Walk a Mile in My News

In the spirit of depolarizing our community and bringing people together, the Braver Angels Illinois Zoom Alliance invites you to Walk a Mile in My News.

This exciting experience pairs Blue-leaning and Red-leaning individuals for a two-week journey to share news sources and information about mutually agreed-upon subjects. The goal for participants is to:

1) Explore subjects with a red/blue partner by exchanging news sources and engaging in respectful dialogue.

2) Better understand how people with different political perspectives form their views and opinions.

3) Explore potential bias in our own news sources.

4) Build relationships with people of different political views.

5) Discover areas of commonality.

WHY SHOULD I SIGN UP?

Our news sources impact how we see the world. As a result, staying within our own opinion “echo chambers” may limit our understanding of complex issues and cause polarization.

The Walk a Mile in My News program encourages us to respectfully “reach across the aisle” and get to know our friends who have different opinions. By participating, we are likely to understand better how those with different views arrive at their position while potentially learning something new about ourselves!

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

1) By April 19, please register here for the event. That will include answering some questions to help us pair you.

2) By April 26, you will receive an email introducing you to your partner, program guidelines, and a Zoom link to the virtual Orientation.

3) Thursday, April 28 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm, attend Orientation. Attendance at the Orientation is optional but strongly encouraged.

At the Orientation, you will have an opportunity to meet other individuals participating in the program, get a chance to wave hello to your partner, review the program guidelines, and ask questions.

After the Orientation, you will receive a Doodle poll to indicate your availability for the Reunion (see 5 below).

4) Between April 29 – May 13 pairs will meet. Together, you decide what schedule works best, the topics to cover, and how much time to spend together. The guidelines provided previously will help facilitate your meetings. If you happen to live within geographic proximity and want to meet in person, by all means do! Otherwise, your meetings will take place by phone or video conference that you arrange.

5) Virtual Reunion will be held in May on the date/time selected based on the Doodle poll results. The Reunion is optional but attendance is strongly encouraged. Pairs will have an opportunity to share inspiration, challenges, learnings and potential commonalities. Zoom link will be provided.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?

This experience is for kind, respectful, and thoughtful people from all political perspectives, who have participated in a Braver Angels workshop, debate, or other offering and are open to working together with curiosity, civility and commitment.

Questions? Contact Svetlana Bekman at sbekman@braverangels.org

See you there!

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT US!

This is a free event brought to you by Braver Angels as part of our mission to depolarize America. Braver Angels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. We invite you to consider a gift to Braver Angels; all donations are tax deductible. Your support will allow us to offer more workshops and debates with the ultimate goal of uniting America.