Overlllaped

Overlllaped has a few notable design features that help lend to better conversations.

• Primary sources: Campaigns, interviews, news commentary, and association with other movements or parties can often distract from a candidate's platform. Keeping a candidate's stated platform in focus can help minimize these distractions.
• Total sources: While controversial topics may fairly deserve the majority of attention, I believe people are often villainized if only their controversial stances are highlighted or discussed. By focusing on the totality of a candidate's platform, it is more likely that common ground can be realized. And on the other side of the coin, just as importantly, one may realize that they don't agree with everything a candidate stands for, and will cease to put that politician on an unquestionable pedestal.
• Specific: Disagreements and debates can often arise when two people are discussing different ideas or operating from different assumptions, usually without knowing it. By encouraging both parties to focus on the same specific text, misunderstandings can be minimized.
• Highlights agreement: While disagreements are important to finding your political alignment, knowing where you agree with someone can jumpstart bipartisan action that keeps progress going.
• Emphasizes curiosity: The world is a big place, with many issues. We don't have to understand everything about everything. Nor should we expect someone else to. By highlighting areas of curiosity, we can learn together, and remind ourselves that forming our own beliefs is more fun and functional than following a specific party or political commentator.
• Platform focused: While politicians are important, it is also important to discuss and vote for a platform, not just a politician. This helps ground oneself, and one's conversations with others, on what they believe in, rather than following a politician.

Overlllaped is only a tool, which is not right for every job. It does not compare and contrast between candidates, which is central when deciding who to vote for, nor weight issues that may be most important to you. But, I hope it will improve your conversations about politics, especially with people you disagree with, or think you disagree with more than you actually do.