How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. Psalm 133:1
A weekend ago, I sat around the dinner table as my grandmother blew out her birthday candles. Family and friends shared laughter and tears while recalling memories of my grandmother’s unbelievable care for each of us over the years. My uncle, who had always been the more rebellious one, tearfully testified of my grandma’s belief in him and the security she had provided him with all these years. The room was full of joy, fellowship, and peace. My grandma showed no partiality in her love. She saw the person, valuable and worth believing in, even when she did not agree with them.
Why does this kind of acceptance feel almost foreign? Why does it feel like a pastime? As the election approaches, our country is not promoting fellowship, but instead disregarding and discarding anyone whose views do not align with ours. The question we must ask ourselves is: Where is this kind of thinking leading our country? More than ever, we are in desperate need of unity.
David Blankenhorn is a cofounder of Braver Angels, a citizens’ organization that seeks to unify and depolarize America. He was having similar thoughts around the time of the 2016 presidential election: Donald Trump v. Hillary Clinton. “This was a very, very difficult time and a very difficult election. Highly polarized. Much, much anguish and fear. People were really rattled.”
He recalls the highly polarized reactions of citizens in different regions. “Some regions were feeling good, thinking the election would be good for the country. While in Manhattan, people were devasted, walking around like someone had shot them in the side.”
It was during this election that Blankenhorn realized that the problem wasn’t that people didn’t agree on certain issues, it was that people weren’t willing to engage with the people they didn’t agree with.
“Disagreement and conflict are normal and healthy in a free society. You don’t want to eliminate them, but where it becomes toxic is when it’s not just disagreeing, it’s hating. It’s not that I disagree with your opinion, it’s that I don’t like you. I don’t find you to be a trustworthy or a good person. That’s when it becomes toxic, and you get the kind of social breakdown that we’re experiencing.”
The problem wasn’t that people didn’t agree on certain issues, it was that people weren’t willing to engage with the people they didn’t agree with.
In December of 2016 with the hope of bridging the divide, Blankenhorn and his fellow cofounders held a meeting at a local church in South Lebanon, Ohio consisting of ten Trump voters and ten Clinton voters. They simply asked them to talk to each other. “It might seem tame, but it certainly wasn’t going on anywhere in the country.”
What set this kind of meeting apart, Blankenhorn explains, is that “you’re not just marshalling facts to try to defeat your opponent; you’re actually interacting with one another. It’s a collective search for truth.”
The experience was transformative, and the response was enormous. People couldn’t get enough. Braver Angels has grown from one chapter to now having 102 chapters around the country that host debates, workshops, and discussions. They have trained around 4000 people to host meetings similar to the first. They regularly hold national conventions with over 750 delegates from their chapters around the country. Braver Angels has even started taking their method directly into the halls of political power, working with state legislatures and even members of Congress. Braver Angels’ message of unity continues to spread across America with features in major news outlets, including ABC, Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, and many others.
Another way to be a good person is to essentially be a peacemaker. We can find ways to communicate and cooperate. That’s not a sign of being weak. Actually, it probably requires more strength and more moral fiber to do that.
David Blankenhorn
As from the very beginning, the movement seeks to “bring Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.” They stand for stating views “freely and fully, without fear,” while also treating those who disagree with “honesty, dignity, and respect.”
When asked about our moral responsibility toward fostering unity, Blankenhorn noted many young people’s desire to “be a fighter for your cause, to stand up and fight for what you believe in.” He said this is what many young people believe makes them a good person.
Blankenhorn responded, “I respect it, however, another way to be a good person is to essentially be a peacemaker. We can find ways to communicate and cooperate. That’s not a sign of being weak. Actually, it probably requires more strength and more moral fiber to do that.”
Braver Angels exists in the tension of finding peace with others while also not watering down our views. Braver Angels recognizes the danger of fighting so hard for a cause that the people the cause is meant to help are sacrificed along the way. When we give way to division and hatred, we are not damning our opposing party, we are ultimately damning our nation and, in turn, ourselves.
So with the election at hand, let us be people that learn from the work of Braver Angels and collectively search for truth, not just seek victory over our neighbor. Let us be people, like my grandma, who respect and believe in one another. May we foster the fellowship and peace that only comes from valuing people just as they are.
