Even after we know who the next U.S. president is, the work of AllSides and other bridge-building organizations will be far from over.
From Kristen Hansen, Civic Health Project: "This week, let’s prepare to celebrate like Dodgers fans or mourn like Yankees fans. Then, as quickly as we can, let’s find in ourselves and each other the grace, respect, humility, curiosity, and hope to engage together in our ongoing work of civic repair and renewal."
From Adam Calder, BridgeUSA: "Instead, let’s set the standard for what our democracy looks like—an environment where every voice can be heard without fear and where disagreements can strengthen rather than divide us. If we start in our communities, in our conversations, and in ourselves, we can build a nation where, regardless of who wins, we all leave with our dignity and unity intact and our windows unbroken. Here’s something that some analysts and prognosticators may have missed in their editorializing: We live in a great country with good people. And these good people want to get along with each other. After this election, let’s help each other to do that."
From John Gable, co-founder of AllSides: "Regardless of who wins, there will still be fundamental problems politicians can’t fix. Bias and misinformation will still flood social networks and news media, pitting us against each other. Toxic business models, blind partisanship, filter bubbles and bad actors (domestic and international) will continue to sow social division and threaten the fabric of our democratic republic. Our communities will continue to be divided, our kids will continue to feel depression and loneliness at greater levels than we have ever seen, and problems will go unsolved because we are too polarized to work across differences for our mutual benefit. Regardless of who wins, we have work to do together."
Political Violence Doesn’t Have To Be Inevitable After This Election
As all of my friends know, I’m a political junkie. Each day, I wake up excited—not because I’m naturally an upbeat person, but because I know there’s a new episode of The Daily from The New York Times waiting for me to listen to. I recently put on a new episode and was not happy to hear the hosts describing the inevitability of “outbreaks of political violence” if Donald Trump loses on November 5th. I understand how some people have arrived at this conclusion. But I also don’t accept that conclusion, and the rest of us shouldn’t either.
The Election Will Not Solve Our Problems
Elections have consequences — and unfortunately, this one will not solve all our problems.
Regardless of who wins, there will still be fundamental problems politicians can’t fix. Bias and misinformation will still flood social networks and news media, pitting us against each other. Toxic business models, blind partisanship, filter bubbles and bad actors (domestic and international) will continue to sow social division and threaten the fabric of our democratic republic.
As America’s Political “World Series” Wraps Up, Let’s Focus on the Long Game
How about that World Series? Following the recent epic clash of two storied franchises, Dodgers fans are still celebrating, while Yankees fans are misty-eyed about what might have been. As for me, I’m a diehard Giants fan, and I’m already excited about next season … looking at you, Buster Posey!
The beauty of baseball, America’s pastime, is that there’s always next season.