We can change when we move toward the middle — and try to listen to one another again

I am so tired of all of this. The hyperpartisanship, the finger-pointing and, yes, the pandemic. Again, Kansas City area hospitals are filling up, kids are masked and headed to classrooms reconfigured for social distancing, and there remains heightened tension in our communities related to COVID-19 responses at all levels.

And somehow, we have made these circumstances so political that we are threatening our way of life. For those of us who thought the vaccine would rid our community of this scourge, we were wrong. We never factored in the political reasons that are driving people to remain unvaccinated and unmasked.

I see masks and vaccinations as very clear ways we can all support the health of our community, so why then are we so divided on it? We are privileged to live in a country where access to the vaccine is plentiful and free. To me, it is so sad that we are throwing away more doses than some countries can even get at the same time that Americans are increasingly getting sick from COVID.

As I grapple with this issue, I’ve come to lean on the work of professor Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett, authors of “The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again.” I am the founder of American Public Square at Jewell or APS, a nonprofit organization whose mission is rooted in creating community space for civil, fact-based debate on often highly polarizing issues. Putnam and Romney Garrett will be the featured guests of APS’ annual gala in October.

“The Upswing” reminds me that we have a history of swinging from an individualistic society that ignores the common good to a unified society that maintains concern for the common good while also upholding distinct forms of individual freedom.

To me, our national divide on vaccinations is a clear indication of where we are on the pendulum, and I yearn deeply for an understanding of how to get us back to a collective sense of community — when we can support for each other another regardless of personal beliefs, backgrounds, and political affiliations.

How do we tackle what feels like an insurmountable divide? Little by little.

We start locally — in our own family, with our neighbors, friends of friends, wherever we believe disagreement exists. We abandon our inclination to believe there is no common ground and we work to find it. We challenge ourselves to meaningfully understand different perspectives. We engage with and truly listen to those with whom we are likely to disagree.

This will not eliminate the partisanship, but I truly believe two things will happen.

First, common ground will be established that will create a foundation on which civil discourse, debate and perhaps even compromise can occur.

Second, we will have humanized the “other side” in a way that will fundamentally change the way we see each other going forward. No longer will we be enemies who may not even be able to speak to each other. Instead, we will be a community of well-meaning individuals, with deeply personal beliefs, navigating complex challenges together.

Again, I don’t understand those who are anti-mask and anti-vaccine. Yet this fall, I am committing to seek out individuals with those points of view so that I may listen and ultimately work to better understand their perspective. Will you join me?

Putnam and Romney Garrett remind us that the divides in our communities are not a result of any one event or issue, but rather a result of decades of social decay. Change won’t start with extreme viewpoints. It’ll start when there are enough of us willing to come a little closer to the middle, willing to listen, and willing to change our minds when presented with new information.

Little by little, change can happen. We know that because we’ve been here before.

Allan J. Katz is a former U.S. ambassador to Portugal and founder, CEO and board chair of American Public Square at William Jewell College, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that convenes non-like-minded people to improve the tone and quality of civil discourse and create paths toward actionable common ground.

American Public Square’s annual Evening at the Square event featuring Professor Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett takes place on Oct. 5. Visit americanpublicsquare.org/event/eas2021 for more information.

This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "We can change when we move toward the middle — and try to listen to one another again."