Empathy is the emotional anchor.

Empathy keeps you grounded in the reality that this person is not your enemy — even if it feels like you’re on opposite sides. It’s often anxiety, a sense of victimhood, or manipulation that shape people — forces that can touch any of us. Empathy allows us to stay present, even when the conversations get challenging or emotional.

Empathy can be contagious. Your calm, your openness, your refusal to meet anger with anger — that alone can be disarming. Sometimes, the most eye-opening moment isn’t a fact or argument but simply realizing that someone still cares, even after everything.

Reminders for Practicing Empathy:

• You’re not trying to win — you’re trying to understand.
• No one listens while they’re being judged.
• The real fight isn’t with them — it’s with the forces that shaped what they believe.
• Look for the human behind the beliefs — compassion helps you stay with them.
• Empathy doesn’t excuse harmful beliefs — it helps you tolerate difficult conversations.
• Stay patient — growth is often slow, silent, and invisible at first.

Empathy builds trust, opens hearts, and creates the space where change begins.

Authenticity is the grounding force.

Authenticity is about creating a deeper connection by expressing yourself in a way that is genuine and transparent.
It keeps your voice real, your tone honest, and your presence human. When you speak from your heart, you create credibility and invite trust — the cornerstone for these conversations. You don’t need to have all the answers — just be steady, real, and rooted in your values.

Reminders for Maintaining Authenticity:

• Speak from your truth — honesty builds trust, not certainty.
• You don’t need all the answers — humility helps you listen without needing control.
• Avoid performance — authenticity lands deeper than polished messaging.
• Share yourself, not just your position — vulnerability makes space for theirs.
• Authenticity invites authenticity — your openness can help others drop their defenses.

Authenticity builds trust, invites openness, and models the kind of society we hope to build.

Fellowship is how we connect and hold the line.

Fellowship is about refusing to give up on each other, even when it’s hard. It’s the choice to stay connected, to walk together, and to remember that our relationships are more powerful than misguided allegiances.

Fellowship is an environment you create — grounded in common purpose and the recognition that we face the same forces working against us. Use it to reframe these conversations from winning an argument to partners in uncovering what’s real.

These are the elements you can cultivate to create that environment and give fellowship its strength:

• Solidarity — Standing with, not above, them.
  
• A Journey — Walking together to uncover what’s real — not imposing, but exploring.
  
• Unity — Reconnecting around what we both still care about — and remembering we have more in common than we’ve been led to believe.
  
• An Alliance — Remembering we have the same enemies.
  
• Partnership — Working together to repair the damage that division, fear, and propaganda have done to us and our world.
  
• Continuity – Keep showing up and nudging them along- the voices of division are everywhere.
• Purpose — Grounds us in a reason to keep showing up — not just for each other, but for something larger than ourselves.
  

Fellowship helps us hold the line — together — when everything around us is trying to pull us apart.