Daily Resource Highlight - 8/02/2021
Posted by on August 02, 2021 at 3:16 PM
Below are the highlights and featured resources of this past week’s Daily* Resource.
July 25, 2021 - Civic Spirit Wants to Support Faith-Based Educators
My brain is a jukebox. When I sat down to write this newsletter, George Michael’s “You’ve Gotta Have Faith” started playing in my head, and now I cannot get it to stop. I sincerely apologize if it’s stuck in your head now, too.
Putting rock n’ roll aside for a moment, religion and faith have always had a special place in American civics and the American psyche. Heck, it’s the first freedom mentioned in the Bill of Rights! That freedom has helped foster hundreds of schools throughout the nation, and recently Civic Spirit has been supporting the educators that form the heart and souls of these schools with their 12-month Educators’ Cohort program
And now Civic Spirit is ready to support the next group! If you are an educator at a faith-based school, or know somebody who is, fill out the application asap. The first day of the next institute is August 2nd, and Civic Spirit is hoping to receive all applications by this Wednesday, July 28th. The program costs just $100, and the support you will receive will make you truly feel part of a special community.
July 29, 2021 - 4 out of 5 Doctors Agree: Toxic Polarization is Bad. What’s the Cure?
It would be really nice to have anti-polarization medicine. I imagine it would work something like anti-nausea medicine by suppressing that visceral hatred and fear that bubbles up in our gut when confronted with a difference in opinion on a deeply held belief, thereby giving us the opportunity to seek common ground.
Unfortunately, no such medicine exists, and -- similarly -- we don’t think there’s any one solution that will “solve” toxic polarization. Instead, we believe it will take an all-hands-on-deck approach to reverse the damaging trends we’re experiencing. Fortunately, a number of Bridge Alliance member organizations are part of the collective effort. For example…
- Convergence, Civic Genius, and several other organizations are hosting a "Deep Dive Discussion” on toxic polarization this Monday, August 2nd at 3 PM ET
- MainStream Nation is developing TV programs that seek to unite Americans
- Jennifer Thompson of Civil Squared recorded a podcast with Dr. Alice Siu, the creator of the New York Times’ “All of America” experiment that humanized the diversity of America
- AllSides is once again giving everyday Americans (that includes you!) the opportunity to talk with their political “other.” This time on August 11th.
To be clear, this is just a small sample of the work that Bridge Alliance members are doing to lessen toxic polarization in America. It’s impossible to cover everything in a short newsletter like this; I could fill a novel with all that is happening and still have more to tell you.
If you’re interested in learning more, though, I strongly encourage you to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. You should also bookmark The Fulcrum for daily news media coverage of the movement.
Featured
- AllSides - July 21st, 2021: Perspectives: Some Mask Mandates Return as Delta Variant Surges
- American Promise - July 12th, 2021: To Ensure the Safety and Security of Our Nation, We Need to End Foreign Political Spending
- American Public Square (report) July 2021: 2020 Annual Report
- Ballotpedia - July 22nd, 2021: Members of Congress who have participated in the Olympics
- Braver Angels (video) July 19th, 2021: What Does Freedom Mean to You? | Valerie Durham with Ciaran O’Connor
- Braver Angels - July 18th, 2021: What I Need to Unify Right Now
- Campus Election Engagement Project (video) July 21st, 2021: July 21, Maxim Thorne CEO CEEP and Campus Elect
- Citizen University/The Aspen Institute (video) June 28th, 2021: Citizenship and the Beginner’s Mind: How to Imagine Our Way Forward
- Civil Squared - July 20th, 2021: Don’t close your eyes
- Civil Squared (podcast) July 26th, 2021: Political Polarization
- Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget - July 20th, 2021: Five Reasons to Pay for New Investments
- Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget - July 19th, 2021: True Cost of Budget Plan Could Exceed $5 Trillion
- The Flip Side - July 23rd, 2021: Olympic Games Begin
- The Flip Side - July 26th, 2021: Mask Mandates
- The Flip Side - July 27th, 2021: Eviction Moratorium
- IndependentVoting.org (video) July 21st, 2021: A Message on 2034 from Jacqueline Salit
- Independent Voter News - July 7th, 2021: With Major Parties in Power, ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green’
- Listen First Project (video) July 22nd, 2021: #ListenFirst Friday Egora
- Project on Government Oversight (video) July 26th, 2021: National Whistleblower's Day
- Project on Government Oversight (article) July 28th, 2021: The Bunker: Do You Feel a Draft?
- R Street Institute - July 19th, 2021: Olympic dream or COVID-19 nightmare?
- R Street Institute - July 21st, 2021: Immigration and the Byrd Rule