BUILDING BRIDGES: America is more politically polarized than ever, but one teen organization is getting conservatives and liberals to talk to each other.

AuthorGrise, Chrisanne

It was the summer of 2016, and Joseph Touma and Clara Nevins were in the midst of a heated debate about politics. Touma, a 17-year-old Republican from West Virginia, held many differing views from Nevins, a 17-year-old Democrat from California--but the two had still bonded during a summer program at Yale University. So after a few minutes of arguing, they agreed to stop defending their own beliefs so they could each listen to what the other person was saying. Before long, they began to understand each other's point of view, even if they didn't agree with it. It was a moment that would change their lives.

"We looked around and realized that we had peers there from Russia, Syria, the U.S., Mexico--all these different countries whose leaders were at each other's throats," Touma, now 21, says. "And yet we were all able to study together and live harmoniously."

That realization sparked an idea: What if they were to create an organization that encouraged productive political conversation among young people from all walks of life? Within a month, Touma, Nevins, and a handful of other teens had launched a website and were reaching out to students across the country. Bridge the Divide was bom.

Policymakers of the Future

The organization began recruiting young ambassadors who were dedicated to starting constructive discussions around the world. Soon there were more than 100 ambassadors; those teens have since gone on to start Bridge the Divide chapters in schools, write op-eds, attend leadership summits, join in a global pen pal program, and, of course, participate in many political conversations, both in person and online. Small groups of ambassadors sometimes get together on Google Hangouts for hour-long discussions about various political topics, such as the Syrian refugee crisis, criminal justice, or health care. And the group recently helped

launch Mismatch, an online platform that encourages these dialogues in schools.

All of these conversations aren't necessarily meant to change anyone's mind. Rather, the group believes that teens who venture out beyond the echo chambers of their social media feeds to engage with those with other perspectives will be better able to reach compromises and discourage divisive rhetoric later.

"We really want to listen to the other side," says Crystal Foretia, an 18-year-old ambassador from Maryland. "We want to prevent polarization and retreating into our own ideologies."

Although Bridge the Divide now has ambassadors in 30 countries, its members are particularly focused on changing the way American youth interact with each other. Since the 2016 presidential election, the anger between liberals and conservatives seems to have reached unsustainable levels, culminating in the fight over President Trump's recent impeachment and acquittal; one 2018 poll found that more than 8 in 10 Americans feel the country is greatly divided about important issues, and 77 percent say they're dissatisfied with the current...

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