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The Minnesota Land of Neighbors campaign is a new, multi-year effort built by a coalition of Minnesota foundations and bridging organizations to counter toxic division and help Minnesotans reconnect as neighbors, regardless of politics. It grew out of a call from a group of funders who noticed Minnesotans were tired of the toxicity but unsure how to act on it, and it’s built around a simple idea: start by listening, not by prescribing solutions.
Rather than arriving with a fix, the coalition behind the campaign — including Braver Angels, Civic Bridgers, Common Ground USA, CRD Connect, and Media Minefield — is holding listening sessions in all parts of the state to hear directly from Minnesotans about what neighboring looks like at its best. Libby Stegger and Bill Doherty, two of the people helping lead and speak for the effort, join Wilk to talk about how it’s built. (Full disclosure: Wilk is also part of the campaign’s leadership team, so this lands close to home, literally.)
● Listening before solving. The campaign grew out of a recognition that two-thirds of Americans want less division but don’t know where to start — and that real solutions have to come from the people living the problem, not be handed down.
● A three-tier framework. The listening sessions are built around three levels — your immediate neighborhood, your town or city, and the state of Minnesota as a whole — asking the same three questions at each level: how are people supporting each other, how are they solving problems together, and how are they relating to outsiders.
● Start with values, not politics. Bill’s key insight from decades of bridging work: lead with policy and people find differences. Lead with values and shared aspirations, and people find common ground.
● The land and water example. In an early session in Fergus Falls, a shared love of Minnesota’s land and water emerged as a value crossing political lines — even though the environment often becomes a source of division rather than connection.
● Seeing the whole person. A central metaphor from the conversation: from a distance, people are hazy outlines — you can’t even tell what color shirt they’re wearing. Get close, and you start to see the texture — the details that make someone a whole, complex person. The campaign’s goal is to build that closeness at a statewide scale.
● Agency over overwhelm. Borrowing a phrase from a colleague, Libby and Bill emphasize asking “what are WE going to do about it” rather than “what are you going to do about it” — a shift that invites people into shared ownership instead of leaving them feeling powerless.
● Reaching every corner of the state. With listening sessions already held in Fergus Falls, the Twin Cities, and Lake City, and more planned from Beaver Creek to Hibbing to Moorhead, the campaign is deliberately built to reflect Minnesota’s geographic and cultural diversity, including the rural-urban divide and tribal nations.
● Turning stories into media. A partnership with the PR and marketing firm Media Minefield means the campaign is designed from the start to counter narratives of division with documented stories of connection.
● Big change starts close to home. The campaign deliberately begins with the people you already have direct contact with, then works outward — because that’s where common ground is easiest to see.
● Ask about aspirations, not just problems. Framing questions around what people want their community to look like at its best avoids the trap of asking “what’s wrong” and “who should fix it,” which tends to leave people feeling powerless.
● You don’t need all the answers to get started. The Minnesota Land of Neighbors team is intentionally holding off on prescribing next steps until they’ve listened first — the solutions are meant to be built by Minnesotans, for Minnesotans.
Visit Minnesota Land of Neighbors online or follow (@MNLandofNeighbors) on Social Media to find a listening session near you, sign up for updates, or volunteer to host one in your own community.
Website:
https://www.MinnesotaLandofNeighbors.org
Libby Stegger and Bill Doherty are two of the spokespeople for the Minnesota Land of Neighbors campaign, joining a broader leadership team of bridging organizations and funding partners behind the effort.
Libby Stegger is the founder and executive director of Civic Bridgers, a nonprofit dedicated to preparing leaders to bridge divides in civic life. Before founding Civic Bridgers, she spent a decade scaling hunger relief systems and K-12 schools, including as Chief Advancement Officer for Hiawatha Academies, one of Minnesota’s largest networks of public charter schools, and leading Hunger-Free Minnesota’s strategic grantmaking portfolio. She also launched one of the nation’s first SNAP Outreach Programs at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Libby earned an MBA from Yale University and a BA in political science from Davidson College.
Website:
https://www.civicbridgers.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/libbystegger
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/civicbridgers
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CivicBridgers
Bill Doherty is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota, where he taught marriage and family therapy for 38 years. Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he co-founded Braver Angels, a citizen initiative bringing conservatives and liberals together to counteract political polarization and restore the country’s social fabric. Braver Angels now has volunteers in all 50 states. His honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Family Therapy Academy.
Website:
https://www.BraverAngels.org
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The Derate The Hate podcast is proudly produced in collaboration with Braver Angels — America’s largest grassroots, cross-partisan organization working toward civic renewal and bridging partisan divides. Learn more: BraverAngels.org
Welcome to the Derate The Hate Podcast!
*The views expressed by Wilk, his guest hosts &/or guests on the Derate The Hate podcast are their own and should not be attributed to any organization they may otherwise be affiliated with
The world is a better place if we are better people. Be grateful for all you’ve got. Make every day the day that you want it to be!
Please follow the DTH podcast on:
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter(X) , YouTube, Substack
Subscribe to us wherever you enjoy your audio or from our site. Please leave us a rating and feedback on Apple podcasts or other platforms. You can share your thoughts or request Wilk for a speaking engagement on our contact page: DerateTheHate.com/Contact
The Derate The Hate podcast is proudly produced in collaboration with Braver Angels — America’s largest grassroots, cross-partisan organization working toward civic renewal and bridging partisan divides. Learn more: BraverAngels.org
Welcome to the Derate The Hate Podcast!
*The views expressed by Wilk, his guest hosts &/or guests on the Derate The Hate podcast are their own and should not be attributed to any organization they may otherwise be affiliated with.
[00:00:00:00] Wilk Wilkinson: Two thirds of Americans say they're tired of toxic division. Most of them don't even know where to start doing something about it. In Minnesota, a coalition of funders and bridge builders decided to find out one listening session at a time today. Two of the people building that effort. Walk us through it. Stick with me. Welcome back, my friend, to the Derate the Hate podcast. I'm your host, Wilk Wilkinson, your blue collar sage calming outrage and helping to navigate a world divided by fog and those who would spread that fear, outrage and grievance. The Derate the Hate podcast is proudly produced in collaboration with Braver Angels, America's largest grassroots cross partisan organization working toward civic renewal, this podcast amplifies the mission that we share to foster a more respectful and united America where civic friendship thrives even when we disagree. Each week, through the power of story, conversation, and connection with incredible guests, we work to build bridges instead of barriers, not to change minds on the issues, but to change how we see one another when we differ. Because friends, it really is about bettering the world one attitude at a time. We did not create the hate, but together we can Derate the hate. So be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast, share it with a friend and visit Braver Angels to learn how you can get involved in the movement to bridge the partisan divide. Friends, I am so incredibly grateful that you have joined me for another powerful Derate the Hate episode. So let's get to it. Today's conversation is about a new statewide effort here in Minnesota called the Land of Neighbors Campaign, a multi-year collaborative project built by a coalition of Minnesota foundations and bridging organizations working to counter toxic division and help Minnesotans reconnect as neighbors, regardless of their politics. Full disclosure I'm one of several people on the campaign's leadership team, so this one's close to home for me. Joining me today are two of the people helping lead and speak for that effort. Libby Steger is founder and executive director of Civic Bridgers, a nonprofit that prepares leaders to bridge divides in civic life. Bill Doherty spent 38 years teaching marriage and family therapy at the University of Minnesota before co-founding Braver Angels, the National Citizen Initiative. Now working in all 50 states to bring conservatives and liberals back into the conversation and build together across differences. Libby and Bill are here representing the broader coalition behind this work, which also includes Common Ground USA, CRT connect Media, minefield and a group of Minnesota funders who came together around the shared question what are the shared values being missed due to the division that we're seeing in our state? Let's get into it with two of my very good friends, Libby Steger and Bill Doherty. Here we go. Libby Stegger and Doctor Bill Doherty. Welcome to the Derate the Hate podcast. It fantastic to see both of you this morning.
