We had another great NCDD “Confab Call” last week and as always, if you couldn’t join us we welcome you to listen to the audio recording. Our latest Confab featured NCDD members Jacob Hess and Phil Neisser, co-authers of “You’re Not as Crazy as I Thought, But You’re Still Wrong,” leading a discussion on red-blue dialogue. We had over 100 participants, 75 of which dropped in on the call’s collaborative doc, which this time was hosted on Hackpad.com and focused on several thoughtful questions and next ... (continue)

We hope you’ll join us in congratulating our friends at the Kettering Foundation on their new opportunity to develop deliberative decision-making forums for Israeli Jews and Arabs in Israel. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most difficult problems of dialogue and bridge building in the world, and we are excited to see the Kettering Foundation’s deliberative model being applied, and are hopeful that it will bring about positive change for the people of Israel and Palestine.  Read more about the new project below or ... (continue)

Brandon Lee of the Campaign for Stronger Democracy posted this great write-up on CSD’s blog this morning and gave me the okay to cross-post it.  Thanks for taking the time to provide these great reflections on yesterday’s NCDD confab call on red-blue dialogue, Brandon! Had a great time listening in to NCDD’s confab call this month on liberal-conservative dialogue. Unfortunately I had to jump off a little early, but there was still plenty of great conversation to be had. Here are some takeaways and other ... (continue)

This post was submitted by NCDD member Joan Blades, co-founder of Living Room Conversations and MoveOn.org… At times I feel like a mad scientist  bringing together people with diverse views to have conversations about challenging issues. In unstructured social circumstances, I would be concerned about potential blow-ups. What awes me again and again — the container that Living Room Conversations creates enables meaningful connections to form and defuses the explosive elements. It is such a joy to see the best in people as we learn from each ... (continue)

In preparation for our NCDD Confab call on Wednesday at 2pm on the current state of liberal-conservative dialogue, we’ve been thinking about key milestones and programs in this area that NCDD members have spearheaded or have played a major role in. Andy Fluke, NCDD’s creative director and co-founder, created a timeline for us to take a look at during this popular confab call (over 120 people have signed up so far!), to help us think about the trajectory of red-blue (or transpartisan, or political bridge-building) dialogue ... (continue)

Here’s a thoughtful message and some great questions from Jacob Hess, one of our two featured speakers on next Wednesday’s confab call on red-blue dialogue.  See the full description of the confab, and register here if you’d like to join us.  We’re excited that 110 people have already signed up! Rush Limbaugh taught me, in my teenage years, that liberals were trying to destroy America. And I believed him. They were the enemy. And I was a combatant in a desperate culture war against them ... (continue)

Join us for our next NCDD Confab call on Wednesday, May 15th from 2:00 to 3:30 EST.  May’s featured NCDDers are Phil Neisser and Jacob Hess, who will lead a discussion on the current status of liberal-conservative and transpartisan dialogue, and how we might work together to expand this area of dialogue and deliberation further. 5/13/13 update: Jacob is surveying call participants here about their work and ideas re: red-blue dialogue.  Please add your thoughts if you haven’t already.  Also check out our 10-year timeline of milestones in red-blue dialogue ... (continue)

A recent post on the Everyday Democracy blog caught our eye.  Written by NCDD member Janice Thomson and featuring the work of NCDD member Mary Jane Hollis, the article focuses on the power of sustained dialogue to tease out difficult issues such as race and to create lasting positive effects in our communities.  The full article can be found both on Janice Thomson’s blog where it was originally posted, or on the Everyday Democracy blog here. Last week a small but dedicated group of Chicago area dialogue ... (continue)

From Upworthy… (A 2-minute video everyone in our field should watch and then share widely!) Mark Meckler (co-founder, Tea Party Patriots) and Joan Blades (co-founder, MoveOn.org) come from opposite ends of the political spectrum and should be mortal enemies if the current level of political discourse in Washington D.C. is anything to go by. Instead, they found a way to calmly share their beliefs and discovered that while “right” and “left” obviously don’t agree on everything, they share a lot more common ground than anyone ... (continue)

We are happy to share this insightful blog post from NCDD member John Blakinger, who reflects on the interplay of facts, beliefs, and being wrong when we are trying to address problems together.  John’s reflections come from www.CivilSay.net. Philosopher Charles Bernard Renouvier said “There is no certainty, only people who are certain.” And when it comes to contested issues people tend to project a certainty of their opposing beliefs. We like to think there is an absolute truth or correctness and while this may be so, ... (continue)