HEART OF STEELE

After the results of early presidential primaries, it seems clear we’re headed for a replay of the 2020 election.

As a woman of a certain age, I do not worry about the age of the candidates. People are living longer, they’re vital and energetic longer. It’s time we stop judging people by age and the minor difficulties that come with it. Values and beliefs matter more. What people say and do matters more.

Especially over the past decade, we’ve seen a lot of yelling and threats and insults during election season. Differences in political beliefs have become painful divisions among family members and friends.

Last year, I had an opportunity to sit in on part of a workshop led by Braver Angels volunteers, who helped people of different political beliefs have civil conversations not only about their differences, but what they had in common.

The exercise gave me hope, sorely needed after the events of the previous three years. So I was glad to see Braver Angels will return to our area on March 13 with a workshop to provide the skills needed for discussions about politics and race.

One of the things I’ve learned (as someone who has tried and failed) is that we really can’t change anyone else’s mind. The key, I think, is to engage with someone long enough to at least understand each other–as organizer Roger Wareheim said, to see the “humanity” in one another.

That, I believe, is where we’ve lost our way. We too often see people first as their collection of “isms” and identities and values and forget we are all just skin and bones and blood.

Our humanity is the most basic thing we have in common: We are all born human. It is also the first thing we forget in every argument over politics and race.

I hope Braver Angels can help a lot of local folks learn how to make those heart-to-heart, human connections that help us deal with our differences. Otherwise, it’s going to be a very, very long election year.