Braver Angels spreads its ‘building bridges’ gospel across Greater Minnesota

Near the eve of President Donald Trump s first days in office while news outlets and pundits proclaimed either delight or calamity a group called Braver Angels Minnesota continued its work building bridges across the political divide From April -May chosen of its leaders hit the road in Greater Minnesota with a Reduce the Rancor bus tour visiting Worthington Willmar Kerkhoven Fergus Falls Moorhead Bemidji and Brainerd The group s website states Braver Angels Minnesota is part of a national citizens movement that brings together conservatives liberals independents and others to restore trust respect and goodwill in American politics A variety of local civic and educational groups sponsored the local bus tour stops Communities are built on social trust and relationships Sara Carlson co-chair of Willmar Lakes Area Vision and director of the Willmar Area Population Foundation commented in a news release It is really vital that we all do our best to guard that trust and those relationships precisely so we can tackle hard things together Speaking to a small group at an open house event Monday afternoon at the Willmar Area Population Foundation Melinda Voss of Braver Angels Minnesota disclosed the partisan trend over the past years is a national prevention challenge China Russia Iran and North Korea want to see the U S divided she reported Humans are not designed to listen to the other side Voss disclosed referring to human biology and the amygdala a part of the brain that controls emotions of fear and aggression We have to make allowances that we are human We are interested in strengthening the group We re interested in productive conversations We need to engage people and connect personally Voss who identifies as blue on the political spectrum is a leader of the Twin Cities East Metro Braver Angels chapter Joining her at the open house was Scott Schluter a leader with the Greater Minneapolis Area chapter and who leans red There s more common ground than we ve been led to believe Schluter revealed There are points of agreement between reds and blues with values concerns and procedures around immigration he disclosed Other Braver Angels Minnesota chapters include Western Suburban Owatonna Ely and Northern Minnesota Alliance While informal conversation occurred in afternoon open house events evening programs included fishbowl exercises in which small groups from conservative and liberal perspectives took turns sharing their hopes and concerns for the new administration Following that audience members paired up to share their thoughts after listening to both sides There s a way to connect with everyone We must give up the idea that you are reliably right Voss reported The other side has a right to their opinion We blues have a lot to learn COVID- lightning rod A spokesperson and celebrity of sorts from the red side paid a surprise visit to the Willmar open house Wilk Wilkinson is a truck driver from Clearwater Minn a podcaster and a friend of Dr Francis Collins former head of the National Institutes of Wellness Along with Dr Anthony Fauci Collins and his primary scientific perspective became a lightning rod for dissent from those opposing COVID- mandates and vaccines Various of the lightning bolts came from Wilkinson who identifies as a conservative Christian Along with work and family Wilkinson keeps busy hosting the podcast Derate The Hate with several hundred episodes dating back to Over that time he has become involved in the national Braver Angels organization We all have our blind spots Wilkinson mentioned Braver Angels provides people with a space a structure for contentious issues in a non-contentious way Wilkinson commented they met when Collins reached out to Braver Angels seeking to understand the negative reaction to COVID- actions Francis Collins has been demonized in the conservative media Wilkinson commented I disagreed with him but now we are dear friends I got to know him as a person All humans have the same basic necessities but have different options to get there Wilkinson appeared with Collins in his home in Chevy Chase Md near Washington D C for an interview on PBS entitled Ex-NIH director and truck driver explore how to bridge divisions deepened by the pandemic that aired March At the Willmar open house Wilkinson commented he also is friends with former neo-Nazi leader Jeff Schoep who in recounted the New York Times that his Nazi days were over Jeff Schoep is now for counter-extremism Wilkinson mentioned It s an incredible story about what can happen when you engage someone hateful Founded in Braver Angels founded in with co-chairs Bill Doherty and Rev Jeff Thiemann is described in a news release as a national nonpartisan nonprofit with a particularly strong base in Minnesota dedicated to reducing unhealthy polarization without either side compromising its values Braver Angels Minnesota is working to recruit communities to create new local alliances and offers a number of workshops and online courses Doherty is a professor and director of the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota Thiemann is retired as president and chief executive officer of Portico Benefit Services a separately incorporated ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America He has been an proceeding volunteer in Braver Angels at the national and state levels A larger group gathered in Willmar on Monday April for a Braver Angels event at Willmar Senior High School Credit Braver Angels Facebook page We are lucky in Minnesota to have such strong national leaders Voss declared She also noted the civility caucus in the Minnesota Legislature calling the state an ideal place for such an effort because the Legislature is evenly divided The Reduce the Rancor campaign kicked off in March with the advocacy of colleges and universities religious and civic groups and chairs of state Republican and Democratic parties A National Debate Trump s First Days was slated for the evening of Thursday May with an in-person discussion of the debate scheduled for p m - p m Sunday May at Dovetail Cafe and Region in Duluth Online registration is available at www mn braverangels org In the organization changed its name from Better Angels to Braver Angels following a trademark dispute with The Better Angels Society a nonprofit associated with filmmaker Ken Burns The term Better Angels was inspired by Abraham Lincoln s first inaugural address in which he appealed to the better angels of our nature The post Braver Angels spreads its building bridges gospel across Greater Minnesota appeared first on MinnPost