Weeks ahead of the 2024 election, Judy Woodruff and her America at a Crossroads team hosted a town hall, asking Americans what divides and unites them.
In “Crossroads: A Conversation with America,” more than 50 Wisconsin residents from across the political spectrum met for a frank discussion about the challenges we face as a country.
When asked about what’s behind the division in America and Wisconsin, retired U.S. Navy commander and writer Theodore Johnson said, “We have a politics where compromise is a bad word. And so our in our party system, you are forced to put on a hat of a team and hate the other side. And democracies require that we deliberate. And hyper-polarized democracies are incapable of deliberating in a way that’s conducive to a civil society.”
“I think part of it is that we don’t just disagree on policy, that we regard it as a commentary on the person’s character, that I don’t just disagree with you about taxes, if I disagree with you on this, you’re a bad person. You are evil. You’re dangerous. And I’m being told over and over and over again to fear you in, to dislike you,” added Wisconsin native and long-time conservative commentator Charlie Sykes, who was also on the Crossroads panel.
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