The Fairfax Alliance held a conversation about the results of the prior week's state elections. The results reflected Virginia's recent swing-state pattern of shifting away from the prior year's presidential election party winner. Several attendees had taken part in the virtual Virginia Voter Fishbowl on October 23 regarding reasons for candidate support and they observed how the fishbowl conversations touched on issues of personal values that ran deeper than campaign ads and materials.
The meeting also included an open discussion on the Citizen-Led Solutions (CLS) program, which seeks opportunities for interested Braver Angels members to apply depolarization skills toward addressing divisive issues in their own communities that aren't necessarily polarized along red/blue divides (pilot examples include local school system start times and stop sign locations). The program is designed to help interested participants push beyond finding common ground and pushing through to implementing solutions (whether a change in policy or a specific program or project).
Conversation revolved around the role of Braver Angels alliances and/or individual members in identifying and championing a CLS project. Two key areas of feedback were generated. First, some expressed concerns that attention paid to the CLS initiative not detract from the skills building and workshop programs that are highly valued by many members. Second, Braver Angels should consider how moving from "common ground" to "solution" could be viewed as inconsistent with the organizational tenet that we seek to change how people engage, not what they believe (i.e., how does one participate in consensus-building if the group consensus violates one's core belief?).
The meeting also included a brief summary by Brian Vogt on his initiative to document personal stories of Trump voters.