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01/27/2021 07:39 AMPartisanship and political divides in the United State have, by many measures, never been greater than they are now. In Guilford, state representatives Vinnie Candelora (R-86) and Sean Scanlon (D-98) want to show their constituents that bridging the chasm can begin—and indeed, has to—with simply sitting down and listening to each other.
Next Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m., Candelora and Scanlon are inviting people to join what is being characterized not as a town hall or forum, but simply as a conversation, with both representatives planning to share both their disagreements and common ground in a civil manner.
“People in Guilford are just so fortunate to have had just such a positive example of political civil discourse” from Candelora and Scanlon, said Liza Petra, the executive director of the Guilford Foundation who will moderate the event. “I think from a personal perspective, it’s been really difficult to see the destruction of conversation around issues that has happened over the last several years. It’s important that we each take our own responsibility for that.”
Scanlon said he approached Candelora in the days following the insurrectionist attack on the capitol on Jan. 6, and through the heavy emotions that event has sparked, they looked to find something productive to begin moving forward together.
“I don’t necessarily know what to say to people when they say, ‘How the hell can you stand to be in politics?’” Scanlon said. “The best I can usually come up with is, I am still idealistic that we can do big things together...I think that people are yearning to talk about this, and I think it’s a good thing for us to show people that we’re able to work with each other and talk to each other.”
National personalities, pundits, and influencers have all contributed to the divide, Scanlon said. But both Candelora and Scanlon said they want residents to look to their own towns and neighborhoods to begin building connections and dialogue rather than fuming at perceived enemies on TV.
“The message is we can disagree without being disagreeable,” Scanlon said. “The loudest voices in politics are the extremes of both sides.”
“When you are debating issues, you focus on the issues instead of the personalities,” Candelora said. “And far too often we see at the federal level that politicians are demonizing each other or disparaging each other versus focusing on the different public policy issues we have before us.”
Both multi-term representatives in their respective districts, Scanlon and Candelora cited their own significant working relationship as evidence that bipartisanship can endure against the forces of division. They both cited the passage of Ethan’s Law in 2019, a bi-partisan piece of legislation that addressed one of the country’s most emotionally charged issues in gun control, as an example of how partisan differences don’t have to supersede working for the betterment of your community.
“I think that’s the beauty of politics, that compromise,” Petra said. “Where we can disagree on issues, but do it in a way that is respectful and is in the best interest of our citizenry as a whole.”
The conversation will include plenty of opportunities for people to ask their own questions or bring up their own issues, according to Scanlon, with the hope that people who are discouraged by the current state of political discourse can engage with people who disagree with them and still feel respected.
Scanlon said that while he feels much of the current toxic environment started at the federal level, it has seeped into local politics and conversations, too. But that is also where the solution can begin, he added.
“It’s so easy to say, the problem is in Washington,” Scanlon said. “The remedy...is to show that we can work together. It’s to join a local board or commission in your town. And instead of fighting with a stranger...on your uncle’s Facebook feed, join a board or commission in Guilford, and sit across from a Republican and talk about how we can make the marina better.”
Candelora said he has seen how social media has allowed conversations to degrade, and while very aware of the “fine line” between censoring people’s views and allowing vitriol to dominate a debate, he added it is important to set an example of what a civil disagreement can look like.
“If civility disappears, that’s an ugly alternative,” he said. “That’s not something our country was founded on.”
Candelora added that many politicians at the national level “weaponize” their followers for the sake of power or clout, and that it is incredibly important to emphasize how policy doesn’t divide people as much as they think.
“Far too often the differences are pointed out from day one for political advantage...as opposed to taking an important public policy that we might have differences over, and trying to work toward an agreement,” he said.
Bringing together both those aspects—finding policy to agree on and finding ways to engage civilly even in cases of difficult and emotional differences—are both going to be a big part of the conversation on Feb. 3, according to Petra.
And while it is the legislators who started the conversation, Petra said that it is everyday residents who carry forward these ideas and continue to engage honestly instead of attacking one another, something that should give people hope even when the divide and toxicity seems overwhelming.
“What we can do is change our own behaviors and our own actions,” Petra said. “If we can be successful at the neighborhood level, the town level...I think that can promote change up throughout the nation.
“We have to do it at home,” she added.
To register for Restoring Political Civility–A Bipartisan Conversation, visit www.guilfordfreelibrary.org.