“I don’t like that man; I must get to know him better,” said Abraham Lincoln.

          What does it take to heal a divided nation?   Braver Angels is the largest nationwide, grass roots organization of volunteers striving to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.  “We are taking a stand against toxic politics,” says Kate Christensen, co-chair of the Braver Angels Alliance of the Central Coast. “Our country is more divided than ever, with too many of us isolated from those who hold different views,” she says.    

           Braver Angels is holding a roundtable discussion at the Oasis Center on July 21, 5:30pm to 7:30pm, and the public is encouraged to attend.

The workshop will demonstrate skills for depolarizing. “The goal of political conversations is to learn about the other person’s position and find accurate disagreement; not to persuade them to change their mind,” explains Christensen, it is designed to help people learn skills to approach challenging political situations constructively. Among the suggestions Christensen offers is the use of “I believe” or “I understand” in dialogue. “Arbitrary statements such as “this is the way it is” are counter productive.” She suggests finding something you agree with from the other person’s view before you disagree.

          “Our goal,” she says, “is to engage in courageous conversations, reduce vitriol and find common ground. Our work is citizen-led, with equal representation of red and blue leaders.” 

According to Christensen, Braver Angels was founded by two people, a red and a blue, in 2016; now it has over 15,000 members and is the nation’s largest cross-partisan, volunteer-led movement to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.

          On the Braver Angels Board of Directors and Advisory Council are state governors, representatives from Congress, leadership from several universities and national organizations, all with the goal towards advocating civil discourse.

          Christensen says you can have a political discussion even if you disagree on the facts of the situation. “The workshop at Oasis will help you find accurate disagreement. 

          Further information is available at braverangels.org

Steve Southwick reporting