[00:03:44:12] Libby Stegger: Likewise. Good to see you. Thanks for having us.
[00:03:46:15] Bill Doherty: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:03:48:18] Wilk Wilkinson: Yeah, I'm I'm excited about this for for any number of reasons. But most of all, what we're here to talk about today is a is a campaign that we're all working on together. Bill, you and I obviously work have been doing a lot of work together for for a number of years at Braver Angels. And then Libby, you are you are the executive director at Civic Bridgers. And together we are now involved in this collaborative project here in the state of Minnesota, the state in which we all live, called the Minnesota Land of Neighbors. and it's a it's been a great project so far. It's been something that we've been working on now for the last several months. It's going to be a multi-year project that that our organizations are involved in, in collaboration as well with Common Ground USA media, minefield, Nathan Stock at CRD connect. So there are a number of us working on this. It's an incredible project and that is our subject today. So I think I'll start well, let me start with Libby. And as the as the person who first approached us about this opportunity. Libby, let's let's get into it. Let's start talking a little bit about where this thing started, how we ended up doing this thing together.
[00:05:10:18] Libby Stegger: Isn't it amazing how these things evolved? But I knew from the outset that we wanted you well to be part of this and Braver angels. With Bill's vision and co-founding that organization, there was a call from a group of funders and organizations who said, in the winter, we are hearing from so many Minnesotans who are feeling the toxicity of division and who know and still believe that there is another way. It doesn't mean we'll all get along, but there's another way for us to be neighbors together. And so what are we going to do about it? And then so they put out a call. And at Civic Bridgers, we are an organization that believes strongly in bridging divides in service of our country and our state. And so we said, well, we want to be a part of this and who needs to be at the table? And so we immediately thought of you all and others like Common Ground USA and the work that Nathan's doing around the state to reduce political violence or eliminate political violence. And so we said, what can we build together? And that was the question, right? We said, what are we going to build? And started talking and started dreaming up what was possible. And at the root of that was we need to start with listening to Minnesotans because we have lots of ideas. But Soto, Minnesotans and actually Minnesotans really have a history of showing up for each other. And so how do we actually help do more of that, do more of the good that already exists here in service of a greater vision? And so that's that was the the impetus Bill. What would you. Was there anything you would add or adapt about that evolution?
[00:06:41:03] Bill Doherty: Yeah. No, I think that's what's so fascinating is that a group, a coalition of funders, major foundations, said we need a sustained effort to see if we could bring them together because we're really we're maybe not as divided as some other states, but we are divided. And so it was quite a remarkable thing that this group of thunder said, let's, let's work on this issue.
[00:07:11:03] Wilk Wilkinson: Yeah. And I think that that is something that we want to want to keep on here a little bit, because these foundations here in the in the state of Minnesota, the fact that they recognize this. And I think you're right, Bill, I think there are a number of states that maybe more divided than, than Minnesota. But one of the things that that really stands out is, is the way that Minnesota has landed in the national news media, the way that we're being portrayed here in the state of Minnesota, and the recognition by the funders that that this is something that we need to get ahead of. We need to to show the people in our state most of all but the rest of the nation as well, that we are not as divided as the way that we're being portrayed in the media. We're not as divided as many people would have you believe. Talk a little bit about that, because one of the things that this campaign is, is, is to see what we share, see what, see what it means to be a good neighbor and and what we look like at our best. What was that recognition like? And kind of walk us through, what we were we were told at the beginning of this thing.
[00:08:22:12] Libby Stegger: yeah, I think you're exactly right. We know that two thirds of Americans are tired of this toxic division, and often don't. They want to do something about it but don't always know where to start. And so some of that is that there is a lot of content being pushed to us, and a lot of narratives that say, you're so divided and it's irreconcilable. But what we see in the stories of everyday people is that they actually are taking steps to, to connect, to work together across differences. And so how do we reconcile those two things? And one of the ideas is, Wilk, because you said, see what we share, it doesn't mean we're all the same, nor do we want to be. It doesn't mean we will all agree, nor do we want to. Right? The goal is not for us to agree on everything. The goal is for us to be able to live together and have a shared future. And when we can see these micro examples of it happening, and then we hear this narrative that says, oh, it's impossible. Well, there's there's something wrong there, there's something off. And so our goal is really to amplify, well, what do we share and help to help us see it and help others see it as well. Shed light on that so that we can root in that when things get tough.
[00:09:32:15] Wilk Wilkinson: Absolutely. Absolutely. Bill, let's let's talk a little bit about the the listening sessions then. And and you know, what we're trying to do with the listening sessions where we're trying to go with the listening sessions, how we're including, trusted partners and advisors in these different areas. What's the significance of that and what's the significance, first of all, of just the listening sessions themselves?
[00:09:56:23] Bill Doherty: Well, this is Libby said, this is a key thing because it's we can come up with a mousetrap that we think everybody needs. Right. And then but here we really want to spend time listening to Minnesotans, what's important to them and then develop some action steps after that. And what we've done with I want to highlight, by the way, unless we skip over it, that the theme we chose about neighbors. Yeah, that a lot of work went into that theme. Okay. Because we are that's where we are probably more connected. Libby, as you were saying, okay, the number of people who will have their neighbor have their house keys. So when they're gone. They can, you know, make sure the trash gets picked up or something like that. That's neighboring. Okay. And so so what we're doing in this listening sessions is, is inviting people from different communities. We're going to be doing this all over the state. And and we ask them to think about neighboring a three levels, the close in which could be your geographical neighborhood. It could be clubs you're part of or faith community, people that you know who who are not family and the closest friends. The next layer out okay. And and who you are as your neighbors. And then the question we're asking when your neighborhood, as you define it is at its best, what's it like? Okay. What would you aspire to it to be like? How are people supporting each other? How are they solving problems together and how are they relating to outsiders? The key three questions what are people doing for support? How do they solve problems together and how do they relate to outsiders? And so we invite people to write down and then share with each other tables their vision for what a really a great neighborhood is. And then we go to the next level, which is your town, your city. What do you identify? The way I think of this one is when people say, where are you from? Sure. What do you how do you answer that question? Okay, so it's not exactly your neighborhood, but it's your talent. It's your city. Some where you're from. Okay, sure. And then think about that level. And when that town, when that neighborhood, that larger neighborhood is working well at its best, how do people support each other? How do they solve problems together and how do they deal with outsider? Same process. Then the third one, and this is pretty radical, is thinking about the state, the state of Minnesota as a as a neighbor, as neighboring a neighborhood, if you will. Okay. That's what part of the country are you from? Okay. I'm from Minnesota. And then when knowing that at that level, there's been so many challenges and so many divisions, but what do we aspire to there and there we're asking what are a couple key values that you think most Minnesotans hold? This is what Libby is talking about. You know, there's a lot we do hold together. And what do you think those are? And then what are a couple of key priorities that that you have for how we would live that out? So that's the process we go through with people. And it's very inspiring. And people really do discover a lot of common ground. The other thing I'll add that I've learned over the years in this bridging work is that if you start with policies and politicians, you end up thinking, we got nothing in common.
