Foundational Meeting Highlights
Spurred on by the vitriol and division of the 2016 election, conservative pollster Frank Luntz, social activist Andrew Shue, and TV producer Patty Wolfe set out to see if the American people had irreconcilable differences. Meetings were held in nine states across the country with over 200 citizens from all backgrounds and political beliefs coming together. Questions were put to conservatives and liberals alike: Can we fix our broken political system? Do you take responsibility for our future? Can you stop blaming others and work together with people from the other side to fix our broken politics?
The following videos provide a glimpse into their thoughts about national issues and what political change they may want to work on.
THE GREAT DIVIDE
“There’s a disconnect. If we did more listening and honestly tried to figure out the problem and the solution all in one on instead of just focusing on the problem then we can get a lot further.”
“Different values from across the county & there no longer a common bond of being American”
“One is talking and the other interrupts, no one listens anymore”
“The other side is no longer just wrong they are evil and devils, both sides does this”
THE WORST OF THE WORST
“you don’t care about facts”
“Gross assumptions”
“This country is falling apart”
“Animalistic behavior, Juvenile behaviors”
“A lack of respect is why we have a problem”
WORKING TOGETHER
“Politicians need to find things we can agree on”
“Everybody thinks they’re right but people need to listen to others opinions”
“Admit we’re wrong”
“Look for what unites us & come to a consensus as we the people”
“Missing respect, civility, debate without getting personal”
“Think about what’s best for our country first"
RACE
“I have the fear of walking down the street or getting pulled over, I don’t know what will happen to me. I do not have the freedom to truly exist”
“I stood wearing the uniform of our country and the restaurant wouldn’t serve me”
EDUCATION
“We do not pay our teachers a living wage & what they deserve as the educators of the next generation”
“educational books lie about history, it’s biased”
“Biggest hurdle is the teachers union”
“The worst ones are the charter schools. The owner was driving a Mercedes and the students were using 10 year old computers, broken down buses, broken fire alarms, The system allowed this”
“when you pull money the students leave & it goes downhill from there”
JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
“Kids today never had to struggle, they take things for granted because they were never exposed to the bad things”
“The reason the unemployment rate is low because there’s an Influx in lower paying jobs and a decrease in middle paying jobs or people give up because the wages aren’t enough”
“people don’t want to work hard for money”
“Anyone can succeed if you work hard”
SOCIAL MEDIA
“You can just click unfollow instead of getting into a discussion”
“Political discourse is always just an argument”
“”The barrier makes incivility just too easy”
“Better off not to discuss politics or religion”
TRUMP
“Incompetent, Outstanding, Business man, Unqualified, self serving”
“No human can withstand that much hate unless they’re sent by god”
“He doesn’t understand he needs to work for all of us, not just himself”
THE MEDIA
“A market force trying to make money”
“Anytime you only get news from one source you’re not getting facts, you're getting information”
“even when there’s truth there’s always bias with news”