusive nation and world, which treats every person as worthy of the same rights and responsibilities.
No Thanks, Joe
When I read a recent account in The Cut recalling an incident with Joe Biden that made a young woman extremely uncomfortable, I wasn’t at all surprised.
