10 STEPS TO FINDING COMMON GROUNDTrump has intentionally cleaved...

10 STEPS TO FINDING COMMON GROUND

Trump has intentionally cleaved America into two warring camps:
pro-Trump or anti-Trump. Most Americans aren’t passionate conservatives or
liberals, Republicans or Democrats. But they have become impassioned for or
against Trump.

As a result, people with different political views have stopped
talking with each other. This is a huge problem because democracy depends on
our capacity to deliberate together. 

So what can we do–all of us–to begin talking across the great
divide? Here are 10 suggestions:

1. Don’t avoid political conversations with people who are
likely to disagree with you, even in your own family. To the contrary, seek
them out and have those discussions.

2. Don’t start by talking about Trump. Start instead with
“kitchen table” issues like stagnant wages, shrinking benefits, the escalating
costs of health care, college, pharmaceuticals, housing.

3. Make it personal. Ask them about their own experiences and
stories. Share yours. Try to find common ground.

4. Ask them why they think all this has happened. Listen
carefully and let them know you’ve heard them. 

5. If they start blaming immigrants or African-Americans, or
elites, or Democrats, or even Obama – stay cool. Don’t tune out. Ask them about
why they think these people are responsible. 

6. Gradually turn the conversation into one about power – who has
it, who doesn’t. Ask about their own experiences at work, what’s happened to
their jobs, how others among their families and friends are treated.

7. Ask them about the roles of big corporations and Wall Street.
For example: 

–Why is it that when corporations and Wall Street firms violate the
law, no executive goes to jail? 

–Why did Wall Street get bailed out during the
financial crisis but homeowners caught in the downdraft didn’t get help? 

–Why do big oil, big agriculture, big Pharma, and Wall Street hedge-fund managers get
special subsidies and tax loopholes?

8. Get a discussion going about how the system is organized, for
whom, and how it’s been changing. For example: 

–Why is it that only 4 major
airlines fly today when a few years ago there were 12? Why are there only 4 Internet service providers? 

–How is this increasing concentration of economic power across
the entire economy driving up prices?

–Why are pharmaceutical companies and health insurers able to
charge more and more? 

–Why can corporations and their top executives declare
bankruptcy and have their debts forgiven, when bankruptcy isn’t available to
people laden with student debt or to homeowners who can’t meet their payments? 

–Why are the biggest benefits from the tax cut going to billionaires? 

9. Then get to the core issue: Do they think any of this has to
do with big money in politics? 

–Is the system rigged? And if so, who’s doing the
rigging, and why? 

–How can average people be heard when there’s so much big
money in politics? Should we try to get big money out of politics? 

–And if so,
how do we do it? 

Notice, you’re not using labels. You’re not talking about
Democrats or Republicans, left or right, capitalism or socialism, government or
free market. You’re not even talking about Trump. 

You’re starting with the
everyday experiences of most people–with their wages and living expenses and
experiences on the job– and from there moving to economic and political
power.  

10. Oh, and don’t forget to use humor. Humor is the great
disinfectant. For example, the Supreme Court says corporations are people.
Well, you’ll believe they’re people when Texas executes a corporation.

Remember, the point isn’t
to convince them you’re right and they’re wrong. It’s to get us thinking about
what’s really happening to America. It’s exposing the abuses of power all
around us. 

If we can join together around these fundamental issues, we will all
win