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Our Mission

Building a House United

Americans on opposite sides of the political spectrum don’t only disagree on issues — they increasingly dislike one another.

This growing partisan animosity is the crisis of our time and threatens our nation.
Braver Angels exists to address this challenge.

The Challenge We Face

As we separate into groups that increasingly do not even know, or interact with, people of differing opinions, we lose trust in our institutions, eroding the ability to govern ourselves and lowering the caliber of citizenship.

This growing trend coarsens public debate, produces policy gridlock, shrinks our capacity for goodwill, and harms our family and personal relationships. Effective self government depends precisely on what this type of polarization destroys.

We believe the American Experiment can survive and thrive for every American who contributes to the effort.

Where we go from here is up to us.

This is the driving force that fuels our mission.

Our Mission
Bring Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.
Our Vision
We envision an America with respectful embrace of political disagreements, where civic friendship flourishes and competing perspectives strengthen our nation.

Embracing values of respect, humility, honesty, and responsible citizenship, our goal is not to change people’s views of issues, but to change their views of each other.
Our Approach
As individuals, we try to understand the other side's point of view, even if we do not agree with it.

In our communities, we engage those we disagree with, looking for common ground and ways to work together.

In politics, we support principles that bring us together rather than divide us.
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The Braver Angels Way

We state our views freely and fully, without fear.
We treat people who disagree with us with honesty, dignity and respect.
We welcome opportunities to engage those with whom we disagree.
We believe all of us have blind spots and none of us are not worth talking to.
We seek to disagree accurately, avoiding exaggeration and stereotypes.
We look for common ground where it exists and, if possible, find ways to work together.
We believe that, in disagreements, both sides share and learn.
In Braver Angels, neither side is teaching the other or giving feedback on how to think or say things differently.
Igniting a Civic Renewal Movement
America’s polarization crisis has been building for decades and is now deeply rooted in our major institutions. Turning the tide is an enormous task; it requires repair in citizen-to-citizen relationships in a nation of 260 million adults, as well as meaningful changes in the rules and practices of many of our major institutions.

No single organization, no matter how successful, will be powerful enough on its own to heal the divide. If our aim is truly to strengthen our democratic republic, our only practical strategy is to help ignite and shape what scholars and others call a social movement, and what we call a Civic Renewal Movement.
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