Ep 50 - Bridging Our Political Divide with Beverly Horstman & David Lapp of Braver Angels
The vitriol in American politics was a problem long before Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and the 2020 election. Affective political polarization (not only disagreement on issues but personal contempt and distrust) has been growing between us for at least 25 years, and today there is evidence to suggest that we are now as polarized as we have been since the Civil War. Americans no longer see their political opponents as simply wrong or misguided. They see them as enemies who must be defeated at all costs.
Braver Angels was formed shortly after the 2016 election because they do not accept this division. They reject the normalizing of this extreme polarization and our work is about building civic trust in the USA, healing the wounds between left and right.
We welcome Beverly and David to The Third Place to learn how we can begin to see ourselves as fellow Americans once again.
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Braver Angels was inspired by the words of Abraham Lincoln, who not only called on Americans to summon the “better angels” of our nature — but called on us to find the courage needed to pursue a more perfect union, “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right.”
To meet the current moment, at this time of national crisis, we need more than civility. We need to challenge ourselves to work together when we disagree. We need bravery.
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