Meet Two Men Who Are Working Hard to Know, Love, and Support their Neighbors, No Matter What Their Story

In these divided times, it’s tempting to focus on all of the things driving wedges between us. Dave Isay, the American radio producer and founder of StoryCorps—a non-profit whose mission is to record, preserve, and share stories of Americans of all backgrounds—is aiming to bring us closer together with his new program, One Small Step. Isay’s new project grew out of StoryCorps, as an effort to get people who disagree about politics to get to know each other through a StoryCorps interview.

In an interview with Norah O’Donnell for CBS, Isay told her that he wants to put an end to what he calls the “culture of contempt” that is tearing apart the country. “The situation is so bad that if the culture of contempt wins, things are just not gonna end well for the United States,” Isay said.

We’re so glad Isay is taking a step to move our country—and humanity—forward by getting people to sit down and actually talk to each other about what shapes us as humans. Want to get involved? Learn more here.

And in these tough economic times, it’s increasingly hard for many families to meet their basic needs, like food on the table and a roof over their heads. When we saw Kurt Rietema’s Tweets this week, it gave us reason to hope that there are still people out there trying to help their neighbors. In response to a landlord on The Dave Ramsey Show who says he doesn’t feel guilty for raising the rent on his rental properties, Rietema responded: “I own a few rental properties in the low-income neighborhood I live in. I also help immigrant families who can’t access traditional financing become homeowners. You might say we try to help low-income families and find—what’s a name for it—”Financial Peace.”

Bravo, Kurt, for supporting your neighbors facing hardship.