So, Why Are We Doing This?
The "LOST DOG" That Started It All.
Pedigree Dog Food did something brilliant, and quite profound during the lead up to the Election of 2016. They developed the "Lost Dog" commercial. The theme was that a lady found a "lost dog" and was looking for the owner. What was interesting that she was wearing a Trump t-shirt at a Hillary event. Without hesitation, Hillary supporters were willing to help. And, made comments like "I didn't know that I had anything in common with a Trump supporter", or "We all love our dogs. And, they love us". The scenario was then reversed with the young lady sporting a Hillary t-shirt at at Trump event -- with similar results.
Viewing this commercial created that "break through" moment when we realized that we would could identify and easily illustrate our similarities, and deliver them to a large audience in a meaningful way.
Unfortunately, Political Divisiveness Pays Dividends. And, the Closer We Get to Election Day, the Meaner and Nastier Messages Will Become.
Both parties are frantically working at getting THEIR people elected. With both "sides" having their election strategies fully implemented by skilled technicians there is little chance for honest, open, meaningful conversation. This leaves a close to zero prospect of discussing common values, shared goals, and mutual objectives.
If We Could Only Remove Biases for a Moment ...
If you saw the movie "Men in Black", you might recall the Neuralizer, or as Will Smith's character called it: "the Memory Messer-Upper Thing". It erased short term memory, or more specifically, things that just happened that you weren't suppose to see.
IF we could start over from scratch, untethered to any existing biases, we just might be able to develop a new level of respect, understanding, communication, and cooperation, that would improve our lives immeasurably.