Overcome Toxic Polarisation: A Political Courage Challenge

Introduction

This tool developed by Starts With Us, a nonprofit organisation in the US, presents a political courage challenge aimed at fighting toxic division and building a healthier culture.

The challenge:

• aims to promote political tolerance and compassionate relationships across differences.
• aims to help individuals identify and address their own divisive habits, reintroduce honesty and tolerance within their political in-group, navigate tensions in politically-estranged relationships, and mobilize in cross-partisan groups to tackle shared concerns.
• offers different exercises for each day that take as little as 5 minutes to complete.
• is organized into four building blocks that help build a solid foundation for sustained change.

Start the Challenge

This is an invitation to look deeply but kindly within yourself and work with others to fight the toxic division .

Based on decades of research from Columbia University Professor and Starts With Us Expert-In-Residence Peter T. Coleman, Ph.D., it is designed to help shape new habits and norms for political tolerance and courageous compassion.

Think of it as a personalized boot camp for building a healthier national culture and repairing broken relationships across differences.

Each day, you will be offered different options for the Challenge (from light to moderate to heavier lift) that can take as little as 5 minutes to complete. Try to do one-a-day to get in the habit, and keep it up for as long as you find it useful – hopefully eventually working through each of the four building blocks.

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4 Building Blocks

This tool is organized into four building blocks that help build a solid foundation for sustained change:

1. Building Block One focuses on addressing your own divisive habits
2. Building Block Two focuses on reintroducing honesty and tolerance within your political ingroup
3. Building Block Three focuses on tensions in your more politically-estranged relationships
4. Building Block Four focuses on mobilizing in cross-partisan groups to tackle shared concerns

Example of what each day looks like for Building Block 1

5 Ways to Fight Division in Your Life

The good news is that research has shown that the following five actions increase our chances of breaking free of toxic polarization. Try these five practices over the next four weeks to help shake up how division is showing up in your life.

Access the Tool

• Detox from the Political Polarisation Trap

About the Author

Starts With Us is a growing movement to overcome extreme cultural and political divisions in America, leveraging media and technology to foster independent thinking and constructive communication across lines of difference. With Us empowers Americans from the left, right, and everywhere in between to practice curiosity, compassion, and courage as a catalyst to strengthen society and themselves.

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