The Nantahala River runs through the western edge of the battleground state of North Carolina, making it an unlikely place to conduct an experiment in reconciliation.
About 30 Americans went there to sail the Nantahala on a raft, exploring the limits of political alienation. They were liberals and conservatives, independents and libertarians, and they would no doubt be at odds with each other on every idea and issue.
But they are also willing to talk and row together toward something deeper.
Veteran rafting enthusiast Ken Powley, deeply concerned about Americans’ feelings of alienation, organized the trip as part of RAFT for America, a movement that brings together people with different views on rafting trips (its parent organization, Team Democracy, was co-founded by Powley to combat political polarization and promote civility).
“As Americans, we’re really in the same boat,” Pauley said. “I’m someone who’s always thought of democracy as like the air we breathe. Democracy is always going to be there.”
Pauly began work on this the next day. Attack on the Capitolhe has decided to dedicate his retirement to healing our political wounds — or at least trying to do so.
What is the nature of the experiment?
“It’s becoming harder to bring people with different points of view together. We’re finding that what unites us is much more powerful than what divides us,” Powley said.
Also on the trip was the Rev. Rodney Sadler, a liberal Charlotte native who describes himself as “not a fan of Trump at all,” and who was in the same boat as Lance Moseley, a public relations professional and conservative who lives in a camper and loves to travel.
“I don’t understand why everyone is afraid of Trump. Trump is better for the country. That’s my view,” Moseley said.
Lance and Sadler felt the cold at first, but so did everyone on their ship.
The raft made its way down the Nantahala rapids with teamwork and enthusiasm, finding new ways to avoid rocks and turbulence, both real and metaphorical, along the way.
“We’re all closer to each other than we think,” Moseley says.
“Regardless of who you vote for or what you vote for, I think this is a great first step,” Sadler responded.
Towards the end, the waves got rough and one of the raftmen was thrown overboard but was not harmed. The day on the river ended up bringing Sadler and Moseley closer together.
“I think we’re so divided that we don’t take the time to get to know people as people,” Sadler said.
“By the end of the trip, we were finally able to have deeper political conversations,” Moseley said.
Cynics will probably think this is a bit too tidy, but Powley says, “This isn’t about unity.”
“This isn’t about changing people’s positions and trying to get them to agree, it’s about managing differences in a reasonable and responsible way,” Powley said. “This isn’t about rafting. It’s about playing together and building relationships that we might not have thought about otherwise.”
For Powley, that noble pursuit has a river running through it.
“I’m impressed because it’s very clear that it’s so much better than what we’re showing,” he said.
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