Do Americans actually want to come together?
Our next event and a lil personal story
Howdy!
Okay, I got real excited about writing this one, so it got a bit long (and personal).
Here’s the TL;DR:
Democracy Notes is hosting the launch event for More In Common’s new report!
The report is: “The Connection Opportunity: Insights for Bringing Americans Together Across Difference.”
Our event, with the Walmart Foundation and the Houston Food Bank, is next Thursday at 3pm ET. Register here!
Okay, so…
…here’s why I’m so excited about this.
Back when I was in college in 2017, (I know I look 8 years old but I’m actually…15) I started an organization to bring liberal and conservative college students together for conversation across difference.
We got a lot of buzz, and we certainly hoped that we were helping, but it turns out that we got a LOT wrong in our approach.
What did we get wrong? Well, More In Common’s new report lays it all out.
Americans do want to connect across difference—especially when working toward a shared goal.
But they’re least interested in ~talking~ about intergroup tensions, especially political ones.
They’d rather work to achieve a shared goal (or just be friends!) with people across lines of race, religion, or socioeconomic status.
While it felt good to host splashy events on campus bringing people together to talk about their political differences, I long suspected that it wasn’t the best approach.
If you’re curious to dive into the right approach(es) to fostering connection and belonging (including the amazing work the Houston Food Bank is doing), register for our event!
We hope to see you next Thursday!
Gabe