To counter the dangerous fragmentation that we are experiencing in civic life today, we need better — not fewer — arguments. This is the premise of the Better Arguments Project, created to help bridge divides, not by papering over those divides but by helping Americans engage each other more directly and more productively.

We need arguments that are rooted in history, emotionally intelligent, and honest about power imbalances. This training will equip you with the skills and dispositions to have better arguments in your own contexts — at home, at school, at work, or in the town square — and to lead others in doing so. We believe the more Americans engage each other in better arguments, the healthier and stronger our democracy will be.

The Better Arguments Project is a partnership among the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program, the nonprofit organization Facing History and Ourselves, and Allstate.