Political leaders on opposite sides of the spectrum need to work together. But when they’re invited to come together at public forums or events, there’s often a lurking fear that disaster may strike: What if they say something that’s taken out of context? What if an innocent statement is misinterpreted? What if an argument erupts, leaving everyone looking worse? Isn’t it safest to turn down all invitations to engage with the other side?
Yet conversation is especially necessary in places where political differences are stark—such as Bloomington, Indiana. “Bloomington and Monroe County are a blueberry floating in tomato soup,” said Hal Turner, the Red Co-Chair of the South Central Indiana Alliance of Braver Angels. In Bloomington—which has a population of about 80,000 and is the home of Indiana University—there’s not a single elected Republican; the surrounding areas, however, are solid Red, and in the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump outpolled Joe Biden, 57.1% to 41%.
“I thought, ‘The temperature of political dialogue around here is way too high. What can I do to bring people together?’”
This can make for difficult political encounters. Don Byrd, the Blue State Coordinator for Braver Angels Indiana, heard from conservative colleagues in Braver Angels that some Republicans were being subjected to extreme confrontations in their communities, including a Republican candidate who was screamed at while she was staffing a booth at a farmers’ market. “It was far beyond the limits of civility,” Don said. “I thought, ‘The temperature of political dialogue around here is way too high. What can I do to bring people together?’”
A local Democratic politician suggested to Don that the leaders on each side needed to calm down their rank and file—but with politicians wary of attending events with one another, how could they themselves develop any rapport with their political opposites? After puzzling over the problem, Don realized that a service project could enable Braver Angels to get the attendees together in a non-political context—as well as offer them the chance to contribute to the community. Don’s wife suggested Habitat for Humanity. “It was natural,” Don said. “Habitat for Humanity has been very active in the county for years. It was easy to make contact with them.”
“None of this would have happened without Don Byrd’s vision and tenacity,” Hal said. “He came up with the idea of having some kind of project where we could bring together people who wouldn’t normally be together, and he wouldn’t let it fail. It was a great idea to get people in politics, on opposite sides of the aisle—including people who had been defeated in the last election.”
But the date that Habitat for Humanity had available wasn’t ideal. It was Saturday, March 18, the first day of spring break for Indiana University and local public K–12 schools, when many people would be on vacation, and it was only a couple of weeks away. Don, Hal, and several other people in the local Braver Angels “brain trust” got together to figure out how to gather attendees.
“We weren’t going to let it fail. It was too important.”
“I worked for a U.S. senator, so I was used to going out and beating the bushes,” Hal said. “I brought that to bear, and other people brought their skills.” The team cast a wide net of some seventy people, mostly in the county, but also on the state level. “It was a matter of will,” Hal said. “We weren’t going to let it fail. It was too important. We all came together and said, ‘There’s the finish line.’ It was like a football team at half-time. We had to really push to get it over the line.”
Within a week, the team was able to bring together 11 elected officials and former candidates who were willing to take part in the Habitat for Humanity build:
- Daniel Elliott (R), Indiana State Treasurer
- Shelli Yoder (D), State Senator
- Abhi Reddy (R), Legislative director for the state treasurer
- Dave Hall (R), State Representative
- Julie Thomas (D), Monroe County Commission member
- William Ellis (R), Monroe County GOP Vice Chair & Ellettsville Town Council member (and former co-chair of the South Central Indiana Alliance of Braver Angels)
- Noelle Conyer (R), Candidate for Clerk Treasurer of Ellettsville
- Isak Asare (D), Candidate for Bloomington Common Council At Large
- Brett Heinisch (R), Candidate for Bloomington Common Council Dist. 3
- Jonas Schrodt (D), Candidate for Bloomington Common Council At Large
- Greg Knott (R), Former candidate for state representative
The house under construction was for a woman, her two children, and her mother. The day lasted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to the 11 politicians, the other volunteers included three persons from a local credit union, plus Jeff Marks, one of Braver Angels’ most active volunteers in the area, some experienced Habitat for Humanity volunteers who acted as crew leaders, and another future Habitat for Humanity homeowner, who was helping out even though his house wasn’t under construction yet.
“What do we have in common? In this case, it was helping this family get their first home ever.”
Don presented an opening circle address to about 25 people, including all the volunteers and the woman for whom the house was being built. “It was one of the best two-minute talks I’ve ever given.”
Hal found the opening ceremony a moving one. “We all talked about how important this was, and how significant it was to do this for Braver Angels and for Habitat for Humanity. What do we have in common? In this case, it was helping this family get their first home ever.”
The elected officials and candidates who volunteered that day represented the whole political spectrum, and some had run against each other in rancorous campaigns. “Some of them worked side by side with people who had been their worst enemies on Twitter,” Hal said. “We were concerned and had action plans for what to do if we saw something developing, but we never had to. They understood what they were trying to do, and the impetus behind this—to stay nonpolitical all day—was really great.”
“Some of them worked side by side with people who had been their worst enemies on Twitter.”
“With the Habitat for Humanity project, no one was talking politics,” said William Ellis, one of the participants, who is also a former Red Co-Chair of the South Central Indiana Alliance of Braver Angels. “They were all about helping the community. We’re going to build a house.”
William added that where Braver Angels differs from other groups is that rather than immediately focusing on finding common ground, Braver Angels begins by searching for understanding through genuine curiosity and attention. “A lot of people don’t believe there’s common ground, because they haven’t listened.”
And Braver Angels principles came into play all day. “We did remind everyone that the Braver Angels rules of conduct applied,” said Hal. “I can’t stress that enough. I don’t think we could have done it without Braver Angels, without the training and our belief in the principles.”
One of the most important takeaways for Don was that, given the chance, both sides are willing to collaborate. “We found that Democrats and Republicans really did want to work together to get along better,” Don said. “We got eleven volunteers, and probably the same number of other people who couldn’t be there, but want to if we do it again. We’re talking about doing another one.”
“A lot of people don’t believe there’s common ground, because they haven’t listened.”
“It was a great, positive event for everyone,” Hal said. “Everyone was really high when they finished the day. We can’t wait to do it again. We’re looking for other things like this—other organizations that do something good for the community. We really want to try to do this a couple of times a year. It’s such a positive for the people who participate, and for the community.”
Don said that in retrospect, the idea of partnering with another organization to do a service project seems obvious. Yet before this Indiana project, to his knowledge, no one in Braver Angels had done it. He recalled one of his professors telling him not to overlook the obvious, and he noted that the suggestion applied to this experience—and to other potential partnerships between Braver Angels and other organizations. “That’s a lesson for us. Don’t overlook the obvious.”
To help any Braver Angels alliances and other groups interested in organizing this sort of cooperative event, the Indiana team has shared a folder of documents to make the process as easy as possible. That can be accessed here.
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