How cross-partisan conversations are helping Coloradans to bridge ideological divides
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DENVER — Karyl Petit was 8,000 miles from home when she first noticed a problem.
It was 2016, and Petit, a retired teacher, was living in Vietnam.
“I did not see Trump becoming president. I was very surprised by that,” said Petit.
But Trump wasn’t the problem.
“What shook me to the core was how out of touch I was with my own country,” she said.
Rather than burrow deeper into her beliefs or tune out entirely, Petit wanted to understand the other side. Why did people she disagreed with think the way they did?
Eventually, Petit stumbled across Braver Angels, a national organization that aims to “bring Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.”
Petit rounded up a cadre of friends and community members to form a chapter in Denver.
“My intent was to learn and to listen.”
She didn’t see polarization as just another political buzzword or distant problem, but as a personal hurdle she planned to overcome.
Not everyone Petit encountered was keen to talk however.
“When I returned from abroad and came back to Colorado, I just felt like people weren't much in a talking mode,” said Petit. “I think political conversations aren't happening in our society right now because people are afraid of judgment.”
In 2017, she began leading and participating in conversations and workshops. The events aim to bring liberal, conservative and independent voices together as a way for people to better understand one another and practice skills to confront polarization.
“For me, it's always extremely stressful until I get there, until I have fellow humans in front of me, and then I am always surprised at how easy and how natural it becomes,” said Petit.
“Even if you disagree, I always walk away with kernels of understanding, kernels of truth that I had overlooked in my own little world.”
According to analysis by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Americans may be “less ideologically polarized than they think they are,” (meaning liberals and conservatives may have more overlap that they believe on policy positions) but they are highly “emotionally polarized,” meaning they dislike members of the other side.
One of the events Petit helps to organize is a discussion series called “Connecting Conversations.” Each conversation focuses on a controversial political issue — past topics have included military spending, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and free speech.
In September, Denver Braver Angels met to discuss the 2024 election. The question of the night: what are the most important issues to you personally in the 2024 election, and what in your life led you to value these issues?
As street lights flickered on outside, a group of roughly 30 attendees filed into a basement, blocks from the capitol for the event. Petit played the role of matchmaker. She welcomed participants and sorted people by political leanings.The goal is to create small groups with an equal number of red and blue members.
“It's really challenging to have multiple sides represented because on any given topic, we have more or less interest. And so we play with how many people we allow in a conversation,” said Petit.
At the core of Braver Angels’ approach is a strict set of rules that guide discussions.
“We're not here to change anybody's mind,” said Petit. “We are not trying to come to the middle. We're not trying to come to a kumbaya moment where we all agree with one another. We're here to learn. We're here to listen and present ourselves.”
At the start of the event, moderators explained the rules — practice active listening, be curious, don’t interrupt, and speak for yourself, not your tribe.
“We want you to say what you mean. We want you to feel comfortable in this environment and be able to express yourself,” said Terry Haury, a volunteer moderator.
At the most recent event, the crowd leaned blue in politics and white by race. But the night’s discussion also drew a mix of first-timers and veterans.
“I think just because life is crazy, we do tend to skew a little bit on the older side, though not entirely. Age wise we are becoming more diverse. Racially we are becoming more diverse,” said Petit.
Although pundits often blame social media as a key culprit in worsening polarization, research indicates that affective polarization is growing fastest among adults 65 and older. Their research indicates that inputs such as television and radio may play a more decisive role.
After introductions, each member had two minutes to voice their opinion, then the moderator opened the floor to questions allowing participants to better understand the story behind people’s beliefs.
Susie and Rick Schreiber, a couple from Littleton, credit Braver Angels with helping them work through political disagreements at home.
When they first got married, Susie Schreiber imagined that she and her husband’s different religious beliefs might be a source of friction. “Who would have thought it was actually the politics?” she said.
When countering as nefarious a problem as political polarization, it can be difficult to determine what success looks like.
Don Morgan, a longtime friend of Petit and the group’s red-co-chair, (like with its participants, Braver Angels strives for bi-partisan representation among leaders) admits that understanding, alone, isn’t enough. But the group’s leaders believe that it’s a crucial first step.
“It's important for opposing sides to be able to come up with some form of common ground and determine what that is, then act on it,” said Morgan, who first participated in a workshop in 2017.
“The goal is to learn to disagree better. It is important in a democracy that we have a marketplace of ideas. That’s what makes us strong. But if we're running away from each other, and if there's animosity within groups of Americans, we're not going to solve our problems.”
Hiding in plain sight lies another prize — friendship.
“The friendship that Don and I have is a model, and it's what we're striving for in Braver Angels. You can disagree politically and still love each other,” said Petit.