The RedBlue Project

RedBlue is an Internet-based series of activities that offer Americans a compelling alternative to today’s divisive on-line political discourse – a way to engage directly with someone on “the other side” of our divided political landscape, in order to explore our differences and find out what we have in common. The goal is to help us to better understand each other and have fun doing it, while creating a space for compromise by acknowledging each other’s viewpoints and defining our shared goals.

The first phase of the project, to develop a proof-of-concept prototype, is underway and is expected to be completed by the Fall of 2006. We will be recruiting testers who will be matched with cross-spectrum counterparts, and who will then use the system to conduct a dialogue. Their feedback will help us refine the system. If you're interested in participating, go to www.red-blue.us and enter your email address.

Surveys consistently reveal that most Americans reject hard-line categories and hold nuanced, “purple” perspectives on many issues. While the RedBlue project begins with the familiar labels that have so often pigeonholed Americans into uncomfortable stereotypes – “red” vs. “blue,” “conservative” vs. “liberal” – participants will be able to identify themselves on a continuous red-purple-blue spectrum, and to connect with counterparts whose contrasting views are as nuanced as their own, re-introducing a middle ground of public discourse, where there is room for reasonable people to disagree.

RedBlue will be carried out in cooperation with the Public Conversations Project and Internet design specialists at our affiliate, 2wayTV Partners. RedBlueUS will be a website where every American can view images and read statements posted by others, and can add their own images and statements about themselves, their families and their values. An interactive game lets players interact with a counterpart from the “other side” in a competition, in which they can only win by compromising. Site visitors can answer poll questions and compare their opinions to other Americans, and they can choose to be matched with people similar to themselves, whether “red,” “blue,” or “purple,” to engage in guided dialogs and interactive games that help them to better understand each other and find ways to cooperate.

Summary of Project Objectives: To help participants:

• Connect, at your own pace, with others who have divergent    policy views. • Develop awareness of the commonalities between ourselves    and those on the other side. • Learn that people on the other side are as multi-dimensional    as those on our side. • Gain a sense of accomplishment by understanding others,    while learning about yourself. • Work together to find solutions to the challenges we all share.