Braver Angels: A Political Forgiveness Model in Action
Dr. Eileen Borris
Global Consultant in Political Forgiveness, Multi-Track Diplomacy, Leadership, Conflict resolution, Author, Dynamic Key-Note Speaker
A Message to You
Even while media news continues to accentuate the divisions in our country, there are a number of organizations working to heal our divisions and bridge the political divide. Some of them work internationally, such as Search for Common Ground, which works to end violent conflict and build healthy, safe, and just societies. Others such as Conciliation Resources, an independent organization, work with people in conflict to prevent violence, build peace, and provide advice, support, and practical resources.?
Another organization focused on political polarization within the United States is Braver Angels, a citizens’ organization uniting Red and Blue Americans in a working alliance to depolarize America. Their work is an example of what a political forgiveness process could look like by focusing on all levels of society in lowering the temperature of the country. Their work brings us together in ways that can change our attitudes about one another and move us toward living with each other in a more respectful way. As you read the following blog, which focuses on Braver Angels, you may want to consider learning more about the organization and taking part in what they have to offer.
What Can You Do?
Learn more about the many programs of Braver Angels, and if you're interested, sign up for their email updates by scrolling to the bottom of their home page at braverangels.org.
Braver Angels: A Political Forgiveness Model in Action
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will yet sell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.” — Abraham Lincoln
With our country so divided and polarized it seems hard to imagine that we can ever come back together again as a nation. A political forgiveness process can help us stitch together the torn fabric of our society by offering a process on an individual, community, and national level, focusing on the lowering of anger and intolerance and the fostering of empathy and forgiveness. It is a process whereby parties in conflict make a commitment to one another to limit hostility, move on from the past, and rebuild communities and, hopefully, nations. An aspect of a political forgiveness process is building trust between antagonistic groups. This includes addressing affective political polarization, the phenomenon where individuals’ feelings and emotions towards members of their own political party or group become more positive, while their feelings towards members of the opposing party or group become more negative. Affective political polarization erodes trust in each other and in our institutions, producing policy gridlock, eroding civil society, and lowering the caliber of our citizenship.?
Affective political polarization has been on the rise long before the 2016 election where belief has grown that political opponents are not only wrong in what they think and believe — they have become enemies. Braver Angels, an organization whose mission is to bring Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic, focuses on building civic trust and healing the wounds between left and right. Their work 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.” We do need more courage, and more bravery to be willing to come together and work together, even when we disagree, and it is Braver Angels that makes this happen.
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From My Desk
ARTICLE: A Tale of Two Karens
They are political polar opposites, but through Braver Angels they’re forging a path toward productive conversations — and even friendship.
From Search For Common Ground: Young Nigerian girls, one Christian and one Muslim, learn to work together, despite the division and violence in their communities. “I decided to see you as a person that really loves me, a person that really cares for me, a person that really believes.”
Voters did something pretty amazing in many states: They split their vote. Voting for a Republican and a Democrat seems about as far from being polarized as you can get—and voters did it in New Hampshire, Ohio, and Kansas, to name a few. How are we so polarized, and yet there’s evidence that we’re still rational human beings who are not all straight-lining down the party line?
From Common Ground Committee: A Common Grounder seeks points of agreement on social and political issues through listening and productive conversation. Common Grounders set the example for productive discourse and behaviors and thereby create other Common Grounders.
Deeper Moments
“The moment we choose to love, we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love, we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom... When we choose to love, we choose to move against fear, against alienation and separation. The choice to love is a choice to connect, to find ourselves in the other.?
— From bell hooks’ essay “Love as the Practice of Freedom” in Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations