In the middle of what seems like paralyzing political division, including political violence, the leader of Braver Angels, a nonprofit with the mission of “bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide,” has hope.
“I don’t believe we are as divided as the narrative is,” Maury Giles, who is in his seventh week as CEO of the group, told WTOP. The group’s vision page reads, “We envision an America with respectful embrace of political differences, where civic friendship flourishes and competing perspectives strengthen our nation.”
“Right now, there’s a lot of pain, there’s a lot of hatred, there’s a lot of anger,” said Giles, who hails from Utah and said family members were present last week at Utah Valley University, where Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead.
However, Giles said he believes a lot of the political divisiveness “is driven by an echo chamber in the kind of dark sides of the internet and social media, where we act and behave in ways that we never would have considered the norm, before.”
“When we sit and live in the digital sphere, and we read everything we’re seeing and hearing, life gets amplified to the point that fears are magnified. And fears are magnified because that’s what sells,” said Giles. “That’s what conflict entrepreneurs thrive on.”
Braver Angels gets 60% of its funding from foundations considered to be left-of-center, and 40% from foundations considered right-of-center, according to the financials page of its website.
“Our goal is not to change people’s views of issues, but to change their views of each other,” according to the site.
Real-world discussions
In Braver Angels discussions and trainings, Giles said participants learn to see each other as people when they “have the courage to lean into conflict with dignity, instead of contempt.”
“When someone says something that really gets you amped up, ask the question, ‘Tell me about your life experience that shapes how you view this issue,'” Giles suggested. “It completely reframes the discussion.”
In fact, Giles said the framers of the Constitution had civil discussions and separation of powers in the creation of legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
“Those three branches were meant to have deliberative debate,” said Giles. “It wasn’t meant to be where you could (put) your party or tribe into all of the executive and Senate and House, and then you could just run your agenda through.”
While that separation was the intent of the Founding Fathers, those who benefit from conflict have changed the narrative, Giles said.
“The election is set up every two years as this existential crisis, in that we’ve got to get our people in the House and Senate, and in the White House, and we’ll run our agenda through,” Giles said. “And if we don’t, the country ends as we know it. Well, that’s just not true.”
Instead of hoping for leaders who might promote unity and compromise, “From the beginnings of this great American experiment, citizens have led, at the center of driving the change that’s needed, and we have to get back to that,” Giles said.
Asked how a parent could explain the ideals and goals of the government, in the middle of today’s political tensions, Giles said parents can lead by example in schools and communities.
“When there are key issues that are going on and there’s division, instead of going out on the attack and labeling the other side, and joining into the narrative of the conflict entrepreneurs show them the better way,” suggested Giles. “Show them how to listen and engage that conflict.”
Parents should remind children, “Words, themselves, are not violent, it’s the response to words that can either be love or hate,” Giles said. “If we model that, that will inspire the change in our kids to understand that they control the future that they want.”