Shelly O’Quinn: Innovia sparks Curious Conversations book club

Have you ever considered that you might be wrong about something? The question made me want to laugh out loud and smirk, “Ha, never!” However, a flood of life experiences crossed my mind, instantly humbling me. OK, maybe. Well … actually, yes. I’ve been wrong many times – more times than I would like to admit.

We all have opinions, some deeply rooted ones. We see them play out in our community every day around politics, religion, the value of education, homelessness and more. We tend to surround ourselves with those who share our views, creating an echo chamber that only deepens these divides in our community.

This divide is particularly bad in the political arena. According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of Republicans regard Democrats as more immoral than other Americans, and 63% of Democrats say the same about Republicans. Similar patterns exist when it comes to seeing members of the other party as more dishonest, closed-minded and unintelligent than other Americans.

Yet have we ever stopped to consider why someone believes what they believe? Why they hold their opinion as staunchly as we hold our own? Have we ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, we might be wrong about something, or at least consider there might be another viable opinion?

Seattle-based journalist and author Mónica Guzmán is on a mission to share how we can use our curiosity to learn from individuals with differing – even opposing – worldviews.

The loving liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who voted – twice – for Donald Trump, Guzmán is the author of “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.”

Senior fellow for public practice at Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan grassroots organization working to depolarize America, Guzmán is not about trying to change our minds. Rather, she challenges us to get curious to have healthy conversations with those we disagree with.

“I guarantee that when you are more – and more genuinely – curious, it will strengthen all the relationships that matter to you, whether they’re with your relatives, your colleagues, your country, or yourself,” Guzmán says.

In today’s environment of polarizing topics, Guzmán’s book sheds light on the value of conversation and encourages us to be curious about each other, ask questions, and find ways to have critical conversations with people instead of about them. In the book, she emphasizes:

“Connecting with other humans is what makes our lives rich and meaningful. Especially when so much can pull us apart.”

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of people in Eastern Washington and North Idaho have joined in reading Guzmán’s book through Innovia Foundation’s Curious Conversations book club. In partnership with Northwest Passages, Guzmán will be in Spokane on May 2 at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox to talk about the importance of curious conversations in our deeply divided world. The event will be simulcast in Sandpoint, Colville and Lewiston.

At Innovia, our mission is simple: strengthen communities and improve lives. We believe that despite our differences, we are better together. Let’s bring civility back to our communities. Get curious. Join us on May 2 to explore ways to spark conversations that we have been both eager and hesitant to have. For information, visit www.innovia.org or call (509) 624-2606.

Shelly O’Quinn is CEO of the Innovia Foundation in Spokane.