At a moment of danger in this era of divisiveness, We the American People come together to speak for the Union. Some of us voted for President Trump and others for Vice President Biden. But in this season of intense and legitimate partisanship, we the undersigned commit ourselves also to a higher partisanship – for the maintenance of our Union; for the importance of our shared civic life; and for those feelings of goodwill that Lincoln called the better angels of our nature.
For ourselves and for all Americans, we appeal for the complete disavowal of election-related violence, calls for violence, or excuse-making for anyone on either side who would commit or tolerate violence.
In a time of growing separation, we pledge ourselves to words and deeds intended to help us find each other as citizens. We start with this commitment: We will not demonize or question the decency of Americans who voted differently from us. When we oppose their political views we will say so with vigor, but we won’t castigate them as persons.
If we face a constitutional crisis in which our institutions cannot produce consensus on who is the legitimately elected president, we resolve to work together across this chasm for solutions grounded in the Constitution and guided by our democratic and non-violent traditions and our sense of shared destiny.
At stake in this contest is democracy’s North Star – peaceful political transition. It’s a time for opponents, but not for enemies. We the undersigned will work separately for what each of us believes is right, but we will also work together to protect the land we all love – to lift up American citizenship and the American promise in a time of peril and to find in ourselves the understanding that our differences don’t simply divide us, but also can strengthen and complete us.
Braver Angels is the nation’s largest grassroots movement uniting red and blue Americans in a working alliance to depolarize America.