[00:13:31:22] Wilk Wilkinson: Sure. No, that's absolutely right.
[00:13:33:10] Bill Doherty: You start with values. Aspirations. You find out with stories, you find out we have a lot in common.
[00:13:40:23] Wilk Wilkinson: that's that's absolutely right. And one of the most beautiful things that, you know, when I think about this and I think about the three tiers of, of, what we're talking about when we're talking about neighboring, when you start with those people that you're in direct contact with and then work out from there, you know, it's it's it gets harder if you start with the, bigger picture when you're when you're thinking, in terms of, you know, border to border, top to bottom, everything else, because there's a whole bunch of people that we can't, we don't really compartmentalize, you know, what we do share with all those folks. But when we start from that nucleus, those people that we have direct contact with, the people that we know and we physically see day in and day out or week in and week out, you know, it's easy to see or it's much easier to see what we share there. And then trying to visualize that from the inside and moving outward as opposed to outward and moving in. I think we I think we benefit a lot from that.
[00:14:43:19] Libby Stegger: Yeah, we think about this sort of this flattening that can happen when we're talking about people who are far, far away or who we don't know very well. Think about, like if you're looking at somebody far in the distance or in the horizon, they're kind of, you know, it's great. Is that a blue shirt? Is it a black shirt? Are they you know, what do they really look like? It's hazy and opaque. And so we can make some assumptions. But when they're near in and close up you see their texture. You see the texture of their hair, the gray lines, the the wrinkles that start right. You can get a sense of them. And so when you think of that as their whole self, to the closer, the nearer end you are, the the easier you can see their wholeness and their complexity. And so that's where we begin. And our real challenge is to say, and how do we bring that statewide so that we are a land of neighbors, so that we recognize that the humanity that I share with you both in knowing your texture can we can translate that and trust that among our neighbors across the state. And it's no easy feat. So we are going to need lots of Minnesotans to be part of this, because we don't hold all the answers. We are here as a facilitators of a statewide conversation that needs to happen to say, how do we turn this great neighboring that happens at that sort of micro level mutual aid, shoveling snow into these sort of bigger policy questions, or just public debates and problems that we need to solve together. But if we can't start with a micro we that's where we have to build. If we but we to build point, we can't start with that big piece because we have to build the texture.
[00:16:14:21] Wilk Wilkinson: Well, that's absolutely right. And and one of the big things here that I want to actually go back to and key on a little bit more because this is, this is where the, the I think the great importance lies in what we are doing is you this group of people, not just us three, but but the group we've brought together to work on this, this collaborative project, we've all been in our own ways, doing a lot of bridging work for, for a number of years, you know, collectively a lot of years. And I say that because of Bill, but.
[00:16:47:04] Bill Doherty: Well, this is the second Libby mentioned gray hair and lines, which I thought, she's looking at me on it, but I kept my mouth shut. And you.
[00:16:56:17] Libby Stegger: Bring such wisdom.
[00:16:57:22] Bill Doherty: Yeah, but then you referred, so. Okay. Keep going. I just have to say that.
[00:17:02:00] Wilk Wilkinson: Oh, but the beautiful thing here is, is, like I said, with with all the wisdom and the experience that we all bring to the table in our whole group, collectively, we're not trying to just tell everybody what the solution is or build the perfect mousetrap. As Bill said right at the beginning, we this is about listening to Minnesotans talk about what neighboring is to them, what they think their community looks like at its best. Talk about the significance of why this is Minnesotans building the solution to the problem themselves. This isn't us bringing them the solution to what we see. Their problem is being
[00:17:48:22] Bill Doherty: Yeah. Well, yes, the the solutions will emerge and and priorities will emerge. So I mean, we're going to let's be clear, we're going to have a creative process. We the team at some point on this. It's not like we're just going to pull people and say, what should we do? But it's going to be informed. So let me give you an example of of something that emerged in the in the first listening session. This was in Fergus Falls about values that Minnesotans hold the love of the land, the love of water, the love of our environment was so interesting that that came out of because and the question was about Minnesota, okay, maybe in a different state, there would be different sorts of priorities. But this is this is the land we live in. and it's a common value we have. That would be an example. So what what could come from that I don't know. But could we, could we could we encourage or facilitate action steps that would be related to people who differ politically but who love the land? Okay. Yes. A lot of times what happens now is it's the mining or the, you know, the, the environment and, and the land becomes a source of division. But we and so when it gets to be is business or the lands. Okay. Well everybody loves the land. And and most people want businesses succeed. Right. And so could we at some point imagine I'm just I'm just riffing off one example here. Okay. Could we imagine some initiatives which would be about people who are otherwise politically divided, about the balance between the ecology and business coming together around their common love of of this environment and this land, and not dividing on it, but coming together that that's just like the top of my head is an example of something we hear that could spin into something.
[00:19:54:02] Wilk Wilkinson: Yeah, I think it's a great example. And, and Libby, you know, one of the things that we always think about, in terms of, of bridging and storytelling and trying to come to, solutions together to common cause problems people have to be able to see themselves in, in the story that's being told. Right? If they're going to listen with intention and if they're going to try to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, they have to be able to see themselves in the story. And I think Bill's example is absolutely right. I mean, it's beautiful. We, you know, so many people in Minnesota. I mean, Minnesota's got this, this vast landscape of incredible beauty. I mean, we've got woods, we've got water, we've got country, we've got city, we've got all these different things. And there's a lot of ways for people to see themselves in that particular story. Talk about the importance of storytelling and people seeing themselves in the story. To be part of that common or that solution to a common cause problem.
[00:20:59:07] Libby Stegger: I love this question because it evokes, you know, we we hear so much about others. This is what other people think. This is what other people believe. And when we root in, well, where do what do I want, what do I believe and how am I part of the solution? It actually gives us a whole we can recognize our own power. There's this great phrase Jill on our team uses, which is what are we going to do about it? Right. So she's she'll be in an environment and someone like, oh, this is, you know, it's a work project or a community project. Oh, this isn't going well. And instead of saying, you know what? What are you going to do about it? She says, what are we going to do? And it invites this collaborative feeling of like, oh gosh, we've got to do something about this. So to Bill's question about the land, when we say, what are we going to do? It invites each of us to be a part of it, including ourselves. It's not just, what are you going to do? Or what do you believe about it or what has someone told me you believe about it? It's it gives us agency. It gives us a way in. And we can't solve all the problems ourselves. Like we you know, we have a lot of hero stories, and hero stories are so motivating. And we've got the Marvel characters and we've got all these heroes in our in our collective American narrative. And what we don't spend a lot of time on is all the people who surrounded them who help make that happen. And so when we recognize that each of our heroes was backed by a whole group of other people who were finding ways to work together, then we can recognize our own part of this, because when we think we can solve it all ourselves, or that we have to solve it all ourselves, it's just it's too big. And so instead.
