The online effort to bring Kentuckians of all backgrounds and political affiliation closer together begins later this month. The organization Meeting of America chose Kentucky to launch this program. Pearce Godwin is a co-founder of Meeting of America. In an interview with Eastern Standard, he said anyone who believes political leaders on both sides of the aisle are going to, quote, “find a way forward” hasn’t been paying attention.
“So, it is up to us, the people, to come together, to see humanity across differences, and to ultimately take our power back, and chart that path. Fight back against these divisive forces, politicians, social media, cable news, you name it. It’s up to us and we got to do it or the future of the country is extremely bleak,” said Godwin.
Godwin said polling suggests 35% of partisans believe violence can be justified to advance their party’s goals. He said 61% believe the country could be on the verge of another civil war.
Julie Babbage is the Kentucky director for Meeting of America. She said bonding over something in common demonstrates how it could be.
“When you’re checking out of the grocery store and you’ve got a picture of your child in a soccer uniform and the clerk says my kid plays soccer too and they look to be about the same age, nobody asks anybody about a hot button issue, nobody demonizes the other. You have a shared connection in that moment with a person that you may otherwise not talk to,” said Babbage.
Babbage noted Meeting of American is all about being heard and beliefs being welcomed. The first online encounters are scheduled for the last week of October. More can be heard on Eastern Standard Thursday October 13th.
