skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Bridging the Red-Blue Divide Through Better Conversations

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 2, 2019   

GREELEY, Colo. — Three-in-4 Americans believe that the growing tendency to distrust, dislike, even despise those who see the world differently has reached a crisis level, a situation described by some as a "soft civil war." That's according to organizers of the National Week of Conversation, an effort to bring people of all political stripes together to talk it out.

The group Better Angels is hosting a workshop Saturday in Greeley designed to give people skills to maintain important relationships - with friends, family members, co-workers - even when you disagree. Denice Davis is the group's regional coordinator.

"We make it clear that the goal of effective conversation is not to change people's minds, but rather to understand other positions better and to identify common ground,” Davis said.

She said one tip is to listen closely enough to another person's point of view to be able to accurately paraphrase their position. Davis said too often the focus is on thinking of a good counter argument to win a debate. Another key skill is to ask how a person came to hold their beliefs, which she said can humanize people we view as opponents and break down stereotypes.

Davis said disagreement isn't always a bad thing, and healthy debate frequently produces the best ideas for resolving problems. She said another key is rooting out the core values behind people's positions. And she said most people who attend these workshops, from all sides of the political divide, are surprised to discover that they share many common goals, including good education, safe communities and good health care.

"It may not be that we will agree on the different policies that will get us there. But we will be able to start those essential conversations where we're comparing thoughts and ideas and ultimately solving problems,” she said.

To find a conversation near you, visit nationalweekofconversation.org. And to become a trained moderator or workshop organizer, visit better-angels.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021