Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on February 06, 2020
Featured Blog Post: Red or Blue? Liberal or Conservative? The Pitfalls of Labels
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People regularly ask me how they can get a job in the healthy self-governance movement. Usually my advice is to attend different events, network, and check out Bridge Alliance members’ websites. This has always felt unsatisfying. While I understand that, until very recently, you had to scour the newspaper and make phone calls to find a job (trust me, I did all of that!), this is 2020 for goodness sakes! It should be easy for employers and job seekers in our field to find each other (see, e.g., Indeed, Idealist, ZipRecruiter, etc.).
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Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on January 30, 2020
Featured Blog Post: Take a Seat at Oregon’s Kitchen Table: Adapting Targeted Universalism for Broad and Deep Civic Engagement
Subscribe to the podcast How Do We Fix It! And check out Episode 237: Want Consensus? Try Convergence: Rob Fersh
The Hill -- and especially the House -- is a tough place to work. As Kevin Kosar of the R Street Institute recently testified, staffers are underpaid, overworked, and there’s not enough manpower to go around (as a former constituent services representative who earned ~$30k while working 74 hour weeks...I can confirm). Furthermore, members of the House are constantly under the gun to raise reelection funds, since they are “up for reelection” the moment they get sworn into office. Meanwhile, the American people are upset because nothing seems to ever get done, and the media profits off of the frustration by feeding us a never ending soap opera that not even General Hospital can rival.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on January 23, 2020
Featured Blog Post: Impeachment, the Infographic, and the Messy Desk
Subscribe to the podcast How Do We Fix It! And check out Episode 235: 2020: Celebrating Collaborations and Sharing (Debilyn is interviewed!)
Rebellions in a democracy / republic look much different than in most other systems of government. There’s no need to stage a coup or bring out a guillotine when the system itself allows for significant reforms and power swings at the behest of the people. Our system obviously isn’t perfect (*cough* looks around *cough*), but it’s possible to upend the status quo without shedding a single drop of blood. To be clear, that does not mean working within the system is the only way to bring about real change. Our country has a long history of civil disobedience -- including such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, etc. -- which has long been considered a legitimate form of protest.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on January 16, 2020
Featured Blog Post: In 2020, Our Bitterly Divided America Needs to Recommit to The Golden Rule
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If you unsubscribe from our updates (don’t test this out!), you get a message saying “you are always welcome to come back.” That invitation applies to many former members as well. Bridge Alliance member organizations are like family members, and family can drift apart. But like family, reunions can be extra sweet when the circumstances are right.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on January 09, 2020
It’s officially the year 2020, and that means that we have a highly consequential election upcoming. If you’re reading this, I can confidently say that you have a strong opinion about which party’s nominee should control the White House in 2021.
I can also confidently say, though, that the winner of this election -- regardless of who they are -- will not fix America. That’s because there’s no silver bullet for fixing our system, and no single program, organization, or individual is capable of creating the type of change that we need; our problems are simply too numerous and complex.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on December 20, 2019
Featured Blog Post: The Danger of American Plutophobia
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When I was deciding on the title of this Update, the first thing that came to mind was the Beatles’ song “Revolution.” That song was released in the late 1960’s, during a time of social and political confusion and upheaval. I think we can all agree that we are once again experiencing social and political confusion and upheaval.
For me, all of this confusion naturally leads to the question “How does our nation get to the other side; to a better place than where we are today?" While no one can say what the answer is for sure, I’m seeing reasons to be hopeful.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on December 13, 2019
Featured Blog Post: What Will It Take to Be A Corporate Leader?
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In researching what Bridge Alliance member organizations have been focused on lately, two themes emerged:
- Americans agree on a lot
- Videos and images are a good way to show that agreement
Thus, we discovered there was a lot of visible consensus. For instance, RepresentUs got another assist from Hollywood; this time with Michael Douglas carrying the torch on behalf of the 87% (!!) of Americans who want their representatives to pass the American Anti-Corruption Act. Meanwhile, Convergence released its own video discussing how they build consensus among stakeholders with seemingly irreconcilable differences.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on December 05, 2019
Featured Blog Post: Conflicts in Space
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Another #GivingTuesday is in the books. According to GivingTuesday.org, this charitable phenomenon generated nearly $2 billion in online and offline donations in the USA alone this year. And that’s incredible. Indeed, we are especially proud of #GivingTuesday’s impact given that Bridge Alliance member 92Y created the concept!
That said, #GivingTuesday is just one day each year. It’s a very important day, but if our ultimate goal is healthy self-governance, we must work towards that goal year round. That doesn’t mean donating every day, but it does mean consistently thinking about what you can contribute and how you can be part of the solution.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance Education Fund on November 27, 2019
Featured Blog Post: "Angry Uncle Bot" Helps You Prep for Thanksgiving Political Talk
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It’s the holiday season again and #GivingTuesday is next week! Last year, 3.6 million donations were made to charities worldwide. This year, we are taking the opportunity to make a big announcement, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, we hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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Posted by on November 21, 2019
Featured Blog Post: Let’s Talk About Politics On Facebook! An Exercise in Applying Better Angels Skills Online
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In the constant busyness of our democracy revitalization movement, we spend quite a lot of time focusing on how to fix the endless problems of the world, and we’re happy to do so. It is important, however, to remember to take care of and reflect on ourselves. This ensures we’re the best representatives of this movement we care about so deeply. The Institute for Cultural Evolution has a new character exercise, which can help us identify how to become our best selves.
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