I am a moderator in the cross-political-lines discussion, The Many: A Conversation Across Divides. The conversation, hosted by Spaceship Media, has gathered women from across the country who hold a range of political views into a closed Facebook book group for discussion about the issues that matter to them.

One of the things I have been contemplating in my time as moderator is what makes a post a good one, by which I mean what makes it one that garners wide participation across the political spectrum in thoughtful dialogue? What makes a post become one that is deep enough and nuanced enough to induce personal reflection and ward off the temptation to score easy political points?

The purpose of The Many is to create a community where women of all political stripes can engage in civil conversations about politics and other social and cultural issues. I’d be remiss not to clarify what I mean by “conversations about politics,” because the culture of The Many is refreshing, collaborative and constructive — somewhat the opposite of an angry town hall meeting. Sure, it has its moments of deep-seated disagreement when comments come fast and furious and tilt toward anger, but more often than not the community produces good-faith requests for clarification and elaboration. Sometimes there is even a sense of overarching agreement on a specific issue. It is heartening to be able to watch vastly different people respectfully exploring their interest in why “the other” differs from them. This is exactly what the new public-sphere can be constructed from.

I have been interested to discover that some posts generate comments that are more collaborative and civically constructive than others. I’m developing a theory that those who ask about largely undefined or open topics — what I have taken to calling “squishy” topics — garner good response. For example, one excellent thread developed in response to a highly subjective subject. The poster wanted to know about others’ thoughts about what gives the South its “Southern Charm,” and whether that may be changing for the good or the bad. Some comments addressed how people react to the phrase “Southern Charm” and for what reasons they did, often citing family history. Others unpacked baggage and perceptions of the South’s people, places, and aesthetic to support their initial reaction to the phrase.

Here’s the initial question (what I am calling a “squishy” post), and some thoughtful responses:

Another excellent thread was started by a woman who, in her original post, explicitly noted that she has negative reactions when she learns of someone’s Christian faith. She wrote about how she was struggling with this and realized that it was wrong of her to make these assumptions so quickly. So she posted to the group asking conservatives how their faith informs their political views. The post generated appreciation from Christian conservatives who felt invited to participate because of her sincere acknowledgement of her own bias.

When we are willing to put our world view and assumptions under the microscope for the community to trustingly receive and lend feedback, we are able to check our own assumptions, build trust, and learn about a person’s depth before commenting. This helps achieve civility. More than mere civility, though, a firm groundwork is laid for the construction of an evolution in our strained politics. We are truly engaging, with presence of mind and self-reflection, across sharp divides. And, because we operate in a closed Facebook group, those sincere and diverse perceptions live on there, preserved on view for our entire shared community.

Over and over I have seen these subjectivity-inviting “squishy” posts in The Many generate fresh, pioneering threads. I do not believe this to be a coincidence. In the context of American Democracy, the rhetorical line “fake news” has been employed by both the right and the left to defend from attacks and to double-down on the “objectivity” of their methods or soundness of their world view. And this political battle of media institutions vying to provide the factual backdrop for the public’s conversations is not near close to being over. However, what Spaceship Media and the women of The Many have created is a forum where they can be concerned with the subjective, “squishy” backdrop of our shared politics — and in that find common ground. While the hard facts are endlessly presented and revised by media institutions, the “squishy” side of our national public sphere is at a premium, and the enthusiasm for and depth of sharing we’ve witnessed truly evince that. We are reinventing and reinvigorating the public sphere when we sincerely unpack our perceptions about things like “Southern Charm” and “Christian conservatism.” Any given person’s perceptions are important, even if we do not completely agree, because they give rise to the dialogues we must sincerely have.

As for me, I look forward to coming up with new, innovative strategies of moderation to highlight the rich inner lives of our participants, hopefully thereby facilitating the transmission of sincerity across political divides.

Spaceship Media’s The Many is a closed, moderated Facebook group for women across the country and of all political stripes from hard left, hard right and everything in between. The group will run at least until midterm elections in November and is a place to talk civilly and respectfully about a range of political and social issues. Visit our website to learn more about the project and join the conversation by filling out this form.