The Southeastern Pennsylvania Alliance of Braver Angels, the organization promoting cross-partisan dialogue in the United States, held its first debate last Saturday, September 28, at the Warminster public library. I was first up as a lead speaker for the pro side on the resolution, "Local communities should receive more federal funding to address homelessness." It appeared that all in attendance agreed that the ensuing discussion helped them understand each other's perspectives and additional ideas were brought forward to help bridge the divide, such as Citizens' Assemblies to ensure local control of programs while receiving federal funds.
This was the first Braver Angels event I've attended in person as well as my first time as lead speaker, but I've taken part in a few online, including a debate several months ago about school library censorship. I used my turn in part to share a childhood experience contradicting what other speakers on both sides seemed to be assuming about certain kinds of material being "inappropriate" for young people.
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