[00:22:31:02] Wilk Wilkinson: Of overwhelming.
[00:22:32:02] Libby Stegger: Yeah, what's our small part that we can contribute? How do we be a neighbor to the person next door to us? How do we be a neighbor to that person down the street? How do we push that person out of the snow? But then also, how do we say, here's a challenge that we're really facing? I want to talk about it. I'm going to start where I, where I live.
[00:22:46:23] Wilk Wilkinson: And that's huge. And then, you know, to continue on and and think about, you know, on that particular line, we have to also think about the fact that the state of Minnesota is very broad geographically. And we've got a lot of different things going on in the state of Minnesota. Right. I mean, you've got you've got tribal nations, you've got immigrant populations, you've got the people up in the arrow head that, that live in a, in a very different landscape than the people that live in the southern part of the state and things like that. let's talk a little bit about what we're trying to do in terms of, of geographically hitting these different areas of the state to try and bring in the voices of, of all these different, these different groups that we see in the state of Minnesota because we are not there is no description of Minnesota that could be considered monolithic in any way, way, shape or form. Right? I mean, there's there's so much going on here. So let's talk a little bit Libby talk a little bit about the significance of where we're going to be doing listening sessions and, and how we're going to try and capture the through lines in these stories. And then I'll turn it over to Bill as well here.
[00:24:09:13] Libby Stegger: Yeah. Spot on. So Bill talked earlier about some of the core questions we're asking. And we're asking the same questions across the state and seeing where do we find similar answers and where do we find differences so that we really know how to reach and connect with and support communities in the ways where they're connected, in the ways that they're dissimilar? I mean, I've been in small towns who can make very clear distinction from one town over. So to your point, well, we are not a monolith. It is there is diversity everywhere we see it. And so we have been so lucky to have partners from around the state raise their hand and say they want to host listening sessions. So we've had three when Fergus falls in the Twin Cities and in Lake City, and now we're inviting others to host. So I've talked to people from every corner of the state as far as southwest as Beaver Creek, all the way up to Hibbing and Moorhead, who are actually already doing gathering and convening and getting people together to talk about some of these issues. They are now talking about how they can bring neighbors campaign questions into their communities and think together about how to do something about it. So that's what it looks like to really do this everywhere. I cannot be in all places at all times, but there are so many people around the state who care about this, who are who are taking who are taking this up. And Bill's designed an incredible way to do that in a way that will connect us, but also help us realize where we have some differences.
[00:25:30:10] Bill Doherty: Yeah. And what I'd add to it is that one of the things that our core team is committed to is is holding listening sessions in every congressional district. Okay, so the congressional districts are divided up by population. They all have the they differ tremendously by geography. But there are similar in terms of numbers of people. So so we personally ourselves going out around the state to hold listening session and then tribal nations as well, which have their own identity. And so we're going to we're going to make sure we get that kind of spread. And then and then as Libby said, encourage and invite people from, from their own particular geographical town, it could be their ethnic community. And this is where the advisors come into play. So one of our advisors just approached me the other day, Libby, I mentioned this to you yet, but would love to pull something together in North Minneapolis and has the connections and has the background to do this. and then we will be we will be assistance, we will be helpers, and we will co-create and co-design listening sessions that will work for that community. As long as as Libby said, we're asking the same kinds of questions. The answers may be different, but the key is you have to you have to ask the same size of questions and and not to do it in a traditional way that questions are often asked. And that is what are your problems? And then who do you think should solve those problems?
[00:27:08:22] Wilk Wilkinson: Oh my.
[00:27:09:06] Bill Doherty: Gosh, that's what we do. So what are your problems? Which is a way to say what are your deficits? Okay. We start out what are your what are your problems. And then and then who should fix them. And you know, and then it's like those people should fix them.
[00:27:24:17] Wilk Wilkinson: Exactly.
[00:27:26:04] Bill Doherty: To fix them or they, you know, the people who hate us should stop hating us or, you know, and to trivialize it. But if you ask the questions that way, you end up with a downer, because then people feel powerless.
[00:27:40:21] Wilk Wilkinson: That's right, that's right. It accentuates that powerlessness within them. And they go away not feeling good. But I love and Libby brought up the word agency earlier. This is one of those things that that and that was one of the big things with, you know, within the work that we were doing together as we were developing this was talking about how do we how do we create and renew that sense of agency and people that are feeling lost and distraught with with things that are going on. And I think I think we're doing it the exact right way now. There's going to be people asking the question, okay, what, you know, after all these listening sessions, you know, what are we going to do with this data? What I mean, as we evaluate this as bridge builders and as we move forward, as we said, this is a multi-year campaign where we're in this for the long haul to affect real change in our civic culture. And Bill? What's what are we, doing with with the data after this to really affect change in our state and show people that were not nearly as divided as, as people would have you believe.
[00:28:45:14] Bill Doherty: Well, that's your job. Wilk Yeah. We're going to we're going to hand it over to you at that point. Well, we're deliberately not drilling down on that question. That's right. Now we will we are hoping to finish a lot of listening sessions before the snow falls. And and we'll do more after that. And then we're going to digest and then we're going to think about our, our activation phase. And my own view is that this has got to be in collaboration with others as well. It's not that we go somewhere and dream it up, but we have to see what works for people. But but I'll give you can be helpful to think about potential examples. And I mentioned that if there was a way for people to come together politically around who differ politically around their local environment would be, I just made that one up and another one just as an example. Who knows, it will do this kind of thing, but we know that a major, a major threat to the sense of being Minnesotans. The nature of Minnesota is the rural urban divide. You know, this is well-established. And you could just look at the map, the red blue map in the state, right? Look at the different reactions that people had in the metro area to the ice surge versus people in greater Minnesota. That was just proximity. You feel differently about it. And so maybe there's some ways to to form relationships between people in the metro area and people in greater Minnesota that are sustainable, that the really developed ties. I'm just giving an example, but we will we will potentially have the resources for that. Okay. To to and then the other thing is that whatever we do, you get media attention. And, and we have maybe minefields, which is a great public relations agency advertising marketing. They're along for this right to with public messaging. There's going to be videotaping. So whatever we do, we're going to try to maximize the messaging of this. The inspiration for the stories of hope through the media outreach, which is one of the reasons why this is such a unique project, because we have a partner who knows how to do that.
[00:31:13:03] Libby Stegger: Yeah. And one thing that I love about that is that yes, we will be able to counter some of these these narratives of division with narratives of connection. And so that's really powerful in itself. It also invites Minnesotans to be part of a public dialog, a public debate, because that is how, as a country, how we've how we've addressed a lot of really big, thorny problems is having a public debate. And that can be through the media. It can be over dinner tables, it can be in neighborhoods, it can be in city halls. And we should be talking about that. We should be talking about how do we be neighbors to each other, and how do we solve big problems in ways that still recognize each other's humanity. That actually is a conversation, a public conversation we need to be having and having consistently. And so having things out there in the media and talking about the neighbors campaign is not only a way to share stories of hope, it is also a way to invite Minnesotans to be part of the dialog and to say again to their community, what are we going to do about it?
