The United States was founded on principles of peaceful coexistence among people of diverse viewpoints and backgrounds, and the ideal that a free people engaging in free debate and discussion can navigate such diverse views to arrive at solutions and decisions. Yet too often now, we seem to be moving from spirited discussions of differing views on how to address a given problem to fundamentally different understandings of the problem itself (or perhaps even whether it exists) and seeing those who hold opposing views as evil or a threat to our deeply-held values.

One way I’ve engaged this problem is as a member and facilitator for Braver Angels (https://braverangels.org/), which works to address toxic polarization by equipping Americans who lean liberal or conservative politically with skills and opportunities to engage in more civil and constructive conversations about issues of deep importance to us. We have chapters in all 50 states which are working at the community level, with religious organizations and educational institutions, through engagement with national media, and most recently with US political leaders and their staff.

One way this work has affected me is through a greater appreciation of the nuances and complexities of the views of many of my fellow Americans on critical issues facing our country. The overwhelming dominance of two primary political parties, in my opinion, is a hindrance in our society to recognizing and grappling with those complexities. It encourages people to be labeled (whether by themselves or others) as one or the other—Democrat OR Republican; liberal OR conservative. But real life is more complicated and messier than that.  Rarely is an issue purely black OR white; rarely are there only two solutions to a problem. As a Catholic, I don’t feel well-represented by either party—I align more closely with the Democrats on issues like care for immigrants and refugees, gun control, expansion of healthcare, and abolishing the death penalty, and with the Republicans on abolishing abortion to protect the lives of unborn children. Thus I am a political Independent. But even among members of a given party, there can be a great diversity of viewpoints on how to address a given issue.

As a nation we need to get better at discussing these differences with greater compassion and openness and less judgmentalism and blame. Recently our local Braver Angels chapter held a conversation about the deeply polarizing and emotional issue of abortion. It struck me that almost unanimously, across various differences of opinion on whether/when abortion should be allowed, people considered the act of abortion to be deeply solemn, not to be taken lightly, and something worthy of deep moral consideration. Understanding the nuances of each other’s views and the deeper values underlying them gave us greater compassion for each other, and also helped us to see areas of commonality.

Being able to engage in, and facilitate, conversations where people can share their deeply held beliefs while still listening respectfully and learning from each other has been transformative not only on an intellectual level, but perhaps more importantly on an emotional and spiritual level, as I have grown in understanding and respect for those fellow Americans who have strongly different opinions from me on some issues but share with me a love for our country and a desire to work together to make things better.

(Image Source: https://hatehasnohome.org/index.html)