“To Be More United”: Election Program Focuses on Civil Discourse, Common Ground

During special election eve programming at EHS, political experts delivered a preview of what to expect and talked about how the country can move forward constructively, whatever the results.  

“I’m not going to tell anybody what candidate you should support — you can figure that out for yourself,” said keynote speaker Dr. Arthur Brooks, a scholar and best-selling author (“Love Your Enemies,” “The Conservative Heart”). “I’m going to talk about one thing that we all care about, which is the United States of America, the country that we love and the country that we want to be more united.”

Dr. Brooks attributed increasing polarization in the country to a “contempt crisis,” with Americans on both sides of the aisle frequently dismissing those with different ideas as “stupid and evil.” He urged students to respond to opposing viewpoints — whether offered on dorm, at a family reunion, on television, or on social media — with thoughtful gratitude for the chance to exchange ideas.
 
“The competition of ideas is fundamental to a free society,” he said. “You need people who disagree with you to go hammer and tongs with you on policy. When you dismiss their political opinions as stupid and evil, you’re actually weakening the country.” 

In his talk, Dr. Brooks drew on brain research, international diplomacy, the strategies of marriage counselors, and the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who famously said that “love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”

He urged students when confronted with prejudice to respond as King would. “The only thing to soften up prejudice is the power of love,” he said.

Students also heard from Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain ’54. In an interview with the leaders of Episcopal’s campus political organizations, she talked about her husband’s legacy of bipartisan work as well as #ActsofCivility, a campaign she organized with the McCain Institute to bridge political divides.

“It’s always fun to argue,” she said. “But the point of it is to talk about an issue, debate it, and come to some common ground.”

In small-group breakout sessions, students talked with Reggie Love, former aide to President Barack Obama; Brenda J. Thiam, the first Black Republican woman to serve in the Maryland General Assembly; Jim Gray, the Kentucky secretary of transportation; and Preston Cory '11, policy and communications advisor in the Office of Air and Radiation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Love urged students to get involved politically and recognize the power they have to create the change they want. “The country only evolves if we as Amercians decide we want to participate in the process through voting and activism,” he said.

Drawing on the resources of Washington, D.C., as a political, business, and intellectual world capital, we bring experts and leaders to School who can share with students a wide range of perspectives and ideas about the world, their community, and their future. Since 2017, Episcopal has welcomed more than 150 visiting speakers to campus and our classrooms.