What makes up your web of beliefs?

Those who have followed the DTH podcast for long know about my work with the organization Braver Angels. One vitally important part of that work is a project that I have been working on with Dr. Francis Collins. (Learn more about the “Truth & Trust Project” by  listening to DTH Episodes 119 and 120). While Francis and I disagree on many aspects of the government’s response to the pandemic, ultimately we have developed a genuine friendship. As part of our work together, Francis suggested and exercise by asking me, “What makes up your web of beliefs?”
What is this “Web of Beliefs?”

With Dr. Francis Collins being the former director of the National Institutes of Health, one of the most notable scientists in American history, and the acting Science Advisor to the President of the United States, you might ask, “what could he possibly have in common with a blue collar podcaster from the Midwest”? Combine that with the notion that I have been an outspoken critic of the government’s response to the pandemic, and Dr. Collins played a significant role in that response.

By today’s standards, we should hate each other, or at least do a lot of yelling and name calling but we took a different path. It’s all about communication and seeing the humanity and values in who you’re speaking with. Don’t miss this incredible conversation where Francis and I discuss how this exercise, “The Web of Beliefs” showed us that we ultimately have more in common than what separates us. While some of our beliefs are very different, ultimately the values for which we stand are very much in line. This is what civility despite differences looks like.