Daily Resource Highlight - 01/17/2022
Posted by on January 18, 2022 at 3:56 PM
Below are the highlights and featured resources of this past week’s Daily* Resource.
January 11, 2022 - Cleaning the 2021 Cupboard: Charts, Awards, and Reports!
How long can we say “Happy New Year!” before it seems out of place? A few days? A week? I have been on two or three Zoom calls this year where people have started the call saying that we’re too far into 2022 to say it anymore.
I don’t really care either way, but I do think there’s something symbolic about capping off a previous year by taking care of unfinished business. And that’s what I’m doing today! So enjoy these resources and reports from the year that was as we dive headfirst into the year that will be:
- New Bridge Alliance member GOOD Institute was launched as a think tank designed to study and address key issues identified by business leaders and young Americans
- Essential Partners reflected on its impact; in particular, three success stories in North Carolina.
- Millennial Action Project recognized Rep. Jamie Scott (D-AR) AND Rep. Devin Carney (R-CT) as winners of its 2021 Rising Stars Award.
- MAP also recognized the Kansas Future Caucus as the 2nd winner of the Cherisse Eatmon Collective Impact Award; named for former MAP staffer Cherisse Eatmon, who passed suddenly and unexpectedly in 2020 at age 33.
And we’ll cap off ‘21 with a list of 21 charts from Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. CRFB continues to deliver in-depth, nonpartisan analyses of our government’s spending habits, and we look forward to continuing to amplify their message of fiscal responsibility in 2022.
January 13, 2022 - Assuming Good Intentions with your Political Enemies
Would you be friends with someone who believes that your way of life is immoral or sinful? What about someone who vocally opposes a right that you consider to be fundamental? What if they had a hand in making their views the law?
There is no right or wrong answer to these questions. For me, though, I see myself reflected in Donna Wing and Bob Plaats’ friendship. Last decade, Donna reached out to Bob, who was more-or-less her political adversary. Donna was an LGBT advocate in a same-sex marriage, while Bob was a conservative Christian activist. They ended up developing a deep friendship that ended with Bob delivering the eulogy at Donna’s funeral.
Bob and Donna’s story reminds me of my strong conviction that most people you disagree with politically are decent, well-intentioned humans. That belief is further reinforced by these survey results from Congressional Management Foundation, which show that most congressional staffers (on both ends of the spectrum) are there because they want to serve their country and communities.
We have some important challenges ahead of us as a nation – ones that Bridge Alliance members are dedicated to solving. For instance, TechCongress is recruiting Fellows to shape technology policies and improve tech capability on the Hill. And Up to Us is seeking college and university students to be thought leaders about our country’s fiscal future.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it will be much easier to solve these problems once we learn to become friends with our political counterparts. As Bob and Donna showed, you can embrace your deeply held convictions and be a powerful advocate, all the while treating people with opposing perspectives with respect and sometimes even love.
Featured
- AllSides, The Village Square (blog) Jan 7th: Odd Couples: From Enemy to Eulogy
- American Conservation Coalition (video) Jan 4th: Borderless | Achieving Environmentalism with the Free Market
- Ballotpedia (newsletter) Jan 4th: Economy and Society
- Ballotpedia (newsletter) Jan 7th: Ballotpedia: Weekly Brew
- BillTrack50 (video) Jan 5th: Getting Your BillTrack50 Account Ready for 2022
- Braver Angels (video) Jan 7th: The Meaning of January 6th | John Wood, Jr. & Ciaran O'Connor
- Braver Angels (video) Jan 7th: Helping Loved Ones Divided By Politics - December 11, 2021
- Business for America (blog) Jan 6th: January 6 Illustrates the Global Erosion of Democracy; American Business Must Act
- Civic Genius (video) Jan 5th: Having Productive Conversations. Tip #5 – Know What’s Behind Your Feelings
- Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (article) Jan 7th: Addressing Tax Expenditures Could Raise Substantial Revenue
- Common Ground Committee (podcast) Jan 6th: The State of Polarization: 2022
- Congressional Management Foundation (blog) Jan 6th: What Does Working in Congress Mean to You?’
- Divided We Fall (article) Jan 6th: Secessionism Abroad and Insight for the United States
- Issue One (podcast) Jan 10th: EP. 35 — Conversations: Rep. Peter Meijer
- Leadership Now Project (newsletter) Jan 6th: A Year After January 6: How Business Can Protect Democracy
- Millennial Action Project, Civic Health Project, Braver Angels (film) Jan 11th: The Reunited States
- Project on Government Oversight (article) Jan 5th: The Bunker: The Pentagon’s Revolting Door
- Project on Government Oversight (article) Jan 7th: Booz Allen Gets Its Hand Caught in the Revolving Door
- R Street Institute (podcast) Dec 21st: Should the Senate eliminate the filibuster to pass the Freedom to Vote Act?
- R Street Institute (blog) Jan 5th: Northeast states’ legislation targeting app stores would hurt consumers—and the developers it aims to support
- The Factual (newsletter) Jan 9th: Confounding jobs report - Political prisoners freed - Exceptional fossil find
- Unify America (video) Dec 11th: Dr. Conflict - The Pre-Experience
- Unite America (video) Jan 6th: An Open Letter to the America That Will Be
- University of Virginia Center for Politics (blog) Jan 6th: How Trump and Biden Voters View the Events of Jan. 6
- University of Virginia Center for Politics: The Dissipating Political Impact of Jan. 6
- Voice of the People (newsletter) Dec 29th: The Public Can Be a Stabilizing Force Across Administrations
- Youth Americans Coalition for Unity (podcast) Dec 30th: Noah Chomsky on Socialism, Kyle Rittenhouse, the Omicron Variant, and more