By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Since the 2016 elections, we have seen conservatives and liberals pretty much sparring with each other at what seems like a moments notice. But over the past year, a quiet movement has taken place with those of opposing views sitting down and just listening to each other. It is a movement that Schuler Books & Music is joining starting tonight with its program the “Open Discussion Project.”

Starting at 7 p.m at the bookstore, 2660 28th St. SE, and led by moderators, each meeting will be centered on a book of the group’s choosing. Attendees are encouraged to invite a neighbor, colleague, or friend – especially if they hold different political views. Attendees should be committed to having civil discourse where all opinions are treated with respect.

“I think people are tired of being angry and not being able to have a conversation,” said Schuler Books Marketing Coordinator Alana Haley. “You see where the political situation has ended up and I believe people just want to sit-down and have an open discussion.”

The concept is not new. In fact many have been following the “Hands Across the Hills project that brought a group of liberal voters from Massachusetts to meet with conservatives in Kentucky just to talk.

“At last year’s American Booksellers Association (ABA) conference, there was a bookstore, Quail Ridge Books (in Raleigh, North Carolina), that mentioned it was hosting a civil discourse program where it was trying to bring people together to discuss the issues that divide them,” Haley said.

From there, the discussion lead to launching the program nationally. Before doing that, it was decided that six independent bookstores would participate in a pilot program to help determine the best way to launch the national program, Haley said. Quail Ridge Books as well as Schuler were selected along with a bookstore in Washington, DC, Naperville, Ill., Concord, NH, and Pasadena, CA.

There are a few guidelines and a booklist provided by ABA. Each bookstore determines how it will operate its program. For example, the one in Washington DC, sent out invitations to a variety of panelists to talk about the books with the goal of getting a mix of conservatives and liberals, Haley said.

Schuler Books opened its program to the general public with response being fairly positive.

“We weren’t really sure what the response would be and so far it has been very positive,” Haley said. “We put it on social media and it took off with most people tagging it and sharing ti with others. There really has been no negative.”

For the first meeting, the book “Think Again: How to Reason and Argue” by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, was selected. There will be sheet available with a list of points from the book that will be discussed so anyone can participate.

The next programs, which are the third Tuesdays of the month (Feb. 19, Mar. 19, April 16, May 21, and June 18) will be focused on a book. The goal is to have those who attend tonight’s meeting to decide which books they would like to include, Haley said.

“It is an opportunity to meet with people who think very differently from you and to understand where they are coming from and why they feel the way they feel,” Haley said. “And hopefully they will do the same.”

In June, the pilot program will be reviewed with a national rollout set for later in 2019. The Open Discussion Project is sponsored by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) in partnership with the American Booksellers Association (ABA) and the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD).