Polarization: Its Past Present And Future

From Nic Adams “It’s a lot easier to find common ground with folks than people think.”-Nic Adams, Professional Staff Member & Advisor to Senator Cornyn, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Friends and fellow citizens,  Whether forging consensus on landmark legislation or job hunting on Capitol Hill, relationships matter, according to a… Read More

Unity’s definition is too often inspected under a microscope—or rather a macroscope—of division among differing groups at a grand scale, lacking little attention to the methods by which unity arrives among all groups, such as those characterized by an overlapping interest, belief, healing wound, or relationship. Even more so, all forms of unity—whether it is nations or neighbors—share a common thread of connection which permits for a sustainable agreement. Read More

By: Hee Na Cho, Class of 2025 When it comes to unity, the question often asked usually does not concern its definition; rather, many choose to consider the question, “Why are we polarized?” As a freshman with no extensive knowledge on political science, I would have trouble explaining where unity… Read More

By: Brennan Cegelka, Class of 2023  On the day America declared its independence from Great Britain, the Continental Congress tasked three of our most esteemed Founding Fathers – Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, with creating the first seal of the United States. While the seal they proposed ultimately… Read More

By: Daniel Baisier, Class of 2022 Unity: it seemed to be the Biden campaign’s favorite word. Since January, it has also become a subject of mockery by Biden’s critics. When Congress passed a $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill along party lines and when Biden took jabs at Republican-backed changes to… Read More

Project co-chair Samar Ali speaks to the Franklin, TN community on "Common Values, Shared Future: The Pathway to Unity" Read More

From Michael Newton: “The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy is an important effort based on dialogue, based on facts, reason, dignity, and respect where dissent is embraced as an opportunity for learning and inquiry, and not just an opportunity to destroy.”  -Michael Newton, Professor of Law and Political Science at… Read More

When profiling diverse leaders across America—the bridge builders, who do not accept the status quo of bottomless rage toward others—I discovered that these bridge builders are countercultural. They do not accept buzzwords. They do not use labels. They choose nuance over caricature, realizing that when they box people in, they box themselves out of the possibility of meaningful connections that can lead to genuine change.  Read More