Last year I was introduced to Braver Angels by attending an Introduction and their Depolarizing Within Workshop which was fantastic for looking at your own part in the depolarization of American politics. At that time, I told a few people that I was going to become a Braver Angels Ambassador and started down that road by taking a few online workshops that are required to become an Ambassador.
For the most part, I sit on the sidelines and watch the political divide go by. Often, wondering how people could think and feel that their point of view is more valid or "right" then other people's point of view. They feel it is their obligation and right to tell the other side how wrong they are. I believe our nation was built on "Freedom" to believe what we want and let other people believe what they want and there is no need to make the other side wrong for what they believe.
The journey for me to become a Braver Angels Ambassador has not been a fast one mostly because of my fear of confrontation of any kind. I have always been a master at avoiding confrontation. I copied the shorter article below which is from the comments on a YouTube video linked below from He Gets Us and Jesus offering a different alternative.
"We see conflict all around us. We align ourselves on different sides of the fight in battles of politics, religion, justice, and too often, we let that conflict morph from a dignified defense of something good into a dehumanizing attack on the people we don’t agree with. It’s tearing us apart.
But Jesus offered us an alternative as an example — and his solution wasn’t to grow apathetic and avoid the conflict altogether. He showed us something else entirely, a third way. His response to the ever-increasing volume of hate and conflict was love. Not just any love — confounding, sacrificial, selfless love. You see, Jesus still stood up for what he believed in. He defended the defenseless, spoke up on behalf of the voiceless, even flipped a few tables, but in everything he did, he first moved with love toward the people he disagreed with. What if we tried to love our enemies the way Jesus loved his? How would it change the tenor of our conflicts and our conversations?"
Love Your Enemies 1 minute YouTube video with great pictures
Of course, the line that stuck out for me is:
"...his solution wasn’t to grow apathetic and avoid the conflict altogether..."
The above was a link in a longer article from John Woods, Jr. a Braver Angels National Ambassador which is linked below about a recent controversial Super Bowl ad. Here is a link to the longer article entitled:
I started back on my Braver Angels Ambassador training recently and now I know I am ready to take the final step to complete this process. I also know I will learn and grow along the way and am especially grateful that one of my friends from my church is already a BA Ambassador and she and a few others Ambassadors in my county will help me find my way to serve and to find my voice. As many of us do, I find my way by traveling the journey and being committed to whatever I choose to do.
I choose not to sit on the sidelines and judge others. I know I can and will make a difference in helping to depolarize our political divide in America. I will play my part in achieving the Braver Angels mission.
"We are a national movement to bridge the partisan divide."
Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? What is yours to do?
I declare and affirm: I am a Braver Angels Ambassador making a difference in the world.
In peaceful, joyful partnership,
Catherine Oberkampf
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