Politics is nastier now than at any time in forty years. As University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato recently opined, at least in the 1960s and ’70s the country fractured over monumental issues such as Civil Rights, the Vietnam War and Watergate. Today, the animus is largely personality driven, mostly involving the person of one Donald J. Trump. The politics of personal destruction has always haunted us, but never has it been so virulent. Our opponents aren’t just wrong or misguided, they are vicious and depraved and out to destroy the country.

Here at Bacon’s Rebellion, we reach across the partisan divide. Sure, I have pronounced libertarian-conservative views, but I have always believed that you cannot effectively advance your own argument unless you can replicate the arguments of those who disagree with you. Further, I have always opened up the blog to anyone with different inclinations, and I have fostered a lively exchange of diverse views in the comments accompanying each post. 

I am proudest of how, with the need for only occasional whip cracking, participants are able to maintain a civil dialogue. Rarely does anyone actually change anyone else’s mind, but we earn a grudging respect for one another. At the very least, we learn that those on the other side of an issue are not mindless zombies. They do have reasons to think what they do, and facts to back them up, even if in the end we still think we’re right and they’re wrong.

In the spirit of deepening that civil dialogue, I invite Bacon’s Rebellion readers and participants to a get-together on Saturday, December 2, 11:30 a.m., at the Westin Hotel in Henrico County. I have arranged for a private room for three hours, along with food and libations (lunchable hors d’oeuvres and a bacon-themed cocktail). Conveniently for out-of-town guests, the Westin is located just off Interstate 64 and provides free parking.

The primary purpose of the Big Bacon Fry is for Bacon’s Rebellion regulars — including lurkers — to get to know one another. I am hoping that the experience of participating in the blog will be more fun when you know the people you’re reading or interacting with.

Aside from mixing and chatting, I would like to propose some ideas and solicit feedback on how to build the Bacon’s Rebellion community. Bacon’s Rebellion readers are smart and well informed. I want to engage you more in the blog. I want to explore how we can direct our collective energies in ways that will have greater impact on public policy deliberations in Virginia.

If you plan to attend, please contact me at jabacon@baconsrebellion.com. Due to the cost of providing food and booze, I’ll have to cut off the number at thirty. (Please don’t say you’ll come unless you’re realllly sure you can make it because you’ll be taking up someone else’s slot.) I look forward to seeing you.

— Jim Bacon