Orange County group wades through political divide with dialogue and finding common ground
Instead of avoiding potentially divisive political discussions, a group of people in Orange County is embracing the opportunity to speak, listen, and learn – in person – to opinions they may not agree with.
Joe Hari, the founder of "Bridging Dialogues," said he wanted to create a forum for change by bringing conservatives and liberals together to discuss political issues.
"We desperately need to move past the polarization that has divided us so much," Hari said."It doesn't make sense for us not to listen to each other and disagree, really disagree, but realize that underneath it, there's humans there and we're all trying our best."
One participant, Brendan O'Donnell, said initially he joined the discussions to spread his point of view.
"I came in as polarized … and I was like, what's so wrong about being polarized? Because I was ready to fight anything," O'Donnell said.
Linda May saw things differently.
"People have taken advantage of the polarization and are gaining great wealth by keeping us divided," May said.
They're just two of the group members seeing a profound difference from the discussions. So far, Hari has brought nearly 50 people together in the last year.
Some discussion topics have included DEI and foreign policy. Recently, they say that the ongoing immigration enforcement taking place around Southern California has brought about some of their deepest discussions.
"I had a visceral response to this, and I just wanted to throw up being an American," O'Donnell said. "Being able to talk through that opportunity to say, here's what I probably would have said, and how insensitive that was. It really became full circle for the growth that I experienced in the program."
They believe that level of growth can be achieved through in-person discussion, but not always through social media.
"In the social media feed, you're just left with your tribe. ... The algorithms just give you what they think you're following," said Mishal Montgomery, another of the participants. "This has forced us to get out of that. We're looking at each other in the eyes, we're talking, laughing, questioning. It's been really, really healthy."
Bridging Dialogues is partnered with nonprofit organization Groundswell to hold the forums. They find that the participants are much more alike than they think.
"I think the most frequent piece of feedback was, "I couldn't believe how much we had in common,'" said Groundswell CEO Alison Edwards. "We may disagree on how something might be accomplished, but we agree that it should be."
