'It's on all of us, and people like us, to change our politics'
Talking about U.S. politics in a peaceful way
Baldly Bipartisan hosts John Sellek (in the middle) and Adrian Hemond (on the right) talk about what is currently happening in US and Michigan politics at the Griffin Forum at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, Oct 22 at the Park Library's Sarah and Daniel Opperman Auditorium during the biannual Griffin Forum.
The Griffin Forum gathered a handful of Central Michigan University students, staff and those from the public to listen to a "Baldly Bipartisan" talk about civility in politics on Oct. 22.
The Griffin Forum is an event that happens twice a year held by the Griffin Endowed Chair, which is sponsored by the School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
Andrea LaFontaine, organizer and chair of Griffin Endowed, brought in "Baldly Bipartisan, a group of two PR agency owners: Republican John Sellek, chief strategist of Harbor Strategic, and Democrat Adrian Hemond, the CEO of Grassroots Midwest. These PR firms are found on the opposite sides of politics.
Sellek and Hemond hold "Baldly Bipartisan" events for groups and companies across Michigan to discuss what is going on in federal and Michigan politics. Through these events, Sellek and Hemond said they noticed the difference in the attitude of audiences after these events.
People are often too shy to voice their opinions or ask questions during the forum, especially since they started doing events like this during COVID. Sellek said that since they started, politics have become increasingly more divided.
“The split that we’re seeing has grown wider,” Sellek said. “People stopped voicing their opinions.”
Despite this increase in division, Sellek and Hemond hope that showing that people from opposite sides of politics can have a civil discussion about politics can bring people together.
“People are so relieved," Sellek said. "people are hungry to talk about this."
Sellek and Hemond informed the public on many issues that were brought up. One main focus was the growing political division among many different groups. Some of these groups included gender and level of education, but Sellek and Hemond said that the major division is found between social classes.
They said they haven't often gone to college campuses and this environment was different. Despite this, both said that it is important to inform young people about current American politics.
Hemond said that young people are needed in politics, especially when the majority of politicians in office are in their 70s and 80s, and are less likely to be impacted by the decisions they are making.
“I think it’s important to have different perspectives from people that aren’t on death's door,” Hemond said.
As an example, Hemond said that the percentage of those who vote for Democratic candidates is higher in areas closer to college campuses. This is what Hemond called "education polarization." That's why, Hemond and Sellek said that the Harris campaign is targeting the middle class where a lot of these “educated affluent elites” sit.
“They’re becoming the party of educated affluent elites,” Hemond said about the Democratic party. “The more degrees they get … the further they split away.”
The event wrapped up with a few words from Hemond. Hemond said that though it may be uncomfortable, politics is changed when we have political conversations with others.
“Listening to people that we disagree with is the only way that will fix our politics,” Hemond said. “It’s on all of us and people like us to change our politics.”
