Braver Angels, Presented by Ellie Sears and Paul Schwebel
Our speakers for Thursday, March 27, 2025 were Ellie Sears and Paul Schwebel on behalf of Braver Angels. Ellie joined Braver Angels in 2021; Paul joined in 2020. Ellie worked in fashion retail management for 30 years and joined Braver Angels when she became exhausted by the constant barrage of political rhetoric from the media and her friends and began looking for a connection to sanity and goodwill. Paul joined to find opportunities to engage with people who have different backgrounds and opinions. Paul is a life-long musician who worked in IT before retirement. Braver Angels is a non-partisan organization who use discussions of politics as a vehicle to bring people together. The idea is to understand people on the other side of the political divide. Ellie mentioned that Braver Angels was a huge surprise to her because she made many friends and her world expanded exponentially. Paul learned in Braver Angels meetings that the people “on the other side” are often thoughtful and care deeply about this country. Both Ellie and Paul have found that despite the red/blue divide in our country, we have more in common with than we think. Braver Angels envisions the respectful embrace of political disagreements and embraces values of respect, humility, honesty, and responsible citizenship.
Braver Angels teaches participants how to have a political discussion with someone who disagrees with your own viewpoint. Paul and Ellie introduced a mode of discussion in which one person argues in favor of a particular issue (such as federal funding cuts). The other person listens carefully, and, when its their turn to speak, acknowledges what the other person says (for example, “I hear you”), asks “Can I tell you what I think?” and then says something like “I agree that funding needs to be looked at but disagree with the way it is being done.” This often leads to a meaningful and helpful discussion that shows significant common ground. The meeting’s discussion also raised the question of whether Rotary is the appropriate place for Braver Angels-stye political discussions. Braver Angels believes that a respectful and thoughtful political discussion is a way to foster peace and is thus consistent with Rotary’s peace initiative. On the other hand, several club members pointed out that Rotary is a non-partisan service organization and political discussions are unnecessary and possible unhelpful and divisive.
Many thanks to Paul and Ellie for their presentation of Braver Angels’ organization, philosophy, and practices.
Click HERE to view a limited time recording of the Braver Angels' presentation.
