Our nation aches for a moral vision.

Not a talking point. Not another hero, politician, or billionaire. A vision, the kind that tells us who we are, where we’re going, what we owe each other, and how to build our future. We’ve lost that vision. And we all feel it.

It’s like everyday in our nation is opposite day. Each day we are less safe, free, equal, healthy, and happy. We have become a people that don't trust each other, that talk past each other, and increasingly are violent to each other.

The path out of the daily moral injury that our system inflicts on us is a moral vision we dream together. From here we can forgive ourselves and others. From here we can heal and build together.

The National Assembly meets this moment to summon a moral vision for our next chapter.

The National Assembly

All adults (over the age of 18) can take part in structured, facilitated rounds of conversation about the questions that matter most:
  • What do we value as a people?
  • What would it take for this nation to be a great place to be a parent, a kid, and an elder?
  • What do we owe to future generations?

These aren’t rhetorical questions. They are the inputs to a real non-partisan dialogue process, through a novel consensus-building platform, Synanim.

Participants from across the country (different ages, backgrounds, beliefs, and zip codes) will engage in multiple online rounds of dialogue, with each round building on the last.

At the end of the process, one person will emerge as the storyteller of the Assembly and will fly to Chicago for the final round. This person will carry forward the new narrative — not imposed from above, but surfaced from the voices of the people themselves.

We will claim for ourselves who we are and will be in this next critical chapter in our national story.

Logistics

The National Assembly will take place virtually on Monday, July 6th and Tuesday, July 7th from 5-8pm PT. One representative will be flown to Chicago on July 8th and deliver the moral vision live during the evening of July 9th.

​Register below.

HOW THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WORKS

For a large-scale project like defining “A Moral Vision for the Next 250 Years,” the Synanim platform acts as a digital town hall designed to transform millions of individual perspectives into a single unified manifesto.
​
While typical surveys would just give you a list of "top 10 values," the Synanim system would produce a shared piece of prose that everyone helped write.

Learn more about Synanim's industry-leading consensus building process.

NOT A SURVEY. A NEW KIND OF DEMOCRACY

TRADITIONAL SURVEYS

  • Multiple choice answers
  • Static statistics
  • Top 10 values
  • Fragmented opinions
  • Debate-driven outcomes

THE SYNANIM ASSEMBLY

  • Open-ended human expression
  • Collaborative refinement
  • Living language evolution
  • Consensus-building
  • Shared authorship

THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY FRAMEWORK

The platform manages the consensus-building process across three distinct phases.

01 PHASE

THE CALL TO VISION

(MASS INPUT)

Instead of multiple-choice questions, the platform asks an open-ended prompt:

“In light of our first 250 years, what values must guide the next 250?”
MASSIVE SCALE

Participants from across the country enter their short visions.

ANONYMITY

Ideas are judged anonymously, solely on clarity and resonance, not status or identity.

02 PHASE

THE SYNTHESIS ENGINE

(ITERATIVE SELECTION)

The platform’s unique algorithm begins “tournaments” between these ideas.

Idea A
VS.
Idea B
PEER-TO-PEER SELECTION

Participants compare ideas instead of overwhelming datasets.

EVOLUTION OF TEXT

Stronger ideas are refined and elevated.

03 PHASE

REACHING THE SINGLE VOICE

Through multiple rounds of dialogue, the system narrows the input until a final consensus statement emerges.

TOTAL BUY-IN

Participants actively shape the language, creating shared ownership.

BYPASSING RANCOR

The process strengthens ideas rather than fueling division.

The Final Outcome

For the USA’s 250th anniversary, the result will be a new "Moral Vision for the Next 250 Years", a document that captures the collective values, purpose, conscience, and culture of the nation. Unlike a traditional research paper written by "experts", this would be a living document created by the people, for the people.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WILL PRODUCE

01

A SHARED MORAL STATEMENT

Shaped collaboratively by participants across the country.

02

ONE REPRESENTATIVE VOICE

Elevated through the process based on comprehension, compassion, and communication skills.

03

A LIVE CULMINATING EVENT

In Chicago on July 9, 2026.

04

BRING THE STATEMENT TO LIFE

Once representative delivers the statement live on camera.

05

A PROFESSIONALLY PRODUCED PRESENTATION

Multi-camera live presentation filmed before an audience.

06

THE EMOTIONAL & NARRATIVE SPINE

Of the National Pilgrimage documentary, The Call of a Nation.

Let's love this country back together.

The National Pilgrimage is a non-partisan initiative fiscally sponsored by The Outlands, a 501(c)(3) organization. Led by a volunteer team of artists, community leaders, and documentary filmmakers, the project seeks to generate a new moral vision for the United States of America through reckoning, relationship-building, and collective dreaming.

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