For people of faith, civil discourse begins in recognizing the image of God in our conversation partner. Since we are all children of God, our approach should involve mutual respect. Respect, not agreement, is an essential key for a healthy discussion. This workshop addresses how we may inadvertently be complicit in, or possibly even encourage, polarization.
What is the Depolarizing Ourselves Workshop?
The Depolarizing Ourselves Introductory Workshop is designed to help you lessen the effects of polarization when you encounter them in your political conversations. Note that by “polarization,” we are not referring to healthy disagreements over issues or philosophy. We are talking about how we regard and talk about large groups of ordinary people on the other side of our own politics as if they were enemies.
Braver Angels has created this workshop to help you reframe how you view the other side in the face of disagreements around politics. Successfully ‘taming’ our inner polarizer starts with recognizing our tendencies around harmful generalizations about the other side. This requires acknowledging how we often attribute negative intent and motivations to the other side without first trying to understand them.