I took a short Uber ride from the airport in Boise, Idaho, to my hotel in downtown Boise. The driver, a man named Ted, and I started chatting. When I revealed that I am an elementary school teacher, he mentioned the gutting of the Education Department in Washington.
I lamented the stupidity of embracing stupidity, and Ted said, “I don’t usually talk politics, but I think you and I might think alike.”
Ted was correct.
For the next 15 minutes, we discussed the state of politics in our country, debating the best way to counter an authoritarian, unlawful executive branch and win the mid-term elections.
It was a good conversation, filled with facts and reality.
I liked Ted a lot.
As we pulled up to my hotel and I gathered my things, Ted said, “Don’t forget, brother. This is deep red country. Be careful. Watch what you say.”
Ted was not wrong. Trump overwhelmingly won Idaho, taking 66.9% of the vote to Kamala Harris’ 30.4%. Idaho was Trump’s third strongest state nationwide, only behind West Virginia and neighboring Wyoming.
I understand Ted’s concern, but I also believe that most people—regardless of their political affiliation and underlying belief structure—are good, decent human beings. They may think differently than me, and some of their beliefs may even be abhorrent to me, but that does not preclude us from also having much in common.
This turned out to be true, at least in the 36 hours I spent in Idaho. During that time, I spoke to a large audience of business owners and entrepreneurs (oddly enough, in a comedy club) and chatted with many of them after my speech.
Later, I ate dinner with the executive committee of the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO)—the group that brought me to Boise.
I also enjoyed an excellent slice of pizza at The Pie Hole, ate breakfast with a woman from Bonner’s Ferry who was staying in the hotel, and chatted with two other Uber drivers and a front desk clerk.
Some of these people I spent time with undoubtedly voted for Donald Trump. Some may also approve of the way Trump is surrendering to Putin in Ukraine, gutting our federal government in careless and dangerous ways, threatening the sovereignty of Canada, Greenland, and Panama, and attacking long-term allies in what the conservative Wall Street Journal has called “the stupid trade war in history.”
Still, every person I met was kind, decent, and friendly. We found many things to talk about. I found people excited to work with me. I enjoyed many enlightening, hilarious, and inspiring conversations.
I ate a fantastic slice of pizza.
The only way we will get through this age of political divide is to connect with those who disagree with us. Find common ground. Make our fellow Americans understand that despite the media and the algorithms that seek to divide us for profit, we have more in common than we think. When we listen to one another, seek to avoid the demonization of one another, and attempt to find common ground, opinions can shift, compromise can be found, and unity can be restored.
Statistically speaking, about two-thirds of the people I met in Idaho voted for and supported a President who I see as loathsome, ignorant, cruel, and criminal.
That is a shame, but it does not mean I can’t reach across the aisle, find some common ground, share a meal, and find some joy in the company of one another.
Ted was right that I was in deep, red country this weekend. Perhaps it’s true that politics should not be the default topic of conversation, but I certainly didn’t need to be careful.
Good people are everywhere, even if their politics don’t seem especially good to me.
