Better Angels convene in Biglerville
The issues our Gettysburg DFA task forces focus on—adequate funding for public education, access to affordable healthcare and housing for all, accountable government, and action on environmental problems from plastic pollution to climate change—all seem like concerns that most folks might share, at least potentially. The problem has been, and continues to be, how to talk about these matters in a way that connects with the good people of Adams County across the political spectrum. In other words, how do we find common ground on these important issues? Is there a way to talk about them across the political divisions that are blocking progress in Harrisburg and Washington?
Better Angels, an organization that began out in Ohio right after the 2016 election, provides some possible answers to these questions. And so, back on April 27 I found myself in a daylong Better Angels Red/Blue workshop in Thomas Harbaugh Library in “downtown” Biglerville, PA. The library, by the way, is a real jewel, providing several beautifully equipped meeting rooms on the ground floor where we met.
The workshop brought together two teams of eight, one red (leaning Republican) and one blue (leaning Democratic) for seven hours of structured conversation. The focus, however, was on listening and reflection rather than debate or attempts to persuade. A number of non-participating observers and a reporter from the Gettysburg Times were also present. One red and one blue facilitator worked to keep things on track and make sure everybody stuck to the rules: no rants or attempts to convince, just listening and reflection in an attempt to understand the values and perspective of the other side.
Our day consisted of three rounds of highly structured exchanges, each of which included a surprising amount of time apart—blues with blues and reds with reds—for preparing for and then processing our conversational encounters. In our first blue caucus, we developed a list of stereotypes about our side: blues are snowflakes, socialists, elitists, and anti-white etc. and then presented some of these to the group as a whole. The reds did the same.
As the day progressed, we conducted similar caucuses on our values and policies, and potential problems with these, and then presented them as well. The reds did the same, and then we reflected together in response to specific questions and prompts provided by the facilitators. We covered a lot of ground. Among the red values I “heard” and took note of in my notebook:
Boundaries (of many kinds) are useful and can be essential to progress
Hard work and independent thought are important
Change can be bad
Degrees do not equal “smart”
Limited government can cause people to “step up” and take responsibility
I was also struck by how hard the reds worked to avoid what one person called “bomb” terms, terms that ended rather than enhanced dialogue. Several reds had seemed a little “hot” at the start of the day, and ready for, even expecting, a fight, but by the afternoon almost everybody was expressing admiration for the other side’s openness and sincerity. Not quite a love fest, but still, something good had taken place by the end of the day: an authentic conversation at least and for many a real appreciation of the good intentions of the other side.
In terms of issues, did we agree on anything? Here’s what I jotted down:
The need for transparency about money in politics
The necessity of some kind of temporary “safety net”
Support for a “reasonable” policy on immigration and border security
Support for protecting the environment and action, maybe even on climate change
Reproductive rights, access to abortion, continued to be a deal breaker for some. But I was also struck by the diversity among the reds on some issues. My biggest take away from the day? Blues do not really understand rural people or how to talk to them, something we really need to work on.
More information on Better Angels is available at https://www.better-angels.org/Locally, a Red/Blue Alliance has formed under the leadership of Darcy Maier and Chad Collier which will continue to offer programming through the year. Darcy is available at darcyrmaier@gmail.com.