Bridging The Covid Divide: Can We Move Forward?

The magnitude of the COVID pandemic, and related responses, caused deep fractures and great pain in our country, including a breakdown of trust in institutions, and in each other. Across our country, public response to national public health COVID policies has often been divided, and contentious.

People hold very different views about the national government’s response to the Covid pandemic, and they experienced the pandemic in many different ways. Some have generally been in favor of national guidelines and mandates, and have been mostly trusting of prominent experts and institutions. While others have generally not been in favor of national national guidelines and mandates, and have felt considerable distrust of prominent experts and institutions. As the pandemic wore on, it started to become clear that many people had become angry and mistrusting of those who held different views of the pandemic and the federal government’s policy response to it.

Workshop Description

Braver Angels is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to bridge the political divide in our country. We bring people together to discuss difficult issues, and help them hear and understand the perspectives of people who share different views on politics and important issues.

Braver Angels has decided to develop a participatory workshop on the Covid Divide. It will be piloted in Connecticut and two other states this fall/winter. Lessons learned from the pilots will inform a final workshop that will be rolled out across the country next year. We are looking for participants for the Connecticut workshop to engage in this innovative and important activity.

The workshop will bring together a small group of people who have different views on the national policy response to Covid for a series of exercises designed to help participants clarify disagreements, reduce stereotyped thinking, and discover common values.

During the Workshop, participants will gather together in structured conversations. Two moderators trained by Braver Angels will lead the workshop, ensuring that ground rules are followed and that everyone is heard and treated respectfully.

We will have a maximum of 16 participants. We will also allow a limited number of observers. Observers do not participate in the discussions but will have the opportunity to watch and listen.

Through participation, attendees will explore:

• Common stereotypes and misconceptions about their respective views on the national response to Covid.
• The core values and aspirations behind their views.
• Their reservations and concerns about their own perspectives on Covid policy.
• Important and helpful questions to ask for building better mutual understanding.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in discussions in the full group, in smaller break-out groups, and in one-on-one conversations with other participants.

Why Participate?

We realize the workshop is long, in-person, and on a Saturday. Why would you want to invest your time and energy in it? Perhaps because you’re tired of feeling angry about how Covid challenges were handled; or you’re tired of feeling like your views are not respected or understood; or you care about - and want to connect more with - your neighbors and your community; or you really want to understand how others can see things so differently. This workshop, as with other Braver Angels workshops, will bring people together in ways that facilitate listening, respect, further understanding, and connections with fellow citizens.

To Register

If you register, we will ask you to identify yourself as either a “supporter” or a “non-supporter” of the national response to Covid. We do this to help ensure there will be a fairly even balance of perspectives represented in the workshop conversations. If you’re not sure which of these best describe your views, you can just pick one or the other.

Questions?

Contact: Craig Diamond, Workshop Organizer, at cdiamond@braverangels.org.