[00:32:09:13] Wilk Wilkinson: Yeah, no. And and I think that's an important thing that I want a lot of people to take away from this. This particular episode is, is people here in the state of Minnesota can get involved because we want them involved and to bills point, you know, people will ask that question, you know, what's coming next. But we are intentionally holding that back because we don't have all those answers yet. And we don't want to pretend that we do have those answers right now, because we are. This is being built by Minnesotans, for Minnesotans. And and as we collect this data, we will learn what's happening or learn, you know, what's happening in all those communities. Find the through lines and find the ways that we can all best work together. Be the best neighbors possible. People can get involved. Libby, talk real quick about about our website where people can get involved, how people can get involved. And and then we'll wrap this one up.
[00:33:06:02] Libby Stegger: Yes, people can get involved. Visit Minnesota, land of neighbors or Land of Neighbors on all the social media channels. You can follow us. You can sign up to receive updates about when listening sessions are in your area, in that you can indicate to us if you want to get more involved. Maybe you want to host something. Maybe. Maybe you just want to show up one sometime so you can indicate that when you sign up. Those are great ways to get involved and stay in touch. Because as we're learning, we're also going to share out what we're learning. Right. And so you can follow along and be part of that conversation.
[00:33:38:17] Wilk Wilkinson: Fantastic. Any last words? Bill.
[00:33:42:07] Bill Doherty: Oh, it's a pleasure to be talking with you about this. And we're hoping that what we learn here, we can share with other states and other other, you know, other countries.
[00:33:54:14] Wilk Wilkinson: Be the example that you want to see in the world. Right? This is a this is a beautiful project. I am so honored to be in this work with both of you and and the rest of our team and, and doing this work in the state of Minnesota. So again, the website Land of Neighbors or Minnesota Land of Neighbors. And I look forward to the continued work we're doing together. Thank you so much to both of you today.
[00:34:19:09] Libby Stegger: Likewise. Thanks for having us.
[00:34:21:00] Bill Doherty: Thank you.
[00:34:23:07] Wilk Wilkinson: Friends, I want to thank you so much for tuning in. And if there's anything in this episode that provided exceptional value to you, please make sure to hit that share button. If you haven't done so already, please be sure to subscribe to get the Derate The Hate podcast sent to your email inbox every week. We really are better together. So please take a moment to visit Braver Angels and consider joining the movement towards civic renewal and bridging our political divide. This is Wilk wrapping up for the week saying get out there. Be kind to one another. Be grateful for everything you've got. And remember, it's up to you to make every day the day that you want it to be. With that, my friend. I'm going to back on out of here and we will catch you next week. Take care.
Transcript is AI generated and may contain errors [00:00:00:00] Wilk Wilkinson: Two thirds of Americans say they're tired of toxic division. Most of them don't even know where to start doing something about it. In Minnesota, a coalition of funders and bridge builders decided to find out one listening session at a time today. Two of the people building that effort.
Walk us through it. Stick with me. Welcome back, my friend, to the Derate the Hate podcast. I'm your host, Wilk Wilkinson, your blue collar sage calming outrage and helping to navigate a world divided by fog and those who would spread that fear, outrage and grievance.
The Derate the Hate podcast is proudly produced in collaboration with Braver Angels, America's largest grassroots cross partisan organization working toward civic renewal, this podcast amplifies the mission that we share to foster a more respectful and united America where civic friendship thrives even when we disagree. Each week, through the power of story, conversation, and connection with incredible guests, we work to build bridges instead of barriers, not to change minds on the issues, but to change how we see one another when we differ. Because friends, it really is about bettering the world one attitude at a time. We did not create the hate, but together we can Derate the hate.
So be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast, share it with a friend and visit Braver Angels to learn how you can get involved in the movement to bridge the partisan divide. Friends, I am so incredibly grateful that you have joined me for another powerful Derate the Hate episode. So let's get to it. Today's conversation is about a new statewide effort here in Minnesota called the Land of Neighbors Campaign, a multi-year collaborative project built by a coalition of Minnesota foundations and bridging organizations working to counter toxic division and help Minnesotans reconnect as neighbors, regardless of their politics.
Full disclosure I'm one of several people on the campaign's leadership team, so this one's close to home for me. Joining me today are two of the people helping lead and speak for that effort. Libby Steger is founder and executive director of Civic Bridgers, a nonprofit that prepares leaders to bridge divides in civic life. Bill Doherty spent 38 years teaching marriage and family therapy at the University of Minnesota before co-founding Braver Angels, the National Citizen Initiative.
Now working in all 50 states to bring conservatives and liberals back into the conversation and build together across differences. Libby and Bill are here representing the broader coalition behind this work, which also includes Common Ground USA, CRT connect Media, minefield and a group of Minnesota funders who came together around the shared question what are the shared values being missed due to the division that we're seeing in our state? Let's get into it with two of my very good friends, Libby Steger and Bill Doherty. Here we go.
Libby Stegger and Doctor Bill Doherty. Welcome to the Derate the Hate podcast. It fantastic to see both of you this morning. [00:03:44:12] Libby Stegger: Likewise.
Good to see you. Thanks for having us. [00:03:46:15] Bill Doherty: Yeah, absolutely. [00:03:48:18] Wilk Wilkinson: Yeah, I'm I'm excited about this for for any number of reasons.
But most of all, what we're here to talk about today is a is a campaign that we're all working on together. Bill, you and I obviously work have been doing a lot of work together for for a number of years at Braver Angels. And then Libby, you are you are the executive director at Civic Bridgers. And together we are now involved in this collaborative project here in the state of Minnesota, the state in which we all live, called the Minnesota Land of Neighbors.
and it's a it's been a great project so far. It's been something that we've been working on now for the last several months. It's going to be a multi-year project that that our organizations are involved in, in collaboration as well with Common Ground USA media, minefield, Nathan Stock at CRD connect. So there are a number of us working on this.
It's an incredible project and that is our subject today. So I think I'll start well, let me start with Libby. And as the as the person who first approached us about this opportunity. Libby, let's let's get into it.
Let's start talking a little bit about where this thing started, how we ended up doing this thing together. [00:05:10:18] Libby Stegger: Isn't it amazing how these things evolved? But I knew from the outset that we wanted you well to be part of this and Braver angels. With Bill's vision and co-founding that organization, there was a call from a group of funders and organizations who said, in the winter, we are hearing from so many Minnesotans who are feeling the toxicity of division and who know and still believe that there is another way.
It doesn't mean we'll all get along, but there's another way for us to be neighbors together. And so what are we going to do about it? And then so they put out a call. And at Civic Bridgers, we are an organization that believes strongly in bridging divides in service of our country and our state.
And so we said, well, we want to be a part of this and who needs to be at the table? And so we immediately thought of you all and others like Common Ground USA and the work that Nathan's doing around the state to reduce political violence or eliminate political violence. And so we said, what can we build together? And that was the question, right?
We said, what are we going to build? And started talking and started dreaming up what was possible. And at the root of that was we need to start with listening to Minnesotans because we have lots of ideas. But Soto, Minnesotans and actually Minnesotans really have a history of showing up for each other.
