LRC offers the resources below to help people connect and perhaps even relieve some of the anxiety being felt in our country and around the world.

We know that regardless of how we feel about the coronavirus, major shifts are taking place in people’s lives that affect our daily patterns of connection. Anxiety and stress may be increasing for us, and may be fanned by media we are consuming. Some of us are feeling isolated.

Climate change remains one of the most controversial topics in America, with people resolutely divided along partisan battle lines. As fires rage tragically across Australia, flame wars flicker here, too, as we struggle to engage in meaningful discourse about climate change.

But better conversations are not only possible, they’re also relatively easy to bring about. The key is to change the script from the way the dialogue normally takes place:

The summer heat here scorches Republicans and Democrats with equal ferocity. Jacob’s Well and Blue Hole, two of the best natural swimming holes in the state, are thus fitting landmarks for this small city.

When temperatures and emotions run high, Wimberley, Texas, is where people come to cool off.

Wimberley’s location also reflects its political balance. A short drive from both the rapidly urbanizing Interstate 35 corridor and the rural Hill Country, Wimberley, population 3,000, is as close to 50-50 politically as you can get in America these days, residents say.

This Abridge News topic aggregates four unique arguments on different sides of the debate. Here are the quick facts to get you started:

THE QUICK FACTS

Does an October 11, 2019 press release from the Commission on Presidential Debates (“CPD”) announcing its 2020 debate schedule, and a recent court opinion, provide a glimpse into who controls our government?

Imagine a pilot is taking a familiar flight along a known route, during which the weather takes a turn for the worst. She knows that flying through the storm comes with some serious risks – and according to her training, she should take a detour or return. But she has flown the same route before, in similar weather – and she hadn’t experienced any problems then. Should she continue? Or should she turn back?

Alphabet Inc.’s Google posted internal rules that discourage employees from debating politics, a shift away from the internet giant’s famously open culture.

The “community guidelines” tell employees not to have “disruptive” conversations and warn workers that they’ll be held responsible for what they say at the office. Google is also building a tool to let employees flag problematic internal posts and creating a team of moderators to monitor conversations on company chat boards, a spokeswoman said.