In the same year as a heated national election is dividing many Americans, a radio project based in eastern Maine is trying to unite them despite their varied backgrounds and political beliefs.
For the second year and with the help of a grant, the Orland-based community radio station WERU has partnered with the national organization StoryCorps to connect pairs of strangers and document their conversations for a project called One Small Step.
But while the strangers have varying beliefs or backgrounds, the catch is that they must speak about topics outside of politics, allowing them to meet each other as people rather than adversaries.
“These conversations are not about persuading anyone or changing their minds about issues or elections. They are about getting to know each other as humans, through stories,” said Michele Christle, a Waldo County writer who is helping to coordinate the project.
But while the conversations stay civil, they do touch on issues that could be considered political.
For example, when 30-year-old Kaitlyn McMurtry was paired with 63-year-old Richard Kirkpatrick during last year’s sessions, they discussed traumatic experiences they’d had, their thoughts about religion and government, how they make decisions and whether there is hope for the future.
“Safe spaces can seem few and far between these days, and I think coming into a scenario knowing you want to be level-headed and not wanting to get up in arms about any of your differences is always something I would want to be involved in,” McMurtry said during the portion of their conversation that was played on WERU.
When 59-year-old Thia Embers and 39-year-old Alexander Koch were paired up, they bonded over the fact that they each felt “marooned” from the typical political affiliations.
Koch started by talking about his experience losing his father. By the end, they noted that they hadn’t talked about anything they didn’t have in common. They both wore T-shirts from the Common Ground Country Fair, and with laughter, they added they might not see eye-to-eye on certain farming practices.
Before candidates for One Small Step are paired with a conversation partner, they submit a questionnaire about themselves and their views.
During both years, the organizers have a harder time finding participants with more conservative beliefs. This year, they have also been more selective, since their grant funding only allows them to complete eight interviews, rather than the 25 they arranged last year.
Once selected, participants meet with the stranger for 50 minutes.
“We know that, since we have matched people, there are differences and there are commonalities, and we hope that they come about. They do seem to work and people do seem to connect and find a lot of resonance in the 50-minute conversations,” said another coordinator, Chris Battaglia.
Reflecting on the larger division in the U.S. right now, Christle added, “The program is obviously called One Small Step for a reason. These conversations don’t fix everything. They’re just one small step, hopefully in the right direction.”