And so how do we actually help do more of that, do more of the good that already exists here in service of a greater vision? And so that's that was the the impetus Bill. What would you. Was there anything you would add or adapt about that evolution?
[00:06:41:03] Bill Doherty: Yeah. No, I think that's what's so fascinating is that a group, a coalition of funders, major foundations, said we need a sustained effort to see if we could bring them together because we're really we're maybe not as divided as some other states, but we are divided. And so it was quite a remarkable thing that this group of thunder said, let's, let's work on this issue. [00:07:11:03] Wilk Wilkinson: Yeah.
And I think that that is something that we want to want to keep on here a little bit, because these foundations here in the in the state of Minnesota, the fact that they recognize this. And I think you're right, Bill, I think there are a number of states that maybe more divided than, than Minnesota. But one of the things that that really stands out is, is the way that Minnesota has landed in the national news media, the way that we're being portrayed here in the state of Minnesota, and the recognition by the funders that that this is something that we need to get ahead of. We need to to show the people in our state most of all but the rest of the nation as well, that we are not as divided as the way that we're being portrayed in the media.
We're not as divided as many people would have you believe. Talk a little bit about that, because one of the things that this campaign is, is, is to see what we share, see what, see what it means to be a good neighbor and and what we look like at our best. What was that recognition like? And kind of walk us through, what we were we were told at the beginning of this thing.
[00:08:22:12] Libby Stegger: yeah, I think you're exactly right. We know that two thirds of Americans are tired of this toxic division, and often don't. They want to do something about it but don't always know where to start. And so some of that is that there is a lot of content being pushed to us, and a lot of narratives that say, you're so divided and it's irreconcilable.
But what we see in the stories of everyday people is that they actually are taking steps to, to connect, to work together across differences. And so how do we reconcile those two things? And one of the ideas is, Wilk, because you said, see what we share, it doesn't mean we're all the same, nor do we want to be. It doesn't mean we will all agree, nor do we want to.
Right? The goal is not for us to agree on everything. The goal is for us to be able to live together and have a shared future. And when we can see these micro examples of it happening, and then we hear this narrative that says, oh, it's impossible.
Well, there's there's something wrong there, there's something off. And so our goal is really to amplify, well, what do we share and help to help us see it and help others see it as well. Shed light on that so that we can root in that when things get tough. [00:09:32:15] Wilk Wilkinson: Absolutely.
Absolutely. Bill, let's let's talk a little bit about the the listening sessions then. And and you know, what we're trying to do with the listening sessions where we're trying to go with the listening sessions, how we're including, trusted partners and advisors in these different areas. What's the significance of that and what's the significance, first of all, of just the listening sessions themselves?
[00:09:56:23] Bill Doherty: Well, this is Libby said, this is a key thing because it's we can come up with a mousetrap that we think everybody needs. Right. And then but here we really want to spend time listening to Minnesotans, what's important to them and then develop some action steps after that. And what we've done with I want to highlight, by the way, unless we skip over it, that the theme we chose about neighbors.
Yeah, that a lot of work went into that theme. Okay. Because we are that's where we are probably more connected. Libby, as you were saying, okay, the number of people who will have their neighbor have their house keys.
So when they're gone. They can, you know, make sure the trash gets picked up or something like that. That's neighboring. Okay.
And so so what we're doing in this listening sessions is, is inviting people from different communities. We're going to be doing this all over the state. And and we ask them to think about neighboring a three levels, the close in which could be your geographical neighborhood. It could be clubs you're part of or faith community, people that you know who who are not family and the closest friends.
The next layer out okay. And and who you are as your neighbors. And then the question we're asking when your neighborhood, as you define it is at its best, what's it like? Okay.
What would you aspire to it to be like? How are people supporting each other? How are they solving problems together and how are they relating to outsiders? The key three questions what are people doing for support?
How do they solve problems together and how do they relate to outsiders? And so we invite people to write down and then share with each other tables their vision for what a really a great neighborhood is. And then we go to the next level, which is your town, your city. What do you identify?
The way I think of this one is when people say, where are you from? Sure. What do you how do you answer that question? Okay, so it's not exactly your neighborhood, but it's your talent.
It's your city. Some where you're from. Okay, sure. And then think about that level.
And when that town, when that neighborhood, that larger neighborhood is working well at its best, how do people support each other? How do they solve problems together and how do they deal with outsider? Same process. Then the third one, and this is pretty radical, is thinking about the state, the state of Minnesota as a as a neighbor, as neighboring a neighborhood, if you will.
Okay. That's what part of the country are you from? Okay. I'm from Minnesota.
And then when knowing that at that level, there's been so many challenges and so many divisions, but what do we aspire to there and there we're asking what are a couple key values that you think most Minnesotans hold? This is what Libby is talking about. You know, there's a lot we do hold together. And what do you think those are?
And then what are a couple of key priorities that that you have for how we would live that out? So that's the process we go through with people. And it's very inspiring. And people really do discover a lot of common ground.
The other thing I'll add that I've learned over the years in this bridging work is that if you start with policies and politicians, you end up thinking, we got nothing in common. [00:13:31:22] Wilk Wilkinson: Sure. No, that's absolutely right. [00:13:33:10] Bill Doherty: You start with values.
Aspirations. You find out with stories, you find out we have a lot in common. [00:13:40:23] Wilk Wilkinson: that's that's absolutely right. And one of the most beautiful things that, you know, when I think about this and I think about the three tiers of, of, what we're talking about when we're talking about neighboring, when you start with those people that you're in direct contact with and then work out from there, you know, it's it's it gets harder if you start with the, bigger picture when you're when you're thinking, in terms of, you know, border to border, top to bottom, everything else, because there's a whole bunch of people that we can't, we don't really compartmentalize, you know, what we do share with all those folks.
But when we start from that nucleus, those people that we have direct contact with, the people that we know and we physically see day in and day out or week in and week out, you know, it's easy to see or it's much easier to see what we share there. And then trying to visualize that from the inside and moving outward as opposed to outward and moving in. I think we I think we benefit a lot from that. [00:14:43:19] Libby Stegger: Yeah, we think about this sort of this flattening that can happen when we're talking about people who are far, far away or who we don't know very well.
Think about, like if you're looking at somebody far in the distance or in the horizon, they're kind of, you know, it's great. Is that a blue shirt? Is it a black shirt? Are they you know, what do they really look like?
It's hazy and opaque. And so we can make some assumptions. But when they're near in and close up you see their texture. You see the texture of their hair, the gray lines, the the wrinkles that start right.
You can get a sense of them. And so when you think of that as their whole self, to the closer, the nearer end you are, the the easier you can see their wholeness and their complexity. And so that's where we begin. And our real challenge is to say, and how do we bring that statewide so that we are a land of neighbors, so that we recognize that the humanity that I share with you both in knowing your texture can we can translate that and trust that among our neighbors across the state.
And it's no easy feat. So we are going to need lots of Minnesotans to be part of this, because we don't hold all the answers. We are here as a facilitators of a statewide conversation that needs to happen to say, how do we turn this great neighboring that happens at that sort of micro level mutual aid, shoveling snow into these sort of bigger policy questions, or just public debates and problems that we need to solve together. But if we can't start with a micro we that's where we have to build.
