In late November of 2012, I had an awakening.
After nearly twenty years on the front lines of America's most contested issues, I couldn't shake the feeling that beneath our political crisis was a deeper one — less about politics than about how we treated the people we disagreed with. And I was part of the problem. Give me a complex issue and I could flatten the opposition, conjure a villain, and channel outrage against them. I was good at it. But even when we won, I sensed we were losing the country.
So when the golden handcuffs came off, I decided to run toward the problem instead of away from it. I dedicated myself to listening — really listening — to people whose worldviews challenged my own, and found that while our disagreements were often real, my assumptions about the people holding them often weren't.
I've now spent fifteen years on what many call a defining challenge of our time: our inability to talk across our deepest differences. What gives me hope is that our only choices aren't to defeat one another or split the difference. The best solutions emerge when we draw the deepest truths from competing worldviews while refusing their excesses. Real leadership isn't mushy moderation — it's bold synthesis.
If you, too, sense that beneath our political crisis lies something deeper, and you're looking for a way to respond with courage, curiosity, and hope — I hope you'll join me.
Our intention is to take seriously the things that others hold dear. If it matters to you, then it will matter to us.
We are not here to convince anyone they are wrong or to try to change them; we are curious why people think the way they do.
Rather than thinking we are diminished by listening carefully to ideas we might disagree with, we trust that we are enhanced by it.
We believe there is more common ground and experience than we anticipate and when there isn’t we can fundamentally disagree with someone and still respect, even love, them.
Simon Greer has founded, led, and worked with organizations that help people cross the deepest divides in American life. These are some of the programs and ventures doing that work.
A framework, developed by Simon Greer, for building the personal capacity — discipline, strength, and steadiness — to stay in difficult conversations rather than retreat from them. Practice here with the Civic Martial Arts virtual assistant [in beta].
Developed with The Nantucket Project, a dialogue curriculum teaching students to engage across deep divides — including an Israel-Palestine program launched at UNC-Chapel Hill.
In partnership with the Hartman Family Foundation, FNL makes early investments in emerging leaders, helping them accelerate their work to solve America's toughest challenges.
Provides a platform for all correctional professionals to have their voices heard, their concerns addressed and their ideas included in criminal justice reform.
Founded with the Hartman Family Foundation in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks, Daybreak funds grassroots, volunteer-led initiatives meeting urgent needs across Israel.
Equips students and educators with the skills to engage across deep divides; housed at Interfaith America.
Articles, podcasts, and videos featuring Simon Greer's work and insights.
A short film capturing a dialogue-based course on the Israel-Palestine conflict, followed by a candid conversation on what worked.
An on-stage Courageous Conversation between Simon and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer — an example of Simon's practice of engaging high-profile figures across the political spectrum in good faith.
A conversation with Kelly Corrigan on faith, meaning, and engaging difference.
Four practical moves for everyday conversations that help people find common ground across difference, drawn from Simon's bridge-building practice.