Many woke up after the 2016 election shocked, because we thought we were different than the results suggested. For some, it revealed the deep and painful wounds of the oppression they’ve always experienced, uncovered just how pervasive discrimination is, precisely because it was so shocking to others. It uncovered just how entrenched institutionalized discrimination has become in America.

Thank God we don’t all have to have the same experiences, but we must understand that we don’t all have the same experiences, don’t face the same limits and consequences for being who we are. We have much to learn from one another if we truly seek justice for all.

So how did we get here? For some it was a vote of privilege — a statement of dissent. But much of rural America has been abandoned by progressive organizing, and extreme political forces have stepped into this vacuum. The far right has secured a foothold in Idaho’s rural and remote areas and are driving the narrative and providing the political context of how to move from that pain to solutions that further exacerbate it.

The division among people is deep and growing along generational, racial and gender divides. As individuals try to navigate these challenging times, further polarization is intensifying among some and causing others to retreat. It is fundamental to the success of an emergent movement that we learn to talk to people where they are and engage on our shared issues and values.

People are starving for connection, especially in the places most forgotten. The advent of Trump’s rural base was in large part due to the fact that the pain of poor and working-class was acknowledged by these reactionary forces.

We have a choice; we can continue to talk at each other, or we can make the investment in one another to do the deep listening that is required to win real improvements in people’s lives.

In 2016, United Vision for Idaho launched RiseUp, Idaho!, a populist campaign advocating a bold agenda, not a list of policies the establishment says we can win but what the people of Idaho must win.

Read the entire story featuring grantee United Vision for Idaho.