If we but we to build point, we can't start with that big piece because we have to build the texture. [00:16:14:21] Wilk Wilkinson: Well, that's absolutely right. And and one of the big things here that I want to actually go back to and key on a little bit more because this is, this is where the, the I think the great importance lies in what we are doing is you this group of people, not just us three, but but the group we've brought together to work on this, this collaborative project, we've all been in our own ways, doing a lot of bridging work for, for a number of years, you know, collectively a lot of years. And I say that because of Bill, but.
[00:16:47:04] Bill Doherty: Well, this is the second Libby mentioned gray hair and lines, which I thought, she's looking at me on it, but I kept my mouth shut. And you. [00:16:56:17] Libby Stegger: Bring such wisdom. [00:16:57:22] Bill Doherty: Yeah, but then you referred, so.
Okay. Keep going. I just have to say that. [00:17:02:00] Wilk Wilkinson: Oh, but the beautiful thing here is, is, like I said, with with all the wisdom and the experience that we all bring to the table in our whole group, collectively, we're not trying to just tell everybody what the solution is or build the perfect mousetrap.
As Bill said right at the beginning, we this is about listening to Minnesotans talk about what neighboring is to them, what they think their community looks like at its best. Talk about the significance of why this is Minnesotans building the solution to the problem themselves. This isn't us bringing them the solution to what we see. Their problem is being [00:17:48:22] Bill Doherty: Yeah.
Well, yes, the the solutions will emerge and and priorities will emerge. So I mean, we're going to let's be clear, we're going to have a creative process. We the team at some point on this. It's not like we're just going to pull people and say, what should we do?
But it's going to be informed. So let me give you an example of of something that emerged in the in the first listening session. This was in Fergus Falls about values that Minnesotans hold the love of the land, the love of water, the love of our environment was so interesting that that came out of because and the question was about Minnesota, okay, maybe in a different state, there would be different sorts of priorities. But this is this is the land we live in.
and it's a common value we have. That would be an example. So what what could come from that I don't know. But could we, could we could we encourage or facilitate action steps that would be related to people who differ politically but who love the land?
Okay. Yes. A lot of times what happens now is it's the mining or the, you know, the, the environment and, and the land becomes a source of division. But we and so when it gets to be is business or the lands.
Okay. Well everybody loves the land. And and most people want businesses succeed. Right.
And so could we at some point imagine I'm just I'm just riffing off one example here. Okay. Could we imagine some initiatives which would be about people who are otherwise politically divided, about the balance between the ecology and business coming together around their common love of of this environment and this land, and not dividing on it, but coming together that that's just like the top of my head is an example of something we hear that could spin into something. [00:19:54:02] Wilk Wilkinson: Yeah, I think it's a great example.
And, and Libby, you know, one of the things that we always think about, in terms of, of bridging and storytelling and trying to come to, solutions together to common cause problems people have to be able to see themselves in, in the story that's being told. Right? If they're going to listen with intention and if they're going to try to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, they have to be able to see themselves in the story. And I think Bill's example is absolutely right.
I mean, it's beautiful. We, you know, so many people in Minnesota. I mean, Minnesota's got this, this vast landscape of incredible beauty. I mean, we've got woods, we've got water, we've got country, we've got city, we've got all these different things.
And there's a lot of ways for people to see themselves in that particular story. Talk about the importance of storytelling and people seeing themselves in the story. To be part of that common or that solution to a common cause problem. [00:20:59:07] Libby Stegger: I love this question because it evokes, you know, we we hear so much about others.
This is what other people think. This is what other people believe. And when we root in, well, where do what do I want, what do I believe and how am I part of the solution? It actually gives us a whole we can recognize our own power.
There's this great phrase Jill on our team uses, which is what are we going to do about it? Right. So she's she'll be in an environment and someone like, oh, this is, you know, it's a work project or a community project. Oh, this isn't going well.
And instead of saying, you know what? What are you going to do about it? She says, what are we going to do? And it invites this collaborative feeling of like, oh gosh, we've got to do something about this.
So to Bill's question about the land, when we say, what are we going to do? It invites each of us to be a part of it, including ourselves. It's not just, what are you going to do? Or what do you believe about it or what has someone told me you believe about it?
It's it gives us agency. It gives us a way in. And we can't solve all the problems ourselves. Like we you know, we have a lot of hero stories, and hero stories are so motivating.
And we've got the Marvel characters and we've got all these heroes in our in our collective American narrative. And what we don't spend a lot of time on is all the people who surrounded them who help make that happen. And so when we recognize that each of our heroes was backed by a whole group of other people who were finding ways to work together, then we can recognize our own part of this, because when we think we can solve it all ourselves, or that we have to solve it all ourselves, it's just it's too big. And so instead.
[00:22:31:02] Wilk Wilkinson: Of overwhelming. [00:22:32:02] Libby Stegger: Yeah, what's our small part that we can contribute? How do we be a neighbor to the person next door to us? How do we be a neighbor to that person down the street?
How do we push that person out of the snow? But then also, how do we say, here's a challenge that we're really facing? I want to talk about it. I'm going to start where I, where I live.
[00:22:46:23] Wilk Wilkinson: And that's huge. And then, you know, to continue on and and think about, you know, on that particular line, we have to also think about the fact that the state of Minnesota is very broad geographically. And we've got a lot of different things going on in the state of Minnesota. Right.
I mean, you've got you've got tribal nations, you've got immigrant populations, you've got the people up in the arrow head that, that live in a, in a very different landscape than the people that live in the southern part of the state and things like that. let's talk a little bit about what we're trying to do in terms of, of geographically hitting these different areas of the state to try and bring in the voices of, of all these different, these different groups that we see in the state of Minnesota because we are not there is no description of Minnesota that could be considered monolithic in any way, way, shape or form. Right? I mean, there's there's so much going on here.
So let's talk a little bit Libby talk a little bit about the significance of where we're going to be doing listening sessions and, and how we're going to try and capture the through lines in these stories. And then I'll turn it over to Bill as well here. [00:24:09:13] Libby Stegger: Yeah. Spot on.
So Bill talked earlier about some of the core questions we're asking. And we're asking the same questions across the state and seeing where do we find similar answers and where do we find differences so that we really know how to reach and connect with and support communities in the ways where they're connected, in the ways that they're dissimilar? I mean, I've been in small towns who can make very clear distinction from one town over. So to your point, well, we are not a monolith.
It is there is diversity everywhere we see it. And so we have been so lucky to have partners from around the state raise their hand and say they want to host listening sessions. So we've had three when Fergus falls in the Twin Cities and in Lake City, and now we're inviting others to host. So I've talked to people from every corner of the state as far as southwest as Beaver Creek, all the way up to Hibbing and Moorhead, who are actually already doing gathering and convening and getting people together to talk about some of these issues.
They are now talking about how they can bring neighbors campaign questions into their communities and think together about how to do something about it. So that's what it looks like to really do this everywhere. I cannot be in all places at all times, but there are so many people around the state who care about this, who are who are taking who are taking this up. And Bill's designed an incredible way to do that in a way that will connect us, but also help us realize where we have some differences.
