The personal practice
The 12 Steps
Hold your beliefs firmly. Hold your identity lightly.
Admit the Fusion
We admitted that politics had become part of our identity rather than simply a set of beliefs.
Separate Self From Belief
We came to understand that changing our minds does not require changing who we are.
Surrender the Tribe
We stopped allowing political affiliation to determine which conclusions we were permitted to reach.
Inventory the Identity
We identified the labels, causes, politicians, movements, and grievances we had incorporated into our sense of self.
Admit Our Attachment
We acknowledged where belonging, status, friendship, anger, or fear had become entangled with what we claimed to believe.
Become Willing to Be Wrong
We became willing to discover that some beliefs important to us might be false.
Recover Humility
We stopped treating disagreement with our beliefs as a judgment of our intelligence, morality, or character.
See the Person Again
We stopped reducing other people to the political groups, labels, and positions associated with them.
Repair What Politics Damaged
We sought to repair relationships where political identity had displaced family, friendship, community, or simple human decency.
Watch for Relapse
We learned to recognize when disagreement again began to feel like personal attack and political victory like personal validation.
Practice Independent Thought
We practiced evaluating each question on its merits rather than asking what our side believes.
Become Something Larger
We rebuilt an identity broad enough that politics could occupy its proper place within it.
Truth above tribe.
No political tribe is the highest authority. We seek the humility to place truth above tribe, conscience above conformity, and people above politics.
Changing our minds does not require changing who we are.
Think clearly without thinking alone.
You provide a room and the willingness to start.