Colleague, News, and Opinion Links for the Week of September 7, 2025
Newsletter #383 — September 12, 2025
by Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess
We have been inundated with essays about Charlie Kirk's assassination over the last 24 hours, so while we feel deeply and strongly about this, we don't think it is useful to write yet another such essay. We do highlight a few below, and thought it was worth sharing an excerpt from a longer Braver Angels statement which we thought was particularly important.
"September 10th was a devastating day for our nation. There are no words for the loss of Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones. It’s on each of us to stop this dangerous cycle of mutual destruction. No matter where we stand on the political spectrum, here’s what we must do in the wake of this tragedy. The immediate priority is to not escalate an already precarious situation. Do not throw fuel on the fire through attacks and counterattacks over responsibility for this act of violence. We’ve gotten ourselves into a deep hole. The first thing we must do is stop digging. Second, we must tone down the apocalyptic rhetoric that our democracy will not survive the leadership or ideology of any one side. When the survival of the American experiment is at stake, violence can seem justified and even heroic. We must believe in ourselves that we can hold onto our democratic republic even amidst profound disagreement. Third, we must use this moment to soul-search what we’ve allowed to happen in our political culture, from the national to the local level, and in our families and friendships. Polarization is a “We the People” problem, not just a “those politicians” or “those talking heads” problem. We have a role to play."
If I had been writing this, I would have put the word "all" into the last sentence: "We all have a role to play." But other than that, this statement echoes our thoughts on this moment almost exactly and we hope our readers take this statement to heart.
Highlighted Links
A few suggestions about links that we think are especially interesting.
- The Hyper-Polarization Threat
Enough: On Charlie Kirk’s Murder and the Watershed Moment We Face — Charlie’s life was a testament to conviction, and his death a call to conscience—this is our moment to choose compassion over hate and protect the freedom that cost him everything. - US Politics
Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way — The challenge to the idea (which seems to be simmering widely just below the surface) that Charlie Kirk somehow deserves his fate because of his political views. - Violence
Political Violence Has Become a Terrifying Fact of American Life — In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, a review of other recent acts of political violence and a reminder that we are slowly edging towards catastrophe. - US Politics
Trump’s Most Fateful Teardown Is Happening Now — An especially comprehensive look, with lots of citations, at the dramatic changes that President Trump is bringing to US government and the larger society. - US Politics
This Is the Moment We Find Out if Trump Is for Real — An essay that asks whether President Trump plans to follow up his destruction of progressive, Democratic programs and institutions with the construction of something new and better. - Developing a Unifying Vision
Why I Am Not a Liberal — From David Brooks, a critique of the liberal democratic approach to solving societal problems and a defense of the now largely dormant (but politically promising), neoconservative alternative. - The Hyper-Polarization Threat
Civil war is for idiots and losers — Talking points for anyone who might find themselves in the position of having to argue against, insurrection, and civil war. - Israel / Hamas War
Niall Ferguson: Osama bin Laden’s Posthumous Victory — Niall Ferguson's reflections on the ways in which his thinking about 9/11 have evolved over the years (including, most ominously, his thoughts on the increasing influence of Osama bin Laden's ideas). - Israel / Hamas War
Revisiting the Distance Between September and October — Thought-provoking analysis of the complex relationship between the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and 10/7 and the events that followed.
Reader Suggested Links
Highlighting links suggested by our readers. Please send us links to things that you find useful.
- Violence
The Assassin's Veto — From Yascha Mounk, a review of the uncomfortable truths that Charlie Kirk's murder (like other acts of political violence) is forcing us to consider. - Immigration
Mass Migration and Liberalism’s Fall — An exploration of the far-reaching ramifications of the mismatch between governmental support for mass migration and grassroots opposition. - Israel / Hamas War
Hamas's Information Warriors — A rare and detailed look at Hamas' extraordinarily sophisticated information warfare strategy -- a strategy that continues to be the primary focus of the war. - Constructively Addressing Complex Issues
Science is Not Team Sport — A well-documented critique of the many ways in which science has been bifurcated along partisan lines. - US Politics
The Anti-Trump Strategy That’s Actually Working — Hopeful news that, at least as far as the courts are concerned, essential elements of the system of checks and balances continues to function. - Rule of Law
Amy Coney Barrett: There’s No Constitutional Crisis in America — From one of the Supreme Court's "swing" justices, a defense of the Court worth considering. - Israel / Hamas War
Too many people still don't understand Palestinian culture. — From the Israeli perspective, an insightful, honest, and doubtless controversial, effort to understand the cultural foundations of the ongoing war and the long-running conflict. - Artificial Intelligence
Columbia Pilots AI Platform Sway for Anonymous Debates on Campus Conflicts — A report on an interesting effort to use AI to promote more constructive debate on controversial issues. - Israel / Hamas War
These Peace Negotiators Say It’s Time to Give Up on the Two-State Solution — After almost 35 years of trying and failing to realize the two-state solution promised by the Oslo Accords, this essay asks whether it's time to admit the solution is unworkable.
