Project Divided is working to bring people of different political views and backgrounds to the table to have difficult conversations about politics.
why start in Texas?
Specifically, Smithville, Bastrop County, Texas
(always one of the first questions we're asked…)
Why move to texas, to begin a project on political polarization?
We have two reasons.
We want to practice what we preach. Both of us are guilty of staying in our own bubbles, and not always engaging with people who hold different views than ourselves. We decided to challenge ourselves and get our of our own comfort zones geographically by moving to a place that we have never lived before!
Second, we decided to begin Project Divided in the great state of Texas, is because it highlights many of the pressing and contentious issues facing the U.S. today--from immigration to jobs and the economy. One of the main goals of Project Divided is to engage in conversations with people from across the political spectrum. This region represents the changing, and often clashing, points of view in our democracy.
why Bastrop County?
Bastrop County is only 1 hour from Austin and around 2 hours from Houston. Due to its convenient positioning between these two large cities, basing our initiative in Bastrop allows us to hear perspectives from both residents of cities and rural/suburban towns. Particularly, as Austinites begin to expand into the surrounding areas, there is a unique opportunity to learn about how these changes will affect newcomers and long-term residents.