Featured Essays

Two recent conversations with Red Braver Angels impressed on me our lack of an agreed-upon standard for acceptable speech and the absence of a shared vocabulary to describe objectionable speech. […]

Since the 2008 financial crisis, there’s been a renewed interest in talking about the inherent problems and weaknesses of capitalism. There has even been renewed interest in socialism, or at

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.

While I was covering the National Conservatism conference in Washington D.C., a high-profile gathering of detached conservative intellectuals discussing lofty visions of the world, the American news cycle was parading

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.

There is something subversive in empathy that makes it threatening to certain social status-quos.

We need to reward, not punish, politicians who take risks, who hold unpopular positions, and who build consensus across the aisle, even if it means losing an election.

That both parties continue to ask these questions—of where personhood begins and where autonomy ends—without pausing to adequately respond to the other side, is why the abortion debate has come to a standstill in the United States.

It is important to distinguish between pushing an agenda for greater women’s rights, and pushing an agenda for a woman’s right that affects the life of another being.

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.

Americans need to make clear once again, through concrete actions, that we owe something to one another, that we’re willing to sacrifice for one another, and that in the most extreme circumstances, that we’re even willing to lay down our lives for one another. And the fact that our fellow-citizens have been so willing, in the past, is exactly what Memorial Day is meant to honor and remind us of.

With the spirits of our great heritage and our bright future in mind, let us move forth and depolarize America. Let us aim to serve, and go from there. Happy Memorial Day.

The depolarization movement should clearly highlight what similarities and commonalities people across political divides share.

China’s unfair trade tactics must be addressed but tariffs are not the way to do it.

Does the global free market benefits the majority of Americans?

What we need is a deeper patriotism and a deeper diversity, each of which values citizens as individuals with their own combinations of values and beliefs, instead of pigeonholing them or criticizing them for failure to live up to our preconceptions.

In addition to being a vegetable farmer, I’m a chef and cooking teacher. …I’ve spent the last twenty years thinking about issues of animal welfare and the ethics of eating meat.

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.

The idea of tolerance as a guiding value for society has been criticized in recent years, from different sides.

If you’ve been looking for reasons to take heart in the state of humanity, I offer that there are plenty of them around.

Religion is part of the solution to our divisions, and attempting to maintain a healthy culture without religion is fraught with difficulty.

In the wake of a shooting at a San Diego synagogue, Randy reflects on the end of Passover and violence against “the other.”

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.

Depolarization, as we at Braver Angels see it, is not so much about reducing partisanship or increasing moderation, as it is about re-building social ties and relationships across partisan divides, and reducing individuals’ sense of disgust for people of opposing political opinions.

When it comes to his phrase “American carnage,” Donald Trump hit on something dark and deeply disturbing, but also something important and true.

The hearings on William Barr’s confirmation for U.S. Attorney General were conducted with the mature civility one would expect from a deliberative body of responsible adults.