Alliance News

Monthly meetings

At our April meeting, on April 27, we were fortunate to have Beth Malow visiting us to discuss the book she recently co-authored, Beyond the Politics of Contempt, on how to reduce polarization and rancor in our country.   A very lively discussion followed Beth’s presentation. 

At our next meeting, on May 18, we will resume the discussion between Reds and Blues that we began in March.   Reds and Blues will each discuss common stereotypes or misconceptions that people have of their side, why they’re wrong, what’s true instead, and perhaps whether there is some grain of truth in them.    We should all learn a lot from that!

When: May 18,2026, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.  As always, the doors open at 6:30 for socializing!

Where: District 3 Police Station Meeting Room, 1002 Milestone Dr, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, where Route 29 and New Hampshire Ave. (Rte. 650) meet.

Register here. (free with promo code Braver)

Montgomery County Alliance Red-Blue Workshop, June 13

The Red-Blue Workshop is the first workshop Braver Angels ever held and remains a key experience for anyone interested in depolarizing themselves or others.    Here, you’ll really go into depth in understanding the other side--and helping them to understand you. This workshop gives you the ‘why’ of depolarizing; our skills workshops provide the ‘how’.   Please encourage a friend with a different political viewpoint from your own to register too!

When: June 13, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, with a lunch break.

Where: The Salem United Methodist Church, 12 High Street (5 minutes north of Olney), Brookeville, MD  20833

Register: here. (free with promo code Braver)

Thinking of going to the Braver Angels Convention?

The Braver Angels national convention is always a great place to recharge your commitment to depolarization, meet new people, reconnect with old or virtual friends, and learn a lot.  This year the convention will be held in Philadelphia, June 25-28.    Since Braver Angels wants to maintain a balance between Red and Blue participants, you can help someone else get admitted to the convention by listing someone of a different political persuasion from yourself on your application.    Please contact one of your co-chairs, Len or Jack (see above), and we will give you the name of someone you can help attend.  Also, contact us if you are looking for a registration partner yourself, or if you have questions.   For information about the convention, please see https://braverangels.org/2026-convention/ .

Want to help your alliance as a VOLUNTEER?

We welcome volunteers who have interest or experience in marketing, web page development, social media, or other needs.   Please contact Jack or Len, above.

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!