Colleague Activities
Highlighting things that our conflict and peacebuilding colleagues are doing that contribute to efforts to address the hyper-polarization problem.
- Peacebuilding
Start Where You Are — This is the first of 8 posts that Chip Hauss is using to provide an overview of his new book "Peacebuilding Starts at Home," which is meant to be a "call to action" to everyone to help "turn our troubled country around." - Developing a Unifying Vision
The Big Middle — Allan Hoving started The Big Middle some months ago describing it as an "interactive webshow that builds consensus for action on solutions to the nation’s major problems." He has now brought it to Substack. - Violence
Rich Harwood: My Response to Charlie Kirk’s Shooting — Especially thoughtful reflections on the Charlie Kirk assassination and prospects for limiting the tensions that contributed to his death. - Constructively Addressing Complex Issues
For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies — To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence. - Theories of Change
Beyond Resistance: A Fourth Way Populist Politics — Erika Etelson, author of Beyond Contempt: "How Liberals Can Communicate Across the Great Divide" notes that liberals know what they are against, but do they know what are they are for? - Leadership
What Happens When You Give Students a Seat at the Table: How Johnson & Johnson and Close Up Foundation Are Helping Build Civic Leaders — Johnson & Johnson, in partnership with the Close Up Foundation, reaffirmed its commitment to civic engagement by sponsoring 11 high school students from across New Jersey to participate in an immersive experience in Washington, D.C. - US Politics
The Making of "What’s Pulling Young Men to the Right?" — The Left is losing young men. David Beckemeyer explores what's driving the shift. - Civic Education
Eric Liu and Citizen University on Building a Healthy Civic Culture from the Ground Up — This powerful recap from Citizen University and Eric Liu reminds us that the health of our democracy depends on the everyday choices we make to connect, engage, and care for our communities. - Political Dysfunction
There is no Rubicon — Navigating the descent into lawlessness. - Effective Problem-Solving
From Debate to Deliberation: A Utah Voice Calls for Democratic Renewal — In an era when civic discourse often feels more like combat than conversation, a thoughtful letter to the editor in The Salt Lake Tribune that offers a compelling vision for renewal. - Theories of Change
Why Democracy--Not Fascism--Can Bring Us Back Together — Some say that life under fascism would actually be better (it wouldn’t). While others say that Americans currently live under a fascist regime (we don’t). The Builders explain. - Constructive Communication
Understanding the other — Persistent misperceptions are what keep Americans divided. It’s time we get to know one another. - Theories of Change
Laughter Can Be A Political Martial Art — The story of Otpor, the Serbian youth-led resistance movement, offers powerful lessons in how creativity, humor, and strategic mischief can undermine authoritarian regimes. - Constructively Addressing Complex Issues
Maybe We Shouldn’t Give Up on Facts Just Yet — Facts alone often fail. Facts with credibility? That is a different story. - Saving Democracy
How To Fix Gerrymandering: A Fair-Share Rule for Congressional Redistricting — Jacob Bornstein of Better Together America and Kristin Becvar of the Bridge Alliance propose a simple solution for gerrymandering. Is it possible to do? - Constructive Communication
Narrative Strategies for Belonging — Resources on Narrative, Pluralism, and Transformative Change from the Othering and Belonging Institute - Theories of Change
Local Governments and Community Foundations: Partners in Public Problem-Solving — Community foundations have always been practical, problem-solving institutions. For decades, they have provided public services, met essential human needs, defended civil liberties, and planned for the future. They need to play an even bigger role now. - Constructive Communication
Reimagining Public Meetings: A Step-by-Step Guide for Working with Your City — Public meetings are where decisions are made, but they’re often seen as unwelcoming, overly formal, or ineffective spaces for two-way dialogue. The National Civic League shares a guide for making them better. - Media Reform
Overcoming digital threats to democracy — A Lowy Institute report illustrating how deliberative democracy can enhance trust and legitimacy in digital spaces.
News and Opinion
From around the web, more insight into the nature of our conflict problems, limits of business-as-usual thinking, and things people are doing to try to make things better. (Formerly, Beyond Intractability in Context.)
