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First, before any of us do anything on this topic, we should look inside ourselves. Consider how you resolve differences in your family life, your work life, your social life, your sports teams, your church. How do you approach your spouse/girlfriend/teammate when you need to resolve something difficult? And we are able to resolve most of our differences with them, aren’t we? So we know how to do this.
Then ask, “Is that also how I approach political opponents?”
If not, are we surprised that we’re not making progress with them?
A key point is, it is not a function of whether the other person is initially cooperative. At work, at home, among friends, we all frequently need to work with uncooperative people. We know how to do this. Because we have to, in order to get through daily life. Why would we approach politics any differently?
And no, not everyone on “the other side” is as intransigent as that obnoxious jerk in Accounting. But if we are approaching them as intransigent ourselves, then … who are we?
The question is not whether the other side is right or wrong, the question is how we get things done with people who disagree with us.
First, expand and review our advice above on how to be less divisive.
Next, when you encounter opponents (or yourself) arguing over national policy, step above the question of which side to argue and remind everyone that in a nearly evenly-divided nation, we can get nothing done if we aren’t clever enough to find ways to work with the other 50% (roughly). No matter which side one is on, the other has sufficient power to obstruct; that hasn’t changed in most of our lifetimes; is unlikely to change any time soon; and if it does, may not change in one’s favor.
So it’s not a matter of whether we want to … we have to.
And it’s not a matter of who is right and wrong … it’s whether we are able to get things done with people who disagree with us. Therefore, what we should be debating is not that the other side is wrong, but how we improvise methods of working with opponents.
First, expand and review our advice above on how to (a) be less divisive and (b) influence others to do so.
Then, help spread the word both about e.pluribus.US and overcoming divisiveness in general.
Discuss with your colleagues the importance of supporting political candidates who actually get things done, versus just opposing “the other side.” The nation has important business to move forward on and if that requires engaging across party lines, then that is what we elect them to do.
Right this second you can alert friends about e.pluribus.US by sharing on social media via the share buttons at bottom or on the right side of each page.
Mention e.pluribus.US in your online posts and Twitter/Instagram, with a link to our site and text describing that we are “reducing divisive partisanship.”
If you have a web site, please provide a link to our pages, especially using text that describes the nature of our work (ie: “overcoming partisanship”). That helps search engines understand what we’re working on.
Join an online discussion group (or two) and pop your head in occasionally to advocate for the need to work with others to get things done.
Offline, tell your friends about e.pluribus.US.
It’s also super helpful if you let us know whenever you run across other organizations also working to overcome partisanship, so we can collaborate with them. Please email us at feedback@e.pluribus.us
First, expand and review our advice above on how to (a) be less divisive and (b) influence others to do so.
We have opportunities for low-time commitment roles in our developing programs. For instance, we may have one-time story authoring opportunities within our Project PRECEDENCE. Project LISTEN may also soon need additional Local Community Anchors to help us run online surveys in more metro areas.
Please email us describing your level of interest, skills and a link to your background (Linked-In, your web site or resume) at feedback@e.pluribus.us
We have volunteer opportunities in skill areas such as graphic arts, SEO and SEM.
We will also have volunteer opportunities in managing some of our programs (LISTEN, PRECEDENCE, FEED, CANVAS), which may eventually become paid positions.
Please email us describing your level of interest, skills and a link to your background (Linked-In, your web site or resume) at feedback@e.pluribus.us
LOVE your enthusiasm! e.pluribus.US does not yet have paid positions, but that is absolutely our intent. We’ll keep you on our list if you let us know your level of interest and share your Linked-In or resume, at feedback@e.pluribus.us
“The majority of the American people prefer a story of hope. A majority of the American people prefer a country that comes together rather than being divided. The majority of the country doesn’t want to see a dog-eat-dog world where everybody is angry all the time.”
— June 2018, Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
In controlled trials Project INFLUENCE reduced partisanship.
LISTEN scalably helps us understand why opponents think as they do.
