Share Our America, a new initiative of 92NY’s Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact, is combating polarization in America by creating community bonds in unexpected places. We sat down with Belfer Center Senior Vice President Rebekah Shrestha and Senior Director Shelley Hoy to talk about what they learned from the initiative’s first program — a trip to rural Chadron, Nebraska.
Share Our America began as a simple, but ambitious idea: to addresses the alarming political and cultural polarization in the US by bringing diverse communities together to share their perspectives. The inaugural program did just that — in collaboration with the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, a group of participants from the 92NY community travelled to the rural town of Chadron to connect, listen, and learn from one another. The experience there was galvanizing, and the Belfer Center is using the lessons from this trip to expand the program across the country.
“Going into this trip to Chadron, we knew in theory what Share Our America was, and why we were doing it. We wanted to bring two groups of people together to address polarization and political division,” says Belfer Center Senior Director Shelley Hoy. “But what happened there was unexpected, humbling, and amazing. And the experience proved to us that Share Our America can have real impact.”
“We saw that in an environment like this that promotes listening, you can understand where people are coming from,” says Belfer Center Senior Vice President Rebekah Shrestha. “It’s not about convincing someone to see things your way or even finding common ground. It’s about understanding the life experiences and values that create another person’s worldview.”
For four days, Share Our America participants from cities and suburbs across the US gathered with their Chadron hosts for facilitated conversations, shared meals, and religious celebrations — a celebration of Shabbat and an Episcopal church service — plus a tour of a local ranch to ground the travelers in a concrete sense of place. When the experience was over, 100% of participants reported better understanding the feelings and beliefs of people whose opinions and backgrounds differ from their own; 91% reported feeling more understood by those same people; 82% reported having greater respect for people who are different from them; and 100% said they planned to keep in touch with people they had met on the trip.
“The thing that struck me — I felt God’s love shining through every one of you," said one participant from Chadron. "Instead of so much hate that seems to be in the world, I just felt that we loved each other. I think it was a great experience, and I really don’t share much of my thoughts, if any, I guess. I enjoyed it. It brought me out of my shell to some degree and I really would like it to continue.”
“Just listening was incredibly valuable,” said another participant from New York. “Hearing from the fellow participants and reflecting on my own life, ideas, and values. Sitting face to face, eye to eye, with a host whose ideas regarding abortion were the antithesis of mine; hearing her deep conviction.”
“We were blown away by the impact that it had," says Hoy. “You know when something is clicking, and there was magic in Chadron. People were sharing things they had never shared with one another, being incredibly vulnerable. Going into this, we thought the folks who traveled to Chadron would be mostly Jewish and liberal, and the folks from Nebraska would be Episcopalian and conservative. But, of course, everyone who participated brought a whole spectrum of religious and political beliefs. Being conservative doesn’t look the same for everyone. Being Jewish doesn’t. It was a beautiful reality check for us, and it showed us our own initial bias, which is exactly what we’re trying to combat. Everyone brought a unique and unexpected perspective.”
“We’re trying to move away from these red v. blue, urban v. rural perspectives,” says Shrestha. “When you do that, you can see people as individuals worthy of respect and dignity and understanding, even if they have perspectives that are antithetical to your own. That’s the goal of Share Our America. People are at odds in this country because they’re just seeing one thing about one another. But everyone contains multitudes. If we can pause, step back and see one another in our fullness, our lives will be better and the world will be a warmer place.”
Hoy and Shrestha both saw that the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska’s collaboration in the project was invaluable, emphasizing that the trip never would have happened without local support in Nebraska. It made them see that Share Our America could be a resource and connective tool for local communities across the country — to reach across differences and create real, human connection where none existed before. They’re already making plans to expand the reach of Share Our America and bring it to more places across the country — not just as a series of trips, but as an ongoing, catalyzing resource beyond New York and Nebraska.
“92NY has a unique perspective in the 148-year history as a community center, to dialogue across differences, says Hoy. “As a national organization, we can create a national platform for local community voices, leaders, organizers to be able to show off their unique perspectives. We can create connections where connections didn’t exist before. We humbly present this initiative both as a tool and as community in and of itself. We’re not trying to change anyone’s mind. We just want people to learn from one another.”
Join a future Share Our America experience.