At 5:45 am on election morning, the CEO of Braver Angels began his day as a volunteer poll worker in the town where he lives in Utah. All that day and well into the night, Maury Giles worked alongside fellow local volunteers to make sure that the vote was properly conducted at his local polling station.
“Elections are beautiful things,” he says. “If you’re ever concerned about elections, just be a poll worker and realize how amazing it is.”
In this episode Maury Giles shares his thoughts about what just happened this November, and why the clear national outcome gives him hope. “People are hungry for a different way of building together across differences because we have so many issues that need to be addressed.”
We hear Maury’s observations about the election and what should happen next.
From Troy Jackson in Maine—a fifth generation logger— and wheelchair user and Paralympian Josh Turek, to the nation’s first Latina governor in Texas, Native American Senator from Minnesota, and Black woman governor of Georgia, “we ended up with a lot of diverse, different kinds of people in very unique and historic roles.”
Maury is “really hopeful that we’ve just experienced provides an important window for us to practice courageous citizenship even deeper, more openly and recognize that we have a rare moment in front of us.”
But he’s concerned that the next two years could be wasted on retribution not repair. If elected Democrats go down the path of ‘we’re going to investigate everybody in the Trump Administration’, and impeach the President, then I believe we will go further into polarization and not solving things.”
Maury hopes that "in these next two years can we focus not on the man but on the system, on immigration, money in politics, and a Congress that actually works. Passing laws might anger some, “but are we going to feed the base or feed the people?”
Our interview also looks at the need to change America’s political culture of rewarding hyper individualism at the expense of a thriving community. “When it comes to the conflict entrepreneurs we are both the product and the consumer,” he says. "Until we shift what we demand and what we will give of ourselves, we won’t make a change”
And there are lessons across the board from this election for partisans of both sides. “It’s not about the pursuit of feeling good but being good so that you can contributes to improvement and being in community with society. That’s the culture change we’re trying to drive”
Maury Giles is a husband, a father of ten in a blended family, and a conservative. He volunteered with Braver Angels for five years, moderating Red/Blue workshops and leading bipartisan legislative initiatives through Braver Politics. Now, he’s the CEO of Braver Angels.
Richard Davies is the blue-leaning host of “How Do We Fix It?”, a podcast that asks questions with curiosity and respect for different viewpoints. Richard spend four decades as an on-air correspondent and reporter at ABC News. His Substack is Here Hear!
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