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Conversations On the Green Season 9, Episode 2: “Is Unity the Impossible Dream?”
May 16, 2021

Conversations On the Green Season 9, Episode 2: “Is Unity the Impossible Dream?”

If the winning message of President Joe Biden’s Phoenix-like presidential campaign could be shortened into a single animating phrase, it would be the cliché that “there’s more that unites us than divides us.” And yet our country’s politics remains paralyzed by bitter and bilious partisanship that mutes almost all cooperation across the political divide, creating what amounts to a tribal war that brooks no compromise.

The political chasm runs so deep that it causes incapacitating stasis even when battling the worst pandemic in a century, a national crisis that crosses ideological tribes and that traditionally would unite Americans in common cause.

And yet every Republican in the House and Senate voted no on the president’s covid relief bill even though polls showed that their constituents were saying yes – overwhelmingly. The jarring disconnect is a testament to recent studies that showed most Americans’ voices are rarely heard above the fray from the strident partisan flanks, composed of roughly a third of the electorate. Two thirds believe that the country has more in common than that which divides it. They consider, the polls found, that compromise is necessary in politics, as in other parts of life, and want to see the country come together and solve its problems.

But is it possible? Can President Nixon’s reshuffled ‘silent majority’ be heard?

Common Ground’s second show of the season, “Is Unity the Impossible Dream?” will focus on whether longing for common ground is nothing more than the vestigial dream of a bygone era – or if the country can recapture the unity of spirit and purpose that has written America’s history in overcoming previous crises. The panelists, leading voices from across a broad swath of the political spectrum, will talk about the formidable forces empowering the fringes and why the majority of Americans are relegated to the political sidelines to bemoan their diminishing influence. The discussion, on May 16th beginning at 3PM EDT, is available on any internet-connected device and continues the non-profit’s tradition of producing forums in which the public can question nationally-recognized speakers on the country’s most pressing issues.

The panel is headlined by Frank Luntz, who put art into the art of politics and often is considered the man who has done more than anyone to create the tribalism that currently characterizes the country’s discourse. Luntz earned that reputation during the 30 years he worked as the GOP’s top political pollster and wordsmith, engineering powerful phrases to subtly sway voters’ feelings on key issues.

The second panel member is Margaret Hoover. Hoover is a Republican strategist, author, commentator, and TV host whose professional and personal lives illustrate that unity may be lived as well as sought. She has been called “a fresh and brilliant young voice in the Republican party,” while her marriage with historian and independent commentator John Avlon has been called a “lesson in overcoming the orthodoxies that divide us.” In 2011 she published her book American Individualism: How A New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party.

Eddie S. Glaude Jr., a bestselling author, scholar, intellectual, is the third panel member. The James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University, he is also the Chair of the Center for African American Studies and the Chair of the Department of African American Studies. He appears regularly in the media, particularly as a Time columnist and MSNBC contributor. His most well-known books, Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, and In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, take wider looks at black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States, and the challenges American democracy faces.

The final panel member is David Brooks, an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, who celebrates the power of every individual American to contribute to the healing of democracy’s fractures. A journalist, Yale University professor and best-selling author, his bi-weekly column has in recent years shifted its focus from politics with a conservative bent to culture and social sciences, especially sociology. He has previously worked as a film critic for The Washington Times and as a reporter and op-ed editor for The Wall Street Journal.

Moderated by former NBC correspondent and national talk show host Jane Whitney, this interactive symposium, which begins at 3 p.m. on May 16th and runs 90 minutes, will be live streamed, allowing anyone with an internet-connected device to participate and ask questions. Tickets can be reserved for $25 at www.conversationsonthegreen.com. All proceeds from Conversations on the Green events benefit local organizations including the Susan B. Anthony Project, New Milford Hospital, Greenwoods Counseling & Referrals, and the American Nurses Foundation Coronavirus Response Fund, which provides immediate assistance to those risking their lives during this crisis.

Conversations on the Green brings together nationally-recognized voices together to support its mission of educating and invigorating the American public through discussion of the country’s most provocative issues and ideas. Based in Litchfield, CT, COGs are interactive, Town Hall style forums allowing both the speakers and the audience to share experiences, perspectives and insights in an effort to build an ongoing conversation that strengthens community bonds.

Vimeo (link provided upon registration)
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=6pxmqkwab&oeidk=a07ehu8ep7x4b3087ab

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