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A recent drive to the Twin Cities from my southeastern Minnesota farm offered frequent reminders of a persistent and concerning political divide: that between rural and urban areas.

Northbound drivers on Hwy. 52 pass multiple signs and flags for former President Donald Trump. As traffic picks up and houses cluster more tightly, signs start to sprout for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, multiplying quickly in the St. Paul neighborhood where I was headed.

With Labor Day now past and Election Day just two months away, candidates will shift into overdrive. While hard-fought campaigns are essential to democracy, for millions of us picking a political team comes with a serious potential side effect: deepened divisions between family, friends and communities. That's especially true with social media allowing us to share our views with (or inflict them on) so many people.

The problem is easy to lament. The more difficult challenge is what to do about it, particularly on an individual level. Fortunately, a nonprofit with Minnesota roots is on the case nationally and within the state. Its efforts offer a pragmatic path forward for those weary of coarse political discourse and wary of damaging relationships as Nov. 5 looms.

The organization is called Braver Angels. It offers workshops, debates, film and book discussions, e-courses, and local alliances (or chapters), all with the aim of finding common ground this election season and beyond. There's no cost for the public to participate.

The group, which got its start as "Better Angels" after the 2016 election and has undergone a name change, has also launched a worthy "Reduce the Rancor" campaign in Minnesota this year. Among those commendably lending their support to that latter initiative are David Hann and Ken Martin, the respective chairs of the state's Republican and DFL parties.

Leaders at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University are also partnering with the campaign. The Catholic institutions are leveraging its framework to foster better dialogue for students, staff, faculty and even trustees as part of their "Disagreeing Better" initiative.

Braver Angels' co-founder is Bill Doherty, an emeritus University of Minnesota professor of family social science. As you might expect from his background, the organization's work draws on the best evidence to foster healthy communications and relationships. An academic career that also included research on couples on the brink of divorce is helpful, too.

In an interview, Doherty said that those worried about deepening division have valid reasons to be alarmed. The political science is clear. "We have higher levels of affective polarization than we have had since the Civil War. It's not just about issues. It's about how we feel each other. Politics has become a big part of our identity: Are you red or blue?" he said.

With that has unfortunately too often come an active dislike for those in the opposite group. That has consequences for friendships, family relations and the nation's future. Bridging this is critical for the future. "Neither side is going to vanquish the other, so we better figure out how to get along and run the country together," Doherty said.

The workshops and the Reduce the Rancor campaign cover a lot of ground but provide a particularly valuable reminder to distinguish between viewpoints and the person holding them. It's OK to disagree, but "you can believe that a viewpoint is completely wrong without believing that the person who holds it is stupid or ill-motivated," Doherty said.

Yes, that sounds like common sense. But as rhetoric escalates and voters want to see their team win, a refresher course on others' humanity is a public service. Minnesota's embrace of Braver Angels' work is also commendable. The state has six alliances (or chapters) in both the metro and rural locations. There are 108 alliances nationally, Doherty said, and the organization is adding about two per month.

Braver Angels is admirably making its resources available online for those who don't have time to attend a workshop or live in a rural area, where attending might require a long drive. Five "e-learning" courses can be attended virtually and for free, covering topics from "Managing Difficult Conversations" to "Skills for Social Media." (For more information, go to tinyurl.com/BraverAngelsCourses.)

I chose an e-course called "Depolarizing Within," which helps attendees become more aware of their own "inner polarizer" and find ways to counteract those impulses. It's a short session, one I got through in under an hour, but one that nevertheless provides practical skills to keep conversations productive.

I can easily see how I'll put what I learned into use. The experience also helped me better appreciate the conversation I had with Hann, who wasn't shy about letting me know during an interview that the media shares the blame for rancorous discourse and must be part of the solution as well. That's a fair point and further motivation to take the remaining four e-courses and encourage colleagues to do the same. I hope Hann and Martin will recommend Braver Angels workshops or e-courses to their colleagues and candidates as well.

Braver Angels is doing remarkable work at a critical time. The e-courses are particularly praiseworthy because they ease access to this important learning experience, something that could be a game-changer. The classes are also short enough to squeeze into a lunch hour or an evening after work.

For all those looking to do something about toxic political discourse, here's your chance to act.