Events

October 16, 2025 Meeting

In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, our September discussion of the Moral Circles Heatmap was preempted in favor of a discussion about political violence, and how those dedicated to depolarization can help counter the escalating rhetoric that has come in its wake. We plan to cover this topic in October now.

This month's topic is "Ideological Differences in the Expanse of the Moral Circle." This is the subject of a study published in 2019 in the journal Nature that has been referenced in many online debates and meme wars. The Department of Homeland Security has even tweeted this image as justification for its immigration policies.

For those who get their news from more traditional sources, this topic is a great opportunity to see the type of political content that is becoming increasingly influential online. These videos come from deep within the annals of meme war meta-analysis on YouTube.

Please take some time to watch some of these videos or read the referenced articles prior to the meeting, so we can have a more informed conversation at the meeting.

This heatmap image has been used extensively on social media to paint liberals as "caring more about rocks and trees" than they care about their family and community. Liberals react by saying conservatives lack empathy for those outside of their communities. A more in-depth look at the study's data shows that both of these one-sided interpretations are incorrect.

First, check out this "Know Your Meme" article on the subject (or this one) to see how various social media posts have taken the survey's results, often out of context, and used them to promote a polarized, us-versus-them view of our differences.

Below are a short videos from the Daily Caller and Conservative Direct that present the conservative take on the subject that is fairly representative of how it has been used in online debates.

This article from Big Think also does a great job of separating what the study actually shows from the way it is used on social media. Here's another one from Patheos. When searching for this topic on YouTube, most of the content is from conservative creators, so these articles probably best represent the liberal perspective.

This next video offers a more nuanced look at what the study actually shows about differences in our moral allocations. Caution: this video is extremely online!

Jonathan Haidt, one of the study's co-authors, is one of the leading experts on the differences between liberals and conservatives when it comes to moral consideration. His book The Righteous Mind is one of the most often cited works on the subject, and a recommended read for anyone that wants to understand the psychology behind our political differences. In this TED talk he gives a brief overview of his Moral Foundations Theory and how liberals and conservatives consider them. 

You can also go to YourMorals.org to take a short quiz that will show how you prioritize your moral foundations.

There is also a video from Stand Together, another great organization that shares Braver Angels' values. It focuses on differences in how we perceive moral harm, in terms of whose rights and livelihood we believe is most in need of defending.

While these aren't directly related to the Moral Circles, we can use them to broaden our conversation about the differences in our moral considerations, and how we can see these as complementary perspectives instead of a matter of right or wrong.

AGENDA

1. Review of the Braver Angels Way and Introductions.

2. Actions since last meeting

3. Play the "Questions" improv game from the Braver Angels Depolarizing Games library

4. Discussion of Ideological Differences in the Expanse of the Moral Circle using the examples from the videos

5. Explore upcoming national zoom events and training classes we can attend

6. Open discussion for any questions, comments, or suggestions on ETA activities

September 18, 2025 Meeting

It was so great seeing so many familiar and new faces at the September meeting! It was apparent that many of us really needed a depolarizing conversation after the events of this week. I’m really happy that we could have this time to talk and to focus on the need to find common ground, when everyone seems to be doing the opposite right now.

I also wanted to include a few resources in an attempt to highlight some things about the politics of online gaming communities that defy any attempts to put a left/right spin on many of the acts of “lone wolf terrorism” that we have seen in recent years.

While everyone has been trying to blame political ideologies, this only serves the cause of divisiveness without providing any real understanding of what is causing the rise of violence in America. As someone who is familiar with the online communities that inspire many of the perpetrators of political violence, school shootings, and other heinous acts, their motivations rarely fit neatly into left/right political dichotomies. Rather than being rabid ideologues, most of these are troubled young men who feel a strong personal grievance against a single person or the world in general, and want to make a name for themselves by inflicting as much pain as they can on others. In many online forums like 4Chan, people will celebrate and encourage people to commit these acts, and many have been livestreamed to those sites while they happen. While we can’t blame violence on video games, many video game communities are cesspools of toxic nihilism that has little to do with politics as we understand it.

