Braver Angels Workshop Recap
For two nights in November, community members in the Gunnison Valley did something brave. They went outside their comfort zones and attended a workshop called Skills for Disagreeing Better with the hope they would learn new techniques to communicate with people with whom they disagree on politics.
Recent research shows that bridging differences across political lines is becoming increasingly difficult. A study examining Americans’ interest in engaging in activities across a line of difference (race/ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, and political) found that the interest in engaging across political divides held the least amount of interest, regardless of activity type. Political ideology was one of only a handful of predictors of a negative interest in connecting across differences. The study also found that some of the reasons people indicated they wouldn’t interact across political lines is a lack of opportunity, a perception that the “other” doesn’t want to interact with them either, or that they won’t be understood.
Braver Angels National Organization
At the 2024 Council on Foundations Annual Conference, CFGV staff member Jessica Wurtz learned of a national organization working to address this exact challenge. Braver Angels leads “the nation’s largest cross-partisan volunteer-led movement to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.” Jessica trained with Braver Angels for about a year to serve as a moderator leading Red-Blue and other workshops with the hopes of bringing valuable opportunities for community members to develop skills and build connections across the partisan divide.
Local Workshops
While Jessica had met with small groups to introduce them to the idea of the workshops, this pair in November was the first time CFGV invited the public to participate. Our request was simple: if you’re interested in developing stronger skills for disagreeing better, join us for free dinner and a workshop.
The Gunnison session was held at the Gunnison County Library on November 13, and the Crested Butte session was held at the Center for the Arts on November 18. Both workshops were well attended, with about 20 community members at each. Participants had the opportunity to examine the values that form the foundation of conservative and liberal politics, look for similarities that might help them nurture connection with people from the other side, and practice actively listening and then respectfully responding to someone from the other side.
Barbara Klingman, a CFGV Advisory Council member, participated in the Gunnison workshop. She is a retired professor from the Western Colorado University Outdoor Leadership Program, and she attended because she was hoping to learn some tools to use for connecting with people across the divide, including members of her family. Barbara observed that the skills and techniques taught in the workshop were similar to the skills she used to teach in the Outdoor Leadership Program that would help promote group cohesiveness in outdoor settings. “There are very few times that you can throw something new at someone and they accept it completely; you usually need to build on previous knowledge,” Barb noted. “This workshop encouraged us to strengthen our current listening and understanding skills.” Barbara is grateful for the reminder and the opportunity to practice and noted that it seemed like many participants were on the same side of the political spectrum. She’s hopeful that CFGV will continue to offer additional workshops and opportunities for community members to come together and connect with people with different ideologies.
Nathan Baldwin attended the Crested Butte workshop. He’s currently a Financial Analyst for a medical technology company and the new owner of First Ascent Coffee. Previously, he served in the Army as an Operations Manager and then Budget Analyst following his graduation from Pepperdine University. While he admits that the free dinner and opportunity to meet people were both big draws for him (he moved here full-time relatively recently), he was also drawn to the opportunity to learn and practice skills for communicating with people across the political spectrum. His favorite part of the workshop was examining how the values that underpin the conservative and liberal perspectives are similar, and often shared, while the application of the values is so different when it comes time to set policies. Given the opportunity, he’d also attend future sessions led by CFGV and Braver Angels.
Get Involved
If you’re interested in learning and practicing more skills for building connections, make sure you’re signed up to receive CFGV’s monthly email newsletter. Jessica plans to bring more Braver Angels learning opportunities to the Gunnison Valley. And if you’d like to engage more with local governments and the nonprofit sector, check out CFGV’s new Community Action Guide. It walks you through identifying your leadership type, accessing important civic resources and information, and developing a plan to bring about change.
Learn More
CFGV staff members Jessica Wurtz and Alicia Corliss were recently on KBUT’s local newscast with Kate Gienapp to talk about the new Community Action Guide and Braver Angels Workshops. Click through to listen to the story.
Simplified Summary
In November, community members did something brave. They attended workshops to learn skills to connect with people who have different ideas about politics. Research shows that this is very hard. People are afraid that they won’t be understood. They’re also don’t know how to find people who have different political beliefs from them.
CFGV worked with an organization called Braver Angels to host two workshops. November was the first time we invited the public to attend. About 20 people came to each workshop. People learned about the values under “red” or “blue” politics. They practiced listening respectfully to different opinions.
Barbara Klingman and Nathan Baldwin are community members who each attended a workshop. Barbara noticed how the skills she practiced at the workshop weren’t new, but it’s important to keep practicing them. Nathan noticed how many values people share even if they have different politics.
CFGV will continue to offer civic engagement opportunities. They plan to hold more workshops. They also released a new Community Action Guide with tools for people to get involved. You can listen to CFGV staff members talk about this on the radio here.
