IVN Proves Political Civility Can Exist On Facebook

image
Shawn M GriffithsShawn M Griffiths
Published: 18 Dec, 2017
1 min read

IVN published an article recently about how partisanship has reached such an extreme in American society that it is dividing families, friends, and becoming a deal breaker for potential marriage partners.

So we set out to prove that despite the perception that people are only ugly to each other online and stuck in their own political bubbles, independent thought and civility can exist on social media.

At IVN, we believe that being independent-minded, most simply, is a mindset. It is a willingness to be open to persuasion, and recognize that there can be merit to conflicting opinions.

We asked our audience to talk about issues and topics in 2017 that they changed their minds on... whether it be about the election process, taxes, health care, the media, etc.

We found that in the last 7 years, IVN has accomplished what many viewed as the impossible. We have built a strong community of independent-minded authors and readers on the foundation of openness, civility, and a simple 4-point etiquette.

Read some of the responses below:

Check out more of the responses here, and keep the conversation going. What is something YOU have changed your mind about?

You Might Also Like

Colorado mail ballot
“Gold-Standard” or “Rigged”? How Secure Colorado’s Mail-In Elections Really Are
The White House touted a big announcement Tuesday, only for it to be reported early that President Donald Trump plans to re-locate U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama – which is not as big of deal as the reason for the decision....
03 Sep, 2025
-
6 min read
two hands shaking.
California Doubles Down on Rehabilitation
On a hot August morning, state and local leaders gathered in Fresno to cut the ribbon on California’s newest community reentry facility. The site, run in partnership with TURN Behavioral Health Services, is designed to help people finishing prison sentences adjust to life on the outside. For Jorge Moreno of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), it’s about giving people a chance to breathe. “(It’s) like a phase down from the institutions,” he said. “(They) can decompress from the pressures and politics of prison and start acclimating back into the community.”...
03 Sep, 2025
-
5 min read
Independent Indiana Challenges the Two-Party Stranglehold on State Politics
Independent Indiana Challenges the Two-Party Stranglehold on State Politics
A new nonpartisan group launched this week in Indiana with a single goal in mind: Take on Indiana’s entrenched two-party system by encouraging more candidates to give voters a third option free of a party label -- and calling Hoosiers to support these candidates. ...
04 Sep, 2025
-
4 min read