Be my neighbor

To say America is divided at the current moment is, well, an understatement.

Sure we are dealing with longstanding issues we’ve never been able to agree on: immigration, gun rights, the economy, health care – to name a few. But the last few years brought on some serious juggernauts, like the pandemic and the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial. Oh, and I guess this whole abortion thing is a pretty big deal as well.

All this to say, it’s hard to find common ground these days. A recent poll from Zogby found that 46% of Americans think the country is headed for another civil war (yet we’re unsure if the poll told respondents they wouldn’t be able to go to Buffalo Wild Wings if such a war broke out).

Regardless, it’s welcome news that KSUT Public Radio has partnered with StoryCorps, the national nonprofit dedicated to recording, preserving and sharing the stories of Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs. The two to collaborate on a project called “One Small Step Radio Station Hubs.”

KSUT is one of six public radio stations across the country selected for the project, which will facilitate conversation between people of opposing viewpoints. The goal? To foster connections across America’s political divides.

“In rural America, where we live here, we really rely on each other, more so than urban areas, so we have that connectivity already,” Tami Graham, KSUT executive director, said.  “I think it’s not such a huge leap to think that through the support of a facilitated conversation we can remind ourselves we have a lot more in common here in the Four Corners region. That’s easy to forget, because of all the rhetoric around how different and divided we are.”

KSUT will collect stories over the next six months and plans to debut the broadcast toward the end of the year. Anyone interested in participating can go to KSUT.org and follow a link to sign up.