Depolarizing America, the local way
More than three weeks into the federal government shutdown, Democratic and Republican leaders still refuse to talk to each other about how to end it. That impasse is reflected in a recent poll that found 2 out of 3 Americans do not trust the U.S. political system to solve the country鈥檚 divisions.
Despite that popular view, many people are still finding ways to work together, exercising local agency to address pressing community issues. One example is the case of Three Rivers, Michigan, where Monitor staff writer Scott Baldauf found that shared concerns over contaminated water are helping dissolve partisan distrust. Similar 鈥渒itchen-table pragmatism,鈥� as one source described it, is evident through much of small-town and rural America. Now, several mainstream philanthropies are supporting such efforts with the hope of creating new civic models.
Formed last year, the Trust for Civic Life charity has already awarded $17 million to 150 programs in rural communities and recently announced more grants. 鈥淲e have to be in the communities that are polarizing ... to support them to understand what鈥檚 happening and how they can be successful,鈥� Executive Director Charlie Brown told the site Inside Philanthropy.
At the state level, others are working to bridge urban and rural divides, which mirror the growing partisan gap, even though most Americans share similar priorities on the economy, education, and health care. Even the environment is a mutual concern, but rural residents and farmers believe their economic concerns are disregarded by activists.
Each year, Kentucky鈥檚 Rural-Urban Exchange brings together about 60 residents to cultivate common ground. Such 鈥渟ocial infrastructure creates infrastructure for anything to happen,鈥� co-founder Savannah Barrett told The New York Times. 鈥淏ut conversation can鈥檛 be about conversion,鈥� she cautioned.
For the American Exchange Project, it鈥檚 about preventing polarization before it becomes entrenched, by arranging youth 鈥渆xchange visits鈥� across the United States. The project鈥檚 co-founder, David McCullough III, calls this 鈥渆xperiential civics.鈥�
Most high schoolers have 鈥渘ot run into people who are different enough from them,鈥� Mr. McCullough wrote this week on the website The 74. As a result, the 鈥渕uscles that help them navigate nuance ... and connect with people who might disagree with them are unexercised.鈥� Since 2019, some 1,500 students have joined in more than 200 exchanges 鈥� venturing from Silicon Valley to Kansas to the East Coast.
Ultimately, joint action in local settings helps build 鈥渇eelings of agency, social trust, and belonging,鈥� a study by the Trust for Civic Life confirmed. Working on shared priorities 鈥� rather than talking politics 鈥� is 鈥渢he best reference point. Community opens the door, but politics can close it.鈥�
