Thread: 'The Messy Truth' airs tonight at 9

'The Messy Truth' airs tonight at 9

The messy truth about the gulf between Trump and Clinton voters

By Van Jones
Updated 3:59 PM ET, Mon December 5, 2016

Van Jones is president of Dream Corps and Rebuild the Dream, which promote innovative solutions for America's economy. He was President Barack Obama's green jobs adviser in 2009. A best-selling author, he is also founder of Green for All, a national organization working to build a green economy. Follow him on Twitter @VanJones68. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN)The Messy Truth, a special program hosted by Van Jones, airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST.

I got tired of just sitting on the CNN set, talking about Donald Trump voters.

So, days before the 2016 election, I decided to fly into a battleground state -- and talk to them.

I visited Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where a major battle was fought in America's Civil War. I wanted to know one thing: Are we on the verge of another civil war?

What I learned surprised me. The answers are even more important, now that Trump has won.

My film crew recorded our Gettysburg encounters in hopes they'd shed light on this tense moment in America.

FIRST EPISODE
A local family invited me into their home one day after Trump made his own "Gettysburg Address" at a campaign appearance. I expected fireworks. And I got them. What I didn't expect was all the laughter -- or the tears.


'The Messy Truth': First episode 10:21


SECOND EPISODE
Four moms sat on the front porch and debated Trump's candidacy. Even though they disagreed bitterly, I discovered their secret for remaining the best of friends.


'The Messy Truth': Second episode 08:07


THIRD EPISODE
I encountered my toughest challenge: a young Trump supporter who wouldn't back down. Finding common ground seemed impossible. Then a tiny miracle happened.


'The Messy Truth': Third episode 08:16


What these conversations reinforced in my mind is the basic decency and dignity of the Trump voters. They are not blind to his flaws. They simply rank and balance his shortcomings differently than do his detractors.

That's important for Trump's critics to know and understand.
I left wanting to cultivate a deeper sense of empathy -- in myself and in our country. That's what we seem to be missing -- and secretly longing for.

To be clear: This increase in empathy will not decrease our disagreements. After all, constructive disagreement and democratic debate is the basis of all progress. Democracies advance themselves through the creative use of our disagreements.

More empathy and understanding can keep us from needlessly inflaming one another, and this should create the conditions for a better understanding of our differences.
Van Jones

But more empathy and understanding can keep us from needlessly inflaming one another, and this should create the conditions for a better understanding of our differences. Deeper insight can only help all sides.

Therefore, I am inviting everyone who watches this series to have a #MessyTruth conversation.

Talk (and listen) to someone with whom you don't agree. Ask questions about anything that doesn't sound right to you. But don't just fight back. Try to listen. In fact, before you respond at all, carefully repeat back what you hear -- just to make sure you truly understand the other person. Then share your own views and feelings. Be passionate. But be compassionate, too.

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Join us on Twitter and Facebook

Whatever you discover in the process, consider sharing it under the hashtag: #MessyTruth.

Democracy doesn't just happen on Election Day at the polls.

Democracy happens every day, through every interaction we have with each other.

Our future depends on our ability to have these kinds of conversations all across the country.

You may be surprised by what you uncover. There are hypocrisies, blind spots and surprising areas of agreement everywhere. Because the real truth is always a little messy.


'The Messy Truth' trailer 02:04


Video credits: "The Messy Truth" produced by Magic Labs Media and Meridian Hill Pictures; executive producers, Van Jones and Jana Carter; director, Brandon Kramer; producer, Lance Kramer, line producer, Michelle Aguilar; editors, Ellie Walton, Edwin Martinez and Sara Fusco; cinematographer, Brett Wiley; sound recordist, Andrew Kennedy; field producer, Chris Gorski; titles, Dan Sharkey; Trailer: Wheelhouse Creative.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/12/opinio...uth/index.html

A lot of good thoughts in that.

The media, and the paid protestors had everything so hostile and violent, and truly ugly. We live in a small town, and don't venture out into the bigger towns too often, but I was concerned some of this might be spilling over and things might be a little tense.

What I have discovered is that everyone seems nicer than ever. It's almost like there is an effort - I don't mean an artificial effort, but a genuine effort to take the time to say hello, smile, thank you, help with doors, packages, etc. This is from children as well as adults - all lines - from race to age to sex.

My daughter lives in a northeastern state and when I told her, she said it was the same there.

Somehow I don't think their promotion of hatred is working. That's another way we can make it work by being nice and helpful to each other. We still have so much more in common than not. We still want a good place for our children and grandchildren.

Originally Posted by nntrixie

A lot of good thoughts in that.

The media, and the paid protestors had everything so hostile and violent, and truly ugly. We live in a small town, and don't venture out into the bigger towns too often, but I was concerned some of this might be spilling over and things might be a little tense.

What I have discovered is that everyone seems nicer than ever. It's almost like there is an effort - I don't mean an artificial effort, but a genuine effort to take the time to say hello, smile, thank you, help with doors, packages, etc. This is from children as well as adults - all lines - from race to age to sex.

My daughter lives in a northeastern state and when I told her, she said it was the same there.

Somehow I don't think their promotion of hatred is working. That's another way we can make it work by being nice and helpful to each other. We still have so much more in common than not. We still want a good place for our children and grandchildren.

I also live in a small town, a university town and the reaction is precisely the opposite. The mayor actually organized a meeting in a local city owned meeting place with the open mission of rousing people against the incoming administration as if it were a fascist military coup, as if we might be forced to evacuate. "Fear" was a word showing up frequently in the speech he gave. It was very disturbing. I was also an audience to a local congregation where the Trump opposition voice similar sentiments.

What is disturbing is that it is all clearly a performance. Too many people have become completely besotted in petty performances. Nothing is real any more. It's all empty demonstrations of conviction. Sustaining the Narrative. And so when people actually act on real convictions, it is easy for them to ignore, as with radical Islamic terrorism.

I'm sorry, pkskyali, that is really sad.

Well, we are too small to have an university, but we have ventured out to a few larger towns/cities and it has been very nice.

The host, Van Jones, of The Messy Truth is a hypocritical racist (IMO). I remember him saying white-lash is what cost Hillary the election.

Van Jones: Both political parties kind of suck

By Christina Manduley, CNN
Updated 9:27 PM ET, Tue December 6, 2016

"The Messy Truth," a special program hosted by Van Jones, airs at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday on CNN.

(CNN)It's been one month since the historic US election, and Van Jones wants the country to come together. But first he wants to explain "The Messy Truth" about the political climate in the United States.

Jones began his first live TV special, "The Messy Truth," on CNN on Tuesday night with what could be described as a cold dose of reality.

"It feels nearly impossible to have a productive conversation with 'the other side'," he said. "We are still acting like one side is always right and one side is always wrong."

Van Jones: The messy truth about the gulf between Trump and Clinton voters

An outspoken Democrat who once was President Barack Obama's environmental adviser, Jones admits he is guilty of such behavior as well.

But at some point, he said, "We have got to do better."

Jones said both parties need to take a long look in the mirror. Why? "Because right now, they both kind of suck," he said.

"At our best we (Democrats) are the champions of America's downtrodden working folks.

But it's also true that some very obnoxious elitism has found a home in our party.

Democrats have gotten so used to saying stuff like 'red state voters are stupid' that we don't even get how stuck up and terrible that sounds to anybody with good sense.

That elitist attitude may have cost us the Rust Belt. And this election." Jones said, pointing to the states that Hillary Clinton lost in Donald Trump's upset win.

He also gave his take on "The Messy Truth" about the Republican Party. "(Republicans) are the party of colorblind individual merit.

That sounds great. But as much as Republicans hate to admit it, some nasty strains of some bigotry and some bias, including some actually scary white supremacists, have found a home in their party.

And they don't seem to want to acknowledge that or even confront it in a serious way."

It may be easy to try to blanket both parties with general statements, but Jones said, "I am not saying that every Democrats is an elitist.

And I am certainly not saying that every Republican is bigoted. Far from it. I'm saying something else.

I'm saying: Neither major political party today seems to truly respect all Americans.

In fact, both parties seem to disrespect an awful lot of Americans, an awful lot of the time. That is no longer a partisan problem. That is now an American problem."

It is normal to have some disagreements with your friends and family when it comes to politics, Jones said, but he called into question how we're handling such disputes with one another.

"Disagreement is good! In a dictatorship everybody has to agree. In a democracy, nobody has to agree. It's called freedom. That's the whole point of America," Jones said.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/06/politi...sr=google_news