On the western edge of North Carolina, a state known for its battles, the Nantahala River cuts through an area that doesn’t seem like a good place to try to bring people together.
About 30 Americans went there to go rafting down the Nantahala River and see how far political differences could go. Liberals, conservatives, independents, and libertarians are all of them, and they will disagree with each other on a wide range of ideas and problems.
They’re also ready to talk and paddle together to get to the bottom of things.
Ken Powley planned the trip as part of R.A.F.T. for America, a movement that brings people with different views on rafting trips together. Powley is an experienced rafter and seriously worries about American alienation. The group that it is related to, Team Democracy, was started with Powley’s help to fight political division and promote politeness.
“As Americans we really are in the same boat together,” he said. “I’ve always thought of democracy as something you breathe in.” It will always be there.
Powley began this project the day after the Capitol uprising. He had chosen that he would spend his retirement years trying to heal our political wounds.
The main point of the test?
“It’s hard to get people with different views to work together anymore.” “What we find is that what brings us together is stronger than what keeps us apart,” Powley said.
Rodney Sadler, the Rev., who is from Charlotte and says he is a Democrat and “not fond of Trump at all,” went along for the ride. He ended up in the same boat as Lance Moseley, a conservative public relations worker who lives in an RV and travels a lot.
“I don’t get why everyone is scared of Trump so much.” He’s better for the country. That is what I think, Moseley said.
At first, Lance, Sadler, and everyone else on their boat thought it was cold.
The boats worked together and were excited as they went down the Nantahala River’s rapids. Attitudes learned new ways to get around the real and imagined rocks and rough spots along the way.
Michael Moseley said, “Everyone is closer than we think.”
Sadler said, “No matter who we might vote for or anything else, I think this is a great first step.”
Near the end, rough waves threw a rafter overboard without hurting it. It was a day on the river that brought Sadler and Moseley closer together.
“I think we are so divided that we don’t get to spend the time to get to know people as human beings,” said Sadler.
“By the end of the trip we were finally talking deeper politics,” he said.
Some people might think this is all too neat, but Powley says, “This is not about unity.”
“This isn’t about trying to get people to agree with you or change their minds.” “Managing those differences in a reasonably responsible way is what it’s all about,” Powley said. “This isn’t really about rafting.” The point is that playing together helps us connect with each other in ways we would not have thought of otherwise.
Powley sees a river running through that good cause.
“It does touch me, because it’s so crystal clear that we are so much better than what we’re showing,” he added.