Bridging the bitter political divide: New Bern group works to bring Americans back together
A national citizens’ group working to “depolarize” a politically divided America is bringing its message of unity to New Bern next week.
Braver Angels, a nonprofit citizens' organization whose goal is to unite liberal and conservative Americans, will hold an informational event Tuesday, September 27 from 6-7 p.m. at the Harrison Center at 311 Middle St. in downtown New Bern.
Braver Angels state coordinator Steve Warshaw will be on hand to explain the Braver Angels mission. The meeting is open to the public and refreshments will be served.
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Braver Angels seek to bring Americans together to bridge the partisan divide through workshops, skills training, and debates moderated by trained facilitators. According to the Braver Angels website, “To meet the current moment, at this time of national crisis, we need more than civility. We need to challenge ourselves to work together when we disagree. We need bravery.”
Steve Skiffington, who recently began a New Bern alliance of Braver Angels, said the group is working to bring together politically diverse Americans by “teaching people to see each other not as stereotypes, but as neighbors in a country we share.”
“We’re a national organization, we’re in all 49 states. We’re going to be talking to folks basically to let them know that we’re here in town and we’re going to start holding events in the near future,” said Skiffington. “We’re just trying to get the word out and let people know why we exist.”
Skiffington said Braver Angels is concerned about the “extreme polarization” evident across the United States.
“Our goal is to get reds and blues, conservatives and liberals to meet at a table and have honest discussions, not to yell at each other or scream but just say ‘This is what I believe, this is what I feel and this is why,’” Skiffington said. “We need to connect people at a person-to-person level.”
Braver Angels began in December 2016 in South Lebanon, Ohio shortly after the divisive presidential contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The group was originally named Better Angels after the words of Abraham Lincoln, who called on Americans to summon the “better angels” of their nature to heal the nation following the Civil War.
In 2018 the group launched The Better Angels Podcast, interviewing leading voices from the left and the right in an attempt to change the political conversation online.
In early 2020, Better Angels changed its name to Braver Angels to reflect what the group believes is the courage needed to bridge the country’s political and cultural divide.
“We’re not here to change minds, that’s not the purpose,” Skiffington said. “At the end of the day we’re looking for people to say, “You know, I don’t agree with this person on a whole lot of things but he’s a decent human being.’”
Skiffington said the local Braver Angels alliance plans to hold regular events in the New Bern area.
“There will be a second public information event in November that we’re still working to set a date for,” he said.
Skiffington stressed that the Better Angel alliances must represent both “blue and red culture.” He said the New Bern alliance is currently in search of a conservative co-leader for the 20-member group.
“There’s going to be a second alliance that we’re going to call New Bern Coastal Alliance, which will be slightly north of us and more towards the coast,” Skiffington explained.
For more information about Better Angels, visit https://braverangels.org/.
Reporter Todd Wetherington can be reached by email at wwetherington@gannett.com. Please consider supporting local journalism by signing up for a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: New Bern's Braver Angels work to bridge the bitter red/blue divide