- Israel / Hamas War
Most people still don't understand Hamas' strategy. — An important, and seldom reported, explanation of the nature and sources of Hamas' near total control of Gaza's population. - Terror
Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11 — As we mark yet another 9/11 anniversary, thoughts about our failure to anticipate and protect ourselves from the attack (plus questions about whether we might now be repeating the same mistake. - Education
University Trustees Have Their Heads in the Sand — From former Senator and University President Ben Sasse, an argument that, by failing to challenge the politicalization of science, boards of trustees have done much to help undermine public trust in universities. - Race / Anti-Racism
Decolonize scientific institutions, don’t just diversify them — A link to the paper (in the prestigious journal, Nature) that Ben Sasse cites as a particularly extreme case of scientific politicalization. - Social / Economic Complexity
China Builds. America Blocks. Why? — Further analysis of the far-reaching implications of differences between the United States' and China's leadership class. - Israel / Hamas War
The Strike on Qatar — A pretty good overview of the complex arguments surrounding the recent Israeli strike on the Hamas leadership in Qatar. - Israel / Hamas War
When You Try to Kill the Negotiators, Negotiations End — More thoughts on Israel's Qatar strike on Hamas and the ways in which it is likely to affect efforts to negotiate an end to the war. - Superpower Conflict
The Beginning of the End of NATO — Analysis of the complex geopolitical ramifications of Russia's violation of Polish and NATO airspace during its recent drone attack on Ukraine. - Psychological Complexity
Totalitarianism Can Be Terrifying. It Can Also Be Thrilling. He Taught Us Why. — A tribute to Robert J Lifton, a psychologist who devoted his career to understanding the complex motivations that lead people to support authoritarian figures. - Developing a Unifying Vision
Three Big Problems with the Politics of Abundance — For those who think that the abundance agenda might somehow offer a way out of our current political predicament, hard questions that supporters of this strategy really need to consider. - Developing a Unifying Vision
Abundance Is a Vehicle For Community — Reflections on how the "abundance agenda" might be able to strengthen communities in ways that can help reverse our partisan animosities. - Climate / Environment / Health
A World-Changing Vaccination Campaign, in Photos — For those who don't remember that terror of the polio epidemic and the miraculous vaccine that ended it, a collection of pictures that tells the vaccine's powerful story. - Left / Right Conflict
Independents Are Done—With Everyone — Amid ever deepening hostility between the Republican and Democratic party faithful, more evidence that those in the center are increasingly repulsed by the partisan extremes. - Left / Right Conflict
A boring theory of the populist right — A relatively simple, but we think insightful, effort to understand the motivations driving the many populist revolts that are upending the United States (and so many other democracies). - Class Inequity
The Revolt of the Rich Kids — An essay exploring what happens when society fails to make good on its promise to young people that a good education will lead to a valued place in the social hierarchy. - Social / Economic Complexity
Are Westerners turning back into medieval peasants? — As we struggle to deal with the many downsides associated with transformative new technologies, an exploration of strategies for balancing costs and benefits. - Rule of Law
The Biggest Test for the Supreme Court Yet — A preview of the upcoming (and likely extremely consequential) Supreme Court review of President Trump's claimed tariff powers. - Political Dysfunction
Ungoverning America — From Foreign Affairs, an argument that President Trump is more focused on removing the government's influence on the lives of ever day Americans (rather than changing the nature of that influence). - Peacebuilding
Being ‘anti-war’ is the most dangerous position of all. — A hard question for those who see themselves as part of the peace and nonviolence movements, Are there cases where threats and violence actually minimize violence (and oppression)? - Communication Complexity
They’re Famous. They’re Everywhere. And They’re Fake. — A surprising and disturbing look at existing, AI-driven fictional realities that already have large numbers of people fooled. - US Politics
How Trump Gets His Way — A detailed review of the strategies and tactics used by the President to overcome political opposition and advance his agenda. - Israel / Hamas War
The fantasy of "destroying Hamas" — A thought-provoking argument from an Israeli critic of the Israeli government's efforts to utterly destroy Hamas.
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About the MBI Newsletters
Two or three times a week, Guy and Heidi Burgess, the BI Directors, share some of our thoughts on political hyper-polarization and related topics. We also share essays from our colleagues and other contributors, and every week or so, we devote one newsletter to annotated links to outside readings that we found particularly useful relating to U.S. hyper-polarization, threats to peace (and actual violence) in other countries, and related topics of interest. Each Newsletter is posted on BI, and sent out by email through Substack to subscribers. You can sign up to receive your copy here and find the latest newsletter here or on our BI Newsletter page, which also provides access to all the past newsletters, going back to 2017.
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