By Jennifer Stayton - KUT Austin
When two 2019 college grads from the East Coast noticed a lack of important — and civil — conversations about critical issues, they decided to help make those conversations happen. And what better place to do that, they figured, than Texas.
More specifically, Marley Duchovnay and Casey Moore say they chose to move to Smithville because they wanted to experience a broad range of political opinions, but be part of a community close to Austin. Bastrop County fit the bill.
So the two University of Delaware graduates hit the road and headed to Texas to set up Project Divided, which they describe as a multimedia initiative "to bring people to the table to have difficult conversations about politics." They spearhead political discussions on their website and social media channels and host conversations within the community.
Duchovnay and Moore believe political polarization permeates much of society. But they say individuals can help to break that down.
"If I, as one individual, want to do something to impact political polarization, truthfully, the best thing that I can do is to try to build relationships with people who are different from me ideologically and in other ways, " says Duchovnay.
Project Divided’s next event is Saturday at the Smithville Recreation Center. Chili Cook-Off and Conversation invites people to engage with members of their community and vote on their favorite chili.
KUT talked with the Project Divided founders about what they hope to accomplish with their initiative and how they encourage people of different political beliefs to come together in conversation.