One Man's Mission to Talk Politics, Civilly

By David Roth | MN Original Producer

It has been one year since Donald Trump took the office of President. During both the 2016 election and in this first year with a new leader, Scott Bentson has noticed a lack of open-minded bi-partisanship, civility, and communication among his neighbors. So he decided to do something about it: He sits next to a sign that reads “Talk politics?” in Park Rapids’ Pioneer Park and he waits for people to stop for a few moments of political discourse, regardless of political bent or party. The ambition? He aims to foster civility in discussion and debate – and his ultimate goal is to spearhead group conversations between 10 to 12 people at a time. We first learned about Scott’s project from an article in the Park Rapids Enterprise.

A retired psychologist, Scott has lived in northern Minnesota for most of his adult life. But he’s never before encountered such resistance to having a political discourse. Fueled by the reaction to the 2016 election, Scott’s purpose is not to change minds or to convert people to any one political view. Instead, he just wants people to come together to talk about their views with others who see things differently.