The Braver Angels Alliance of Fairfax, Virginia, holds workshops, debates, and public presentations designed to bridge the political divide we are experiencing in our country. Our events help conservatives, liberals, and independents get past stereotypes and have civil conversations about current issues, helping open the way to productive problem-solving, mutual respect and understanding.
Embedded Files
Click here to see notes of our previous meetings and other resources.
We are building greater awareness in our local area and could use your help staffing our info booth at the Arlington County Fair for the second year in a row. It’s a wonderful place to meet and chat with the range of organizations that do good work in the neighborhood. And there are food trucks!
The Fair takes place August 15 -17 (Friday evening through Sunday evening). We plan to staff each 3 - 4 hour shift with up to 3 volunteers. A sign-up poll is available here: BAFX_ArlingtonFair2025_Signups. Contact BA Ambassador Dan Hardy at danhardy64@cox.net or 703-314-4227 if you’d like more information or have any questions. Sign up to support stronger civil discourse in our community, greet others and have a little fun!.
On August 12 at 7 PM, we’ll resume our regular monthly meetings with an interactive conversation on the federal budget and the national debt.
On August 12 at 7 PM, we’ll resume our regular monthly meetings with an interactive conversation on the federal budget and the national debt.
Registration is free but you are welcome to make a donation! Thanks!!
Meeting Objectives:
A high-level appreciation of the relative magnitude of federal budgetary elements and sensitivity to selected policy changes
Develop a sense of dynamics in competing policy proposals and find common ground
About the Debt Fixer Tool:
The Debt Fixer is an interactive tool - created by the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact - which allows us to explore the degree to which the deficit can be reduced by moving different policy levers (roughly 60), and examine how they impact the mid -(2035) and long - (2050) term national debt as it relates to the GDP. The primary goal for this exercise is to reduce the debt to GDP ratio to 100% or below. As described and designed by the CFRB, this interactive tool "lets you make the types of budget choices that lawmakers face and how the decisions affect the national debt in the near and long term."Many of the individual policy choices presented could yield hours of fruitful conversations and counter proposals.
Homework! Homework!
The debt fixer tool is complex and requires thoughtful decision making. For that reason we highly recommend working on the Debt Fixer tool in advance to get a sense of its objectives and organizational structure and coming up with your own proposal before the meeting. For this exercise we have created a special tool for you so that your choices are directly downloaded to a spreadsheet where we can combine responses and discuss the findings at the meeting.
Here’s how it works:
Here’s how it works:
Click on this link to get started.
On the top you will find 8 tabs before the results tab. The 7 tabs after the Introduction tab allows you to make your choices. After finishing each section, click ‘Next’ to go to the next section. If you want to make revisions, you can make them by either clicking the ‘Back’ button below the selections on any given page, or directly on the tab where you want to make changes. DO NOT use the browser "back" button during this exercise; your input will be lost if you do.
Once you have completed your choices, go to the ‘Results’ tab where you will see a summary of your choices. (You can click on the Print button to save a copy for yourself).
Important Request: At the bottom you will see an area with input fields for your eMail, Zip Code, Gender, and Party Affiliation. You can fill out all (or part) of the information requested (or none at all) - selecting Party Affiliation will help us analyze the results better — but it’s totally up to you! Click the SUBMIT button and you’re done!!
If you have any questions about how to navigate through the tool, please email us at: fairfax-va@braverangels.org
The assessment of budget/deficit impacts are made by CRFB, some easier to understand than others. The information icons might send you happily down a research path, but we won’t have time to discuss all the data and context in each description when we’re together.
At the Meeting:
We will present a summary of your proposals to the participating members and have breakout groups to develop compromise positions. Following that, we will share the proposals from the breakout groups.
Two Requests:
Your homework is voluntary (and please feel free to work on it even if you don’t/can’t attend the meeting). The more proposals we have, the more time we will have for discussion and audience participation. We also plan to publish the outcome of this exercise after the meeting.
Please keep an open mind, especially when dealing with competing or counter proposals.
🗓 Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2025
🕑 Time: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
📍 Location: 1437 Balls Hill Rd, McLean, VA 22101
Our goal is to introduce citizens to the Braver Angels process of depolarization and civil discourse through:
Attendance at Free Workshops
Current Event Discussions
Book Talks
Debates
Civic Discourse Events
Speaking Engagements
One-on-one Conversations
Alliance Meetings
and more…
Local Alliance Chapters in the DMV (DC, MD, NoVA) Area
Local Alliance Chapters in the DMV (DC, MD, NoVA) Area
Braver Angels Alliances are grass-roots groups with balanced membership of conservative, liberal, and those citizens in-between host local meetings and events in a safe and organized setting.
Meetings and events are free and require no commitments. Just bring your willingness to listen, learn, and participate with civility, without judgment.
There are currently Alliance groups that meet regularly in Fairfax, VA, and DC. Reach out through the Contact Us page to help you get started with an Alliance, or and event in you DMV area!
Learn About Braver Angels Programs and Events Nationally & Internationally
Learn About Braver Angels Programs and Events Nationally & Internationally
Since 2016, Braver Angels has been growing a large body of resources and hosting a variety of events nationwide. It is also adding offerings for communities of Americans outside our national borders.
Learn More at BraverAngels.org
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If you are heartsick about the political hatred and rancor tearing our country apart
If you believe that your opponents should not be your enemies
If you believe that America’s best days can lie ahead
Learn With Braver Angels and Join the Movement!
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