Have A Great Weekend.

We’re heading into the weekend thinking about Loyal Antagonists, bipartisan efforts, kabuki theater in Congress, and whether Americans live in bubbles of their own making. We’ve been reading Emma O. Green’s piece in The Atlantic and recommend you do, too: These Are the Americans Who Live in a Bubble.

Here’s how she frames it:

"One of the many questions the Trump era has raised is whether Americans actually want a pluralistic society, where people are free to be themselves and still live side by side with others who aren’t like them."

So now we’re thinking about it and asking you:

Do we want a pluralistic society? What do we need to do to get from here to there? What does that mean in the context of our political debates? How is that the same or different from our social or religious debates? Where do we need to look for an answer?

We’re also checking out the great work of our CtK Alums and colleagues:

Bishop Garrison writing in Blavity: Why Congress Must Protect Black And Latino Americans From Russian Operatives’ Social Media Experiment In 2020

And also featured for his national security expertise on ABC: North Korea summit's impact beyond nuclear weapons

Sarah Hunt writing in Axios: DOJ indictment reveals threat of Chinese IP theft to U.S. energy innovation

Sarah Longwell writing in The Bulwark: Byron York Is Just Asking Questions and being quoted by Charles Sykes (and cited for her masterful answer), also in The Bulwark: What’s the Endgame of Trumpism?

Jenn Brown has big news: “It has been a true honor to lead Civic Nation as Executive Director over the last three and a half years. While I never planned on leaving Civic Nation, with the 2020 election heating up, I received a job I just couldn’t turn down. I'm not able to announce my new position yet, but I will be very excited to share it with you soon!”

Alum and activist Maria Town with a reminder about public spaces and access: “Inaccessibility creates emotional burdens in addition to physical barriers. The calculation to stand & wear yourself out or sit & struggle to get back up & possibly miss the bus again. If you don’t have to think about it, it seems small, but it’s my life.” Houston Metro investing in sidewalks so elderly, disabled can get to bus stops

And, as always, we’re happy to feature bipartisan work. Here’s the latest example from the Senate: Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) have reached across the aisle to team up on the Senate version of legislation disapproving of President Trump’s border security national emergency.

In a political era when the vast majority of Americans believe the country is divided over issues of race, politics, and religion, relationships across lines of difference could foster empathy and civility.
— Emma O. Green, The Atlantic

Have a great weekend!

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