This Substack article looks at the Discord chats and video game meme culture that Tyler Robinson was part of. Of course, we don’t know what anonymous communities he may have participated in.

https://substack.com/@kenklippenstein/p-173772965

This video explains some of the terms and movements that are involved in these online communities, and how they use meme culture to promote what can be called “Blackpill Accelerationism” where disillusioned young men (often identifying as Incels) want to hasten the destruction of society. I’m not saying that this was definitely what influenced Robinson, but any online forum associated with the game Helldiver 2 is going to be full of this stuff.

Blackpill Aesthetics: A Crash Course in Meme Extremism

This study analyzes the psychological characteristics of “lone wolf terrorists” which most perpetrators of modern political violence would best be described as. They identify six psychological mechanisms that lead to acts of violence---personal grievance, political grievance,

slippery slope, risk and status seeking, and unfreezing.

Characteristics of Lone Wolf Violent Offenders

Individuals can resort to political violence as a result of personal grievance, such as perceived

mistreatment by the government of self or loved ones. Individuals may also be radicalized by

political grievance, a perceived mistreatment of people the individual identifies with but does not

know personally. Another mechanism of radicalisation is slippery slope, a gradual

desensitization to the idea and experience of violence through slow escalation of illegal and

violent acts. Paradoxically, love can move an individual to violence if a loved one - friend,

relative, or romantic partner - becomes part of a radical group and asks for help.

Risk and status seeking is perhaps especially common among young males for whom violence

may seem the best path to money and respect. Finally, unfreezing occurs when an individual

loses the everyday reassurance of relationships and routines: a parent dies, a romantic partner

leaves, a job lost, a major illness strikes, or the individual moves far from home. Unfreezing is a

personal crisis of disconnection that leaves an individual with less to lose and in search of new

directions.

These individual-level mechanisms of radicalisation, derived from the study of terrorism and

terrorists, are extended here to ask whether any of these can be identified in the histories of

school attackers and assassins.

I wanted to send these along because I think the best way to prevent these acts from further dividing us is to understand the complicated reasons that lead troubled young men to commit acts of violence. It’s more than just politics or mental illness, and the influence of these online communities is very hard to understand for those who don’t follow them. Political polarization is a factor, but trying to put Blackpill Accelerationism into a left/right framework is only going to lead us further from understanding why these events happen and how to prevent them in the future.

I hope that this can give you some context. Red or Blue, we can all agree that toxic online communities that glorify acts of violence and seek the collapse of society are a bad thing!

-Aaron Tyrrell
Blue Co-Chair East TN Alliance

August 21, 2025 Meeting

This month we'll be discussing "Abundance" -- the bestselling book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson that offers a Blue argument for deregulation and government efficiency. While Klein and Thompson are both progressives, they make a strong case for why well-meaning regulations sometimes get in the way of more important priorities like green energy, high-speed rail, affordable housing, and other things that are important to Blues. Of course, deregulation and government efficiency has always been a cornerstone of Red politics.

Can Abundance help Blues understand the Red perspective on government efficiency and regulatory capture?

Can Blues see eye to eye with each other on Abundance? This issue has been more polarizing within the Blue camp itself. Can the Braver Angels way help?

We can also talk more generally about the economics of abundance. Things like whether trade deals should be looked at as “zero sum” where there's always a winner and a loser, or whether we should view economics more in terms of “a rising tide that lifts all boats.”

What about in the future when we have AI, robotic automation, 3D printing, and other new technologies that lower the cost of building things to nearly nothing? How does the economy run when the marginal cost of creating things approaches zero? What incentivizes companies to keep producing products we need?

A great example of this is generic drugs. They are so cheap to produce, and sold at such a low cost, that few manufacturers continue to make them. This leaves these markets open to exploitation, where a sole supplier can be bought out by bad actors looking to take advantage of a monopoly. This is what caused the skyrocketing cost of Epipens and other life-saving drugs that were big news a few years ago. What is the best way to address these types of issues that have such an impact on Americans' health?

Do we live in a world of Abundance or Scarcity? How does our answer to this question influence our political viewpoint? Can Abundance help us create a common vision for government efficiency? There's plenty to talk about!

Here are some good podcasts and videos that present the Abundance perspective for both Blue and Red audiences. They've been on virtually every political podcast in the last 6 months, so feel free to choose your favorite. Any one of them will give a good overview of the Abundance perspective.

