This Can Be Us?
The trend toward Bridge Building within communities to counter divisiveness appears to be moving more rapidly as evidenced in new settings and publications.
Braver Angels’ recently published menu of 2024 activity to support relation-building and smoothing rough roads (talking with each other instead of at each other or not at all) is outstanding. It began with an inspiring January 2024 fireside chat among its founders, David Blankenhorn, Bill Doherty and David Lapp. It can be viewed online. Braver Angels’ website is quite informative and truly worth a close look and listen. www.braverangels.org.
The Washington National Cathedral on February 21 at 7:30 PM ET will bring together an in-person panel (also shown online) about civility and trust-building in the current political climate The panelists are well-known participants in other related efforts, including Utah Governor Spencer Cox (who is a Braver Angels participant) and Timothy Shriver, a founder of Unite and long-time chair of Special Olympics. You can sign up for this program, “With Malice Toward None, Charity Toward All,” via https://Cathedral.org.
The American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section has a subcommittee on Public Disputes and Consensus Building (PD&CB). Its most recent publication summarizes some work being done on this subject. One is a study out of Stanford by Robb Willer et al. about what kinds of interventions seem to remediate conflict and polarization. PD&CB also highlights the work of Beyond Intractability which was selected by the Stanford Study as an example of effective intervention. BI’s own newsletter, linked through PD&CB’s, illustrates what BI calls “civity” - an exercise of telling others your story and listening to theirs. (Back in 2019 when VBA began discussing civility to counter division, we called it “Civility Plus” because it is deeper than a set of manners but includes certain skills, flowing from an attitude of respect towards others with whom we might disagree or feel different.)
There might be different terms or words used by various groups but I think these approaches boil down to a same fundamental idea – how we approach and communicate with others respectfully; we need to do more of it – not run away from it.
At a different end of the scale from larger, prestigious organizations mentioned above, I happened upon a brief newsletter last week, The Flame, of a small order of now-aging Nuns – a contemplative order known as the Cenacle Sisters. (My aunt had joined the order almost 100 years ago.) Their mission besides prayer and meditation has been to give spiritual respite and guidance to women for their life journeys. Today, few Cenacle sisters remain; all retreat centers are now shuttered. But they still pray from their senior rooms, and - amazingly to me- these brave, few women are seeking a way in 2024 to enable a less polarized society. And so they ask us to ask ourselves to examine our consciences about how we communicate and should communicate our feelings and positions in the public square: “Is what I am saying adding value; is it necessary that I speak; am I speaking it in a manner that reverences the other/s in the conversation; am I listening and taking the time to think about what other/s are saying?”
Thank you, Sisters.
It might be too early to say the bridge building/civility trend is now a surge but I sense something is really building. Numbers signing up for online presentations and/or joining groups sponsoring such work are reported to be increasing (Just look at the Braver Angel website, replete with data). People are “heartsick” in the words of David Blankenhorn and tired of the malaise and incivility that pits people against each other. Those drivers of negative approach to others and to problem-solving should give pause and be encouraged to adopt and model a better way, including by our own examples. We can and will have different views and opinions but at the end of the day we have to cling to what will keep us a strong and healthy society. The positive effects of that will be felt widely.