[00:25:30:10] Bill Doherty: Yeah. And what I'd add to it is that one of the things that our core team is committed to is is holding listening sessions in every congressional district. Okay, so the congressional districts are divided up by population. They all have the they differ tremendously by geography.
But there are similar in terms of numbers of people. So so we personally ourselves going out around the state to hold listening session and then tribal nations as well, which have their own identity. And so we're going to we're going to make sure we get that kind of spread. And then and then as Libby said, encourage and invite people from, from their own particular geographical town, it could be their ethnic community.
And this is where the advisors come into play. So one of our advisors just approached me the other day, Libby, I mentioned this to you yet, but would love to pull something together in North Minneapolis and has the connections and has the background to do this. and then we will be we will be assistance, we will be helpers, and we will co-create and co-design listening sessions that will work for that community. As long as as Libby said, we're asking the same kinds of questions.
The answers may be different, but the key is you have to you have to ask the same size of questions and and not to do it in a traditional way that questions are often asked. And that is what are your problems? And then who do you think should solve those problems? [00:27:08:22] Wilk Wilkinson: Oh my.
[00:27:09:06] Bill Doherty: Gosh, that's what we do. So what are your problems? Which is a way to say what are your deficits? Okay.
We start out what are your what are your problems. And then and then who should fix them. And you know, and then it's like those people should fix them. [00:27:24:17] Wilk Wilkinson: Exactly.
[00:27:26:04] Bill Doherty: To fix them or they, you know, the people who hate us should stop hating us or, you know, and to trivialize it. But if you ask the questions that way, you end up with a downer, because then people feel powerless. [00:27:40:21] Wilk Wilkinson: That's right, that's right. It accentuates that powerlessness within them.
And they go away not feeling good. But I love and Libby brought up the word agency earlier. This is one of those things that that and that was one of the big things with, you know, within the work that we were doing together as we were developing this was talking about how do we how do we create and renew that sense of agency and people that are feeling lost and distraught with with things that are going on. And I think I think we're doing it the exact right way now.
There's going to be people asking the question, okay, what, you know, after all these listening sessions, you know, what are we going to do with this data? What I mean, as we evaluate this as bridge builders and as we move forward, as we said, this is a multi-year campaign where we're in this for the long haul to affect real change in our civic culture. And Bill? What's what are we, doing with with the data after this to really affect change in our state and show people that were not nearly as divided as, as people would have you believe.
[00:28:45:14] Bill Doherty: Well, that's your job. Wilk Yeah. We're going to we're going to hand it over to you at that point. Well, we're deliberately not drilling down on that question.
That's right. Now we will we are hoping to finish a lot of listening sessions before the snow falls. And and we'll do more after that. And then we're going to digest and then we're going to think about our, our activation phase.
And my own view is that this has got to be in collaboration with others as well. It's not that we go somewhere and dream it up, but we have to see what works for people. But but I'll give you can be helpful to think about potential examples. And I mentioned that if there was a way for people to come together politically around who differ politically around their local environment would be, I just made that one up and another one just as an example.
Who knows, it will do this kind of thing, but we know that a major, a major threat to the sense of being Minnesotans. The nature of Minnesota is the rural urban divide. You know, this is well-established. And you could just look at the map, the red blue map in the state, right?
Look at the different reactions that people had in the metro area to the ice surge versus people in greater Minnesota. That was just proximity. You feel differently about it. And so maybe there's some ways to to form relationships between people in the metro area and people in greater Minnesota that are sustainable, that the really developed ties.
I'm just giving an example, but we will we will potentially have the resources for that. Okay. To to and then the other thing is that whatever we do, you get media attention. And, and we have maybe minefields, which is a great public relations agency advertising marketing.
They're along for this right to with public messaging. There's going to be videotaping. So whatever we do, we're going to try to maximize the messaging of this. The inspiration for the stories of hope through the media outreach, which is one of the reasons why this is such a unique project, because we have a partner who knows how to do that.
[00:31:13:03] Libby Stegger: Yeah. And one thing that I love about that is that yes, we will be able to counter some of these these narratives of division with narratives of connection. And so that's really powerful in itself. It also invites Minnesotans to be part of a public dialog, a public debate, because that is how, as a country, how we've how we've addressed a lot of really big, thorny problems is having a public debate.
And that can be through the media. It can be over dinner tables, it can be in neighborhoods, it can be in city halls. And we should be talking about that. We should be talking about how do we be neighbors to each other, and how do we solve big problems in ways that still recognize each other's humanity.
That actually is a conversation, a public conversation we need to be having and having consistently. And so having things out there in the media and talking about the neighbors campaign is not only a way to share stories of hope, it is also a way to invite Minnesotans to be part of the dialog and to say again to their community, what are we going to do about it? [00:32:09:13] Wilk Wilkinson: Yeah, no. And and I think that's an important thing that I want a lot of people to take away from this.
This particular episode is, is people here in the state of Minnesota can get involved because we want them involved and to bills point, you know, people will ask that question, you know, what's coming next. But we are intentionally holding that back because we don't have all those answers yet. And we don't want to pretend that we do have those answers right now, because we are. This is being built by Minnesotans, for Minnesotans.
And and as we collect this data, we will learn what's happening or learn, you know, what's happening in all those communities. Find the through lines and find the ways that we can all best work together. Be the best neighbors possible. People can get involved.
Libby, talk real quick about about our website where people can get involved, how people can get involved. And and then we'll wrap this one up. [00:33:06:02] Libby Stegger: Yes, people can get involved. Visit Minnesota, land of neighbors or Land of Neighbors on all the social media channels.
You can follow us. You can sign up to receive updates about when listening sessions are in your area, in that you can indicate to us if you want to get more involved. Maybe you want to host something. Maybe.
Maybe you just want to show up one sometime so you can indicate that when you sign up. Those are great ways to get involved and stay in touch. Because as we're learning, we're also going to share out what we're learning. Right.
And so you can follow along and be part of that conversation. [00:33:38:17] Wilk Wilkinson: Fantastic. Any last words? Bill.
[00:33:42:07] Bill Doherty: Oh, it's a pleasure to be talking with you about this. And we're hoping that what we learn here, we can share with other states and other other, you know, other countries. [00:33:54:14] Wilk Wilkinson: Be the example that you want to see in the world. Right?
This is a this is a beautiful project. I am so honored to be in this work with both of you and and the rest of our team and, and doing this work in the state of Minnesota. So again, the website Land of Neighbors or Minnesota Land of Neighbors. And I look forward to the continued work we're doing together.
Thank you so much to both of you today. [00:34:19:09] Libby Stegger: Likewise. Thanks for having us. [00:34:21:00] Bill Doherty: Thank you.
[00:34:23:07] Wilk Wilkinson: Friends, I want to thank you so much for tuning in. And if there's anything in this episode that provided exceptional value to you, please make sure to hit that share button. If you haven't done so already, please be sure to subscribe to get the Derate The Hate podcast sent to your email inbox every week. We really are better together.
So please take a moment to visit Braver Angels and consider joining the movement towards civic renewal and bridging our political divide. This is Wilk wrapping up for the week saying get out there. Be kind to one another. Be grateful for everything you've got.
And remember, it's up to you to make every day the day that you want it to be. With that, my friend. I'm going to back on out of here and we will catch you next week. Take care.
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