As we method America’s 250th birthday, our nation faces advanced challenges. A 2025 Marist survey discovered that Individuals are involved — 77 p.c say the problems that divide us are a critical menace to the way forward for our democracy.
But our frequent humanity is way deeper and extra highly effective than our variations.
It’s necessary to acknowledge that, as a nation, we’re stronger as a result of we’re in a position to categorical and debate completely different factors of view respectfully.
As the manager administrators of two presidential facilities — one Republican, one Democratic — we’ve got discovered inspiration by means of tons of of leaders who’ve come collectively, throughout partisan strains, to be taught from one another and make a distinction of their communities.
Ten years in the past, Presidents George W. Bush, Invoice Clinton and George H.W. Bush teamed up with the LBJ Foundation to create the Presidential Management Students — a program aimed toward growing leaders who work with, not in opposition to, these with completely different views and beliefs to make a optimistic, lasting influence in the US and around the globe.
All through this system, students encounter daring examples of presidential collaboration: President Johnson uniting an unlikely coalition to go landmark civil rights laws. President George H.W. Bush bringing collectively each events to finish discrimination by means of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. President Clinton working throughout the aisle to stability the finances for the primary time in a technology — lowering the nationwide debt and leaving the nation with a report surplus. President George W. Bush rallying bipartisan help for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Aid, which has saved more than 26 million lives.
These examples give students insights into how, even amidst division and disagreement, we will work collectively to create one thing higher.
A decade later, this system has practically 600 alumni. Whereas they’re of various political affiliations, work throughout completely different sectors, and are from numerous components of the nation, these leaders share a standard trait: their want to work throughout divides to make optimistic change.
Probably the most essential piece of this program is a cost for these leaders to develop private management tasks that tackle a problem and make a distinction of their communities.
Jon Bennion, a 2018 alum of the students program, constructed a program that brings Republicans and Democrats from the Montana state Legislature collectively for a literal “sausage-making” occasion — creating a chance to construct belief and relationships that may assist elected leaders attain consensus on divisive points.
Steve Lopez, a 2023 Scholar, found the scarcity of mechanics was threatening Dallas Fireplace-Rescue’s capability to rapidly reply to emergency conditions. Impressed by a program began by a fellow Scholar, Lopez led an overhaul of the mechanic recruitment and coaching course of and is constructing a school-to-work pipeline to carry college students into the sector.
From final yr’s class of students, Keely Cat-