By Noel Smith
“In this age of political rage, can liberals and conservatives even talk to each other?”
— Spenser Critchley
Sam Farr (from left), Debbie Masloh, Dan Schnur, Kristin Olsen, Zach Friend and Spencer Critchley talk to the assembled crowd.
Friday evening, June 29 2018 at Twin Lakes Church, was billed as bringing together the political left and right — Democrats and Republicans — to talk with each other and with the audience about “Saving Democracy – Where We Go From Here.”
Pastor René Schlaepfer of TLC, as the host started the evening off by sharing that the separation among some of his congregation between the politically left and right had become noticeable. By providing the venue for this event, this could possibly help reduce the divide through discussion.
The six participants included four Democrats: former Congressman Sam Farr; Debbie Masloh adviser to Obama and former Deputy Assistant and U.S. Trade Representative for Public Affairs; Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend, and the organizer of the event, Spencer Critchley of Boots Road Group. UC Berkeley politics professor Dan Schnur was there to represent the “undeclared” political middle while the lone representative of the right was former Vice Chair of the California Republican Party, Kristin Olsen.
Over 300 people attended which included quite a number of community leaders including supervisor Bruce McPherson and Sheriff Jim Hart. There were several high points that came out of the two-hour discussion that resulted in agreement between the sides represented. These included:
Civility between the sides. It was agreed that in order to have a conversation about the issues or even just to get to know each other, learn to listen with an open mind and don’t assume that you can’t come to an agreement, a compromise, or an understanding of the other’s position.
Sam Farr (left) and Dan Schnur listen as Debbie Masloh makes a point.
Learn about US history, government and civics. A point of agreement from the panel was that students in our schools are not learning about the US Constitution, the history about how our country was formed, and how it has changed over time. Many people do not know how a state or local government is formed, how it operates and how it can be used to make changes that affect their lives.
Become informed about the issues. Another important point discussed was about how we form our opinions. If we use only one-sided resources from what we see, hear and read in the news or social media, then it is difficult to form our own opinion or to understand someone else’s position. Also, much of what is seen, heard and read is not fully factual. Becoming informed helps to recognize when the resources are misrepresenting an issue, a candidate, an elected representative, an appointed official or other sources of information.
Become involved in the electoral process. The panel encouraged us to take part in a campaign, listen to a political debate, be informed on the issues, register to vote – then vote, and become knowledgeable about the results. Change can only happen when we become involved.
There were also some controversial points during the evening.
It was obvious during the discussions that negative examples presented were primarily about one side of the political spectrum with ad hominem references given during the evening referencing the present administration. The lone representative of the Right was careful to not get into a debate about the current issues but spoke for the middle ground very well.
It was a worthwhile evening of discussion and perhaps the issues were better defined than if the sides had been more equally represented and current politics had been a larger part of the conversation.
TPG Publishing, Inc. thanks Spenser Critchley and the Boots Road Group (bootsroad.com) for a very interesting evening and our thanks to René Schlaepfer and Twin Lakes Church for hosting the event.