Political strategists from both major parties told a group of Syracuse University students that the country’s political division can be overcome. Democratic political strategist Meghan Hays and Republican strategist Lance Trover were part of Tuesday night's "Life Together: A Community Conversation for Election Season and Beyond” at SU's Goldstein Auditorium.
The election is less than two weeks away. And democrat Hays believes much of the stark discord among people happens because of a lack of respect for other points of view.
“When you talk to your family members or friends or colleagues, you’re not coming from a place of, “I don’t necessarily agree with you but I respect you enough to listen to your opinion.” I think that lack of respect of coming at people, (not) giving them the benefit of the doubt is what’s causing more of a divide,” said Hays.
Organizers of the on-campus event asked students and staff to grapple with other points of view. They were asked to think – and talk – about political division and economic issues that might affect them. The roundtable discussions focused on advancing social and political cooperation, instead of divisive arguments.
Republican Trover says his work in Congress has shown there’s more agreement on issues than is often in the public debate.
“There is a lot more that people agree on than they disagree on,” said Trover. “The problem is that we have political primaries that seem to (result) where the most conservative and the most liberal tend to win. … But I do believe that there is a middle ground that can be had out there. It’s just going to take time, but it also takes conversation and doing things like we’re doing here tonight.”
He cites transportation as a bill that was approved by both sides of the aisle. Even conservatives who didn't agree with everything in the measure, recognized the nation's need to have smooth transportation and backed it. Hays notes lowering the cost of living is another issue on which both sides agree, just not the strategies to address it.
Trover believes even in the presidential election, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump agree on some things; they just don’t get attention.
Trover and Hays shared some of their career histories, including the number of friends and colleagues each has in the other party, during a panel discussion hosted by Margaret Talev, Director of the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship.
The event was part of a series S-U is hosting, “Life Together: Seeking the Common Good in a Diverse Democracy” to promote respectful conversations on important issues facing society.