Here's a Daily Show interview for a Blue take on abundance. This one also has the advantage of being shorter and funnier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzTnALI720 

For a Red perspective, here is Klein's interview on The American Compass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2I9RRHMB3s 

A longer discussion moderated by Michael Pollan for Long Now Talks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9wga7S3nAw 

If you want to read the book, check it out on GoodReads here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176444106-abundance 

Or get the audio book on Libro.fm and support your local bookstore!

https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781797168609 

Let’s use these videos as a jumping off point to talk about how we can use the Abundance perspective to help Reds and Blues understand each other better!

AGENDA

1. Review of the Braver Angels Way and Introductions.

2. Actions since last meeting

3. Discussion of Abundance using the examples from the videos

4. Explore upcoming national zoom events and training classes we can attend

5. Open discussion for any questions, comments, or suggestions on ETA activities

July 17, 2025 Meeting

This month we'll be discussing "Collective Illusions." Is polarization a collective illusion? Do we assume that other members of our tribe all support the things we think are absurd but go along with to avoid conflict? Do we assume that members of the other tribe all believe the same things as their most viral lunatic fringe? How do our assumptions about what others believe contribute to the ongoing environment of polarization and are there techniques we can use to get people to open up about what they truly believe?

Todd Rose wrote a book on this subject, and there are several interviews with him available on YouTube where he discusses it.

https://www.toddrose.com/collectiveillusions/

Monica Guzman gives the book a big endorsement in this Instagram post.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFx9t8XTNJG/

Here’s a short 5-minute video on cultural norms and collective illusions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd8VHbIYqRs

This is a 12-minute video on collective illusions that summarizes it pretty well, and tells the story of Vaclav Havel, a writer whose stories about the collective illusion of communism led to one of the only peaceful movements that has overthrown an authoritarian government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URdXC6UtfVg

Another 12-minute interview with Mike Rowe that talks about collective illusions around meaningful work, education, and success.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAI2iFm_Knk

This article outlines over 100 policy proposals that have broad support among both Reds and Blues. How do our collective illusions cause us to see these issues as more divided than they really are?

https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/50343-national-policy-proposals-with-bipartisan-support 

If that's too many, here's a nice short article that focuses on 7 of them.

https://buildersmovement.org/2025/06/11/policies-democrats-republicans-agree-on/ 

This is the podcast episode that introduced me to Todd Rose. It’s a 90-minute interview but it’s really fascinating because he goes into detail about this survey technique he uses to ensure that people reveal their true beliefs by giving them “plausible deniability” about their answers.

https://youtu.be/Tj6ptwWOgkU

Let’s use these videos as a jumping off point to talk about how we can have better conversations, and what we can learn from the example they set!

AGENDA

1. Review of the Braver Angels Way and Introductions.

2. Actions since last meeting

3. Discussion of Collective Illusions using the examples from the videos

4. Preview "My Father's Name" movie that has been made available for screenings

5. Explore upcoming national zoom events and training classes we can attend

6. Open discussion for any questions, comments, or suggestions on ETA activities

June 19 Meeting

Braver Angels East TN Alliance monthly meetings are now in person! Come to the small classroom at the Farragut Community Center (upstairs) and bring a friend! 

We’ll also have a zoom for those who can’t attend in person--now with the "Owl" camera that gives you a 360 degree view of the participants.

This month we will start by playing a Braver Angels game that helps us think about issues from other points of view.

Then, we’ll have a discussion of a discussion of the Robert George and Cornel West interview “Finding Truth in Disagreement” that you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woacPc0vm2A

Another great example of the Braver Angels Way in action is this discussion between Francis Collins and Wilk Wilkinson on the ways that the COVID led to polarized responses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBmpxornZvY

These two are about 10 minutes long and give you a good idea of how they work together. For a longer conversation on “Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division” you can check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyBHBi-L3yo

Let’s use these videos as a jumping off point to talk about how we can have better conversations, and what we can learn from the example they set!

AGENDA

1. Review of the Braver Angels Way and Introductions.

2. Play the “Left Right” game from the Braver Angels website

3. Actions since last meeting—has anyone connected with interested groups?

4. Discussion of how we can disagree better using the examples from the videos

5. Consider getting a booth at the TN Valley Fair

6. Explore upcoming national zoom events and training classes we can attend

7. Open discussion for any questions, comments, or suggestions for future activities