Welcome to Braver Angels Media, the opinion page of Braver Angels, where our writers explore themes of importance to our organization and community.
We publish standalone pieces and frequent symposiums about civil discourse, civil society bridge-building, bipartisan common ground, the divides between American reds and blues, the work of depolarization, American culture and heritage and principles, and the polarizing issues of the day. We ask only that all our writers practice and exhibit the Braver Angels Way:
State your views freely and fully, without fear.
Speak as an individual, without claiming to speak for others.
Engage your opponents’ best arguments, not (only) their weakest or most extreme.
Strive to disagree accurately with your opponents, avoiding exaggerated disagreement and recognizing common ground.
Welcome opportunities for respectful engagement with those who hold different views.
In the current polarized environment, we are particularly looking for pieces that demonstrate:
- Thinking introspectively, and calling out the excesses of one’s own side in any argument, admonishing one’s own allies to behave with the dignity required for good citizenship.
- Thinking creatively, and describing the ways in which the depolarization movement is adapting to unforeseen situations to advance the work of bringing Americans together.
- Thinking communally, and examining in the current environment what, if anything, Americans of diverse backgrounds and opinions have in common with each other.
There’s a broad range of styles these pieces can be, and we welcome them from every single corner, lean, middle, and tilt of the political spectrum in America. We strongly believe, and hope to demonstrate in our work, that thoughtful writing can help swell the chorus of the union and lead us to better understand ourselves, our neighbors, our work, our country, and its destiny.
Writers need only be interested in the work of Braver Angels to submit, and grassroots members of Braver Angels are especially encouraged to write. Essay submissions should be between 1200 and 3000 words, though we will consider publishing shorter pieces on personal experiences as dispatches. Please send submissions as word documents to our editor, Luke Nathan Phillips, at lukenathanphillips2012@gmail.com.
1 thought on “Braver Angels Media- Writer’s Guidelines”
Hello Braver Angels Publishing: I am working to complete a manuscript that appears to fit your call to address introspection, self-understanding, tolerance, and work to resolve our problems. I may not fit your expectations as it is very broad or inclusive, covering human nature/ evolution/ biology/ neuroscience; civilization and our history of continuing chaos including Graeber and Wengrow’s thoughts (The Dawn of Everything); a lot of psychological information including cognitive-emotional-behavioral social theory, cognitive dissonance, attribution error, defense mechanisms, confirmation, etc; our resistance to uncertainty (ambiguity), need and search for explanation, reliance on vision discrimination, categorization, and imagination to find closure, and more; considering human diversity from many psychological, temperament, early development experiences, moral (political)fundamentals (Haidt), and a number of other traits, all absent of racial, cultural, sexual preference/identifty, or political orientation. I do, however, address different underlying characteristics that I believe are biologically inclined toward more conservative vs. more liberal perspectives or worldviews. However, I consider these differences as adaptive, and important to consider for our interests in survival. We need to first understand one another, respect one another, dialogue constructively and insist on reaching consensus to resolve our problems. Which are looming ever greater as we create a more and more incomprehensibly complex world. I am becoming a Braver Angel and see it as likely our best approach to begin to reunite us, and perhaps apply world-wide. (Yes, I’m an idealist who insists on finding and maintaining an optimistic outlook through hard work. Thank you for your consideration. I intend to keep this effort to 100 pages or less. Chuck Edson.