It is rare these days to hear people with opposing political views treat each other with respect and understanding.  We can't take it for granted that a political candidate will "bridge the political divide" and find bipartisan solutions that work for all sides.  The country is polarized, and we lack models for listening to each other.  So how do we begin a discussion that does not devolve into arguing?  Can we really be heard if we do not raise our voice, bring in even more arguments to fortify our position,  or use worst-case language to describe the other's view?  Or what if we stay silent because we don't have confidence that we will be heard? Is there a way to bring our own voice and feel safe?  How can we possibly find common ground when the other has such strong opinions?

Now, I know some of you will be saying, “The person in my life wants to be right, they want to be in control, they don’t want to listen, they don’t want to change, they don’t want peace.”  Of course, there are some outliers.  But most people have desires to live in a secure, safe neighborhood and they want the best for their people, and they’re willing to make some compromises.  Most people relax their defenses when they discover it's not the conversation they were expecting.

These days I am very much enjoying a podcast called A Braver Way.  A Braver Way features guests with opposite political views who share and model how they found common ground and had respectful dialog while talking about their different perspectives.  Guests did this without trying to change the other, but also without muting, minimizing, or hiding their own opinions.  If this is something you'd like to have more of, here are some resources:

A Braver Way.  A podcast about how to "disagree about politics without losing heart."

A Braver Way Episode 3 features hostess Monica Guzman and her parents, who talk about the biggest disagreements that test their relationship, like Monica's pro-choice stance on abortion and her parents' votes for Donald Trump, and the strategies that keep them talking.

A Braver Way Episode 5 features therapist Luis Mojica who discusses how to handle being triggered during a political discussion.

AllSides.com presents politically left, right, and center versions of similar news stories with a mission to "show readers news outside their filter bubble."

TakeOneSmallStep.org matches people with dissimilar political views, to have a 50-min recorded conversation together.  It allows the chance to practice being curious in an accountable space before practicing in the 'real' world with friends, family, and coworkers.

I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times by Monica Guzman. Journalist Monica Guzman is the loving liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who voted--twice--for Donald Trump. She talks about the cross-partisan conversations she's had with her parents and many others, and how she's drawn on  a sense of curiosity to  have them well.

How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Seen by David Brooks is a book that guides the reader on how to truly know another person in order to foster deeper connections.

A Braver Network lists organizations that support bringing groups together to bridge their political differences.