Rural and urban areas look unequivocally divided on any political map, and many Americans wonder how to bridge the gap. That's one reason Brooklyn-based lawyer Caroline Aiken Koster decided to go to her extended family's annual reunion in Pineville, Ky., this summer. "I wanted to remind my husband and two college-age sons of the things we had in common with the rest of America, Koster writes for The Wall Street Journal.
But the Louisville native (whose parents are from Pineville) also wanted "a dose of unconditional Kentucky love. I was hungry for the potluck fried chicken, fried corn, fried apples and green beans sauteed in bacon grease. But I also sought escape from the 24-hour news cycle, the East Coast echo chambers and my like-minded friends on Facebook," Koster writes.
Several of Koster's friends in New York were skeptical about her trip, and wondered whether she would fit in anymore. But, Koster writes that the act of being together, of listening to each other's concerns with love, is what makes understanding possible: "Like many Americans, I’ve been alarmed by studies and polls suggesting we’ve lost empathy for one another. Up in the mountains, love and civility forced us to talk it out. There was no room for identity politics when we sat elbow to elbow at the picnic table. We all knew we had to get along if we want to come back next year. There was no avoiding tough conversations, no unfriending, no ghosting or canceling."
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| Pineville, in Bell County (Wikipedia map) |
Several of Koster's friends in New York were skeptical about her trip, and wondered whether she would fit in anymore. But, Koster writes that the act of being together, of listening to each other's concerns with love, is what makes understanding possible: "Like many Americans, I’ve been alarmed by studies and polls suggesting we’ve lost empathy for one another. Up in the mountains, love and civility forced us to talk it out. There was no room for identity politics when we sat elbow to elbow at the picnic table. We all knew we had to get along if we want to come back next year. There was no avoiding tough conversations, no unfriending, no ghosting or canceling."
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