Alliance News

Our next monthly alliance meeting: September 28!

This month’s alliance meeting will mark a departure for the Montgomery Alliance towards focusing on substantive discussions on some of the issues of the day. The discussions will not be as structured as a Braver Angels debate, but will be moderated and focused on opinions, followed by a few minutes of questions of curiosity and clarification (with time limits). The discussion will not be a debate, i.e., alternating positions, or be considered an opportunity to change anyone’s opinions – rather, it will be a forum to understand more about how other members of the alliance think and feel about important issues. By following the Braver Angels Way, we believe that the discussions can be respectful, safe, and enlightening.

The first discussion, at the next meeting, will focus on the war with Iran. The discussion will not be focused on whether the Administration made the right decision to conduct the war, nor on military, diplomatic, or strategic decisions made since it started. Instead, we will focus on the current status of the war and what the United States can and should do to bring it to an appropriate conclusion – and hence what an “appropriate conclusion” is.

Please join us as we start to engage further in the mission of Braver Angels: to inspire and equip Americans to practice courageous citizenship across political differences through skill-building, convening, and collaborative action.

When: Monday, September 28, 7-8:30 pm, doors open at 6:30 pm for socializing.

Where: Kensington Park Library, 4201 Knowles Ave., Kensington, MD 20895

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Come to an in-person Red/Blue Workshop, September 26

Join us for a free two-part intensive workshop that brings together Red (conservative or Republican-leaning) and Blue (liberal or Democratic-leaning) citizens for moderated activities and structured discussions that reduce stereotyped thinking, clarify disagreements, build relationships and find common ground through listening and learning rather than declaring and debating.  If you’ve never attended a Red/Blue Workshop, you really should.  It is the flagship, and first, Braver Angels event.  This is what depolarization is all about!

When: Saturday, September 26 ,  10 AM - 5 PM
Where: McLean Governmental Center, 1437 Balls Hill Rd., McLean, VA
Register:  here.

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SMS Texts: Are you missing our emails?

If you would like to receive MoCo Alliance notices via text messages, please contact Len (lbreslow@braverangels.org) with your phone number. 

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Fairfax Alliance: Trustworthy Elections

Do you trust your local and state election systems? We will be discussing several topics related to trustworthy elections and will have a few experts in the room.

When: October 13, 6:30 to 9:00 pm.

Information and Registration here.

Reflections: How can you be so sure?

“The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right,” according to Judge Learned Hand.  Why?  Well, consider the alternative: the authoritarian believes, or acts as if, he is unquestionably right.    In a democracy, on the other hand, a belief in one’s fallibility is necessary for the compromises essential for the government to function

     But why shouldn’t we feel certain about our political beliefs?  Well, for one thing, most of us are not experts.   Experts devote years to the study of some specific area of political relevance.    To learn what experts have to say we can read the articles and books they write.  But honestly we only have the time or motivation to do so much of that.   One thing you can do is select opinion columns written by authors whose names are not familiar to you, rather than regular columnists.   Often these writers are experts on the subject they are writing about. But, of course, experts disagree.  So we should read experts with differing opinions.  And even experts should not feel too sure of themselves:   Experts who are most certain of their judgments have been found to be worse at predicting political events than ones who are more modest.1

     Further, there are limits to expertise.   Some thinkers see knowledge as distributed throughout society.2 Each one of us is an expert in his/her own life: not only about our problems, but also about the solutions to those problems. A rank-and-file employee knows things about how best to do his/her job that the CEO knows nothing about.   In this vein, Learned Hand continues, “The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women.” None of us knows the minds, interests, challenges, and solutions found by men and women who lead very different lives from us.

     So much for knowledge.   What about opinion?   To find reasons to feel uncertain about our opinions, consider the fact that we react emotionally before we reason.3  Unless we are vigilant, our thinking is likely to be a rationalization for our gut feelings.   And watch out for all those cognitive biases you’ve heard of…4

     If you are still feeling confident in your convictions at this point, think of the well-documented influence of your social environment on your beliefs.  Imagine being Hamlet: Not only is reality unclear to him, “as in the best it is” for all of us, but he must decide what is right absolutely ALONE, with no help or feedback from another soul.   How would any of us cope with that?   In contrast, the enormous social support we have for our views can give us a false sense of certainty.

     One of our main social supports is our political party.  But our political parties have veered back and forth in their positions, and their constituencies have veered along with them5—usually with little long-term memory for having changed.6    Back in the 1980s, the Democratic party was in favor of tariffs and limited immigration, i.e., the current Republican positions. Democrats old enough to remember those times probably can’t recall having held those positions.  But Democrats have no monopoly on amnesia.  Many Republicans are currently turning away from their traditional free trade position.  Maybe in 10-20 years, most Republicans won’t remember having once been in favor of free trade and against tariffs.  How certain can you be that your opinions will be the same in the future as they are today?   And if you probably will eventually change your mind, how confident should you be in your current views?  (H/T to Earl Shoop).  And let’s hope your mind does change, because, as William Blake said, “The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.”  We certainly don’t want that to happen!

     In sum, we should not feel too certain about our opinions.   Uncertainty and humility open the door to tolerance and understanding of others with views different from our own.  As Judge Hand concludes, “The spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their [other men’s and women’s] interests alongside its own without bias.”  (Ok, “without bias” may be too much to ask of us mortals, but you get the point.)

-- Len

1Tetlock, Philip E. (2005).  Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It?  How Can We Know?

2 Sowell, Thomas (2007) [First published 1987]. A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles  (Revised ed.)

3Haidt, Jonathan (2012). The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

4Kahneman, Daniel (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow.

5Lewis, Verlan & Lewis, Hyrum (2022). The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America.

6Among others: Rodriguez & Strange (2015). “Dissonance-induced false memories: Evidence from a free-choice paradigm,” Journal: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Read the paper (ResearchGate copy).

How To Get Involved in Braver Angels

Ambassador

Q: What does an Ambassador do?

A: Braver Angels Ambassadors work in outreach, speaking publicly to various organizations or writing op-eds.

Q: How do I get trained to be a Braver Angels Ambassador?

A: Take the Braver Angels Ambassador Training

Q: How can I get more information?

A: Contact us!

Debates

Q: Would you like to run or help run debates?

A: If yes, take the Debate Organizer Training

Q: How can I get more information?

A: Contact Andrew!

Workshops

Q: Would you like to moderate or organize workshops?

A: If you would like to help organize workshops, take the Braver Angels Organizer Training

A: If you would like to moderate a workshop, take the Braver Angels Moderator Training

A: If you only have time to pitch in on the day of a workshop and not organize in advance, contact Justin, and we will find ways for you to be involved!