{"id":28464,"date":"2024-03-29T18:30:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T18:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/fort-lewis-college-students-explore-ways-to-have-more-civil-political-discourse\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T06:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:29:58","slug":"fort-lewis-college-students-explore-ways-to-have-more-civil-political-discourse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/fort-lewis-college-students-explore-ways-to-have-more-civil-political-discourse\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Lewis College students explore ways to have more civil political discourse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Fort
Fort Lewis College senior Esai Gomez engages active listening during Wednesday\u2019s Community by Conversation event. (Tyler Brown\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In a world that seems divided by political discourse, a Fort Lewis College political science professor and his students are examining how things became this way and methods for holding more civil debates.<\/p>\n

Students and community members gathered in groups Wednesday at the FLC Ballroom to discuss divisive issues. Each table included topics such as student loan debt relief, banning of books and environmental issues.<\/p>\n

Political science students, meanwhile, stood by to help participants understand how to engage in civil conversation about politics.<\/p>\n

The workshop was part of a Paul DeBell\u2019s political psychology class.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that identifiable facts are the basis of important political conversations and effective policymaking,\u201d said Wyatt Bair, vice president of the FLC Political Engagement Project (formerly the Political Science Club). \u201cGood-faith negotiation between parties is essential to solving the issues that we care about, and that public interests should always come before personal interests or party interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeBell and his students sought to demonstrate how a person\u2019s reaction and body language when confronted with other\u2019s political beliefs can create a vitriolic environment.<\/p>\n

DeBell said people often make assumptions about opposing political beliefs based on stereotypes. He referenced an article published in The Washington Post<\/em> called \u201cDemocrats are gay, Republicans are rich: Our stereotypes of political parties are amazingly wrong<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the article, a survey was given to people with conservative views and those with liberal views. It found that people with conservative views believe that 30% of Democrats identify as members of the LGBTQ community. But in reality, only about 8% of Democrats identify with the LGBTQ community. By the same token, Democrats taking the survey estimated that 40% of Republicans make $250,000 or more per year. But that salary range applies to only 2.5% of conservatives.<\/p>\n

DeBell took it a step further by saying 74% of National Rifle Association members support background checks for gun owners, based on data from the Center for American Progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s pretty surprising,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll bet a lot of us, if we saw somebody\u2019s NRA sticker on their car, would make all sorts of presumptions about them, and what they believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a perfect example, he said, of how people can find common ground, despite their political differences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really easy to focus on differences. Again, that\u2019s profitable for a lot of people. Not for us, but for certain political elites, pundits and media,\u201d DeBell said. \u201cIt\u2019s really profitable to show the fight. But as we saw earlier, there\u2019s a lot of research suggesting that we agree on many issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students discussed methods such as active listening to help navigate political conversations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s four main components to active listening, which are understanding, communicating, observing and correcting,\u201d said FLC senior Esai Gomez.<\/p>\n

He said it is important to use listening skills to create a respectful environment.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the event, DeBell played a clip from Robb Willer\u2019s TED Talk, \u201cHow to have better political conversations<\/a>,\u201d which led to a discussion about how both sides of the political spectrum endorse values.<\/p>\n

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