Angel Eduardo is a writer, musician, visual artist, President of FAIR’s Board of Directors, and a FAIR in the Arts fellow. He is best known for his work creating and promoting the concept of “star-manning,” which he describes as engaging not only with the most charitable version of your opponent’s argument, but also with the most charitable version of your opponent, by acknowledging their good intentions and your shared desires despite your disagreements.
In the social realm, Angel advocates for a compassionate, honest, and civil approach to discourse, even when we’re incentivized to bare our teeth and dig in our heels. Through his work he hopes to foster more productive conversations on the topics of the day, all bolstered by his own six words of advice: Be kind; we’re all first drafts.
“Idealism isn’t naïveté—it’s ambition. It’s a refusal to concede the future to the present, or the present to the past. It’s knowing how you want the world to be, orienting your behavior in that direction, and trying to inspire others to do the same. It’s also an acknowledgment that our fates are intertwined. Whether we ultimately agree or not, whether we try to communicate or not, whether we choose to be compassionate or not, we have to accept that we’re all on the same boat. We will sink or sail together, and we ignore this fact at our own peril.”
FAIR is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing civil rights and liberties for all, and promoting a common culture based on fairness, understanding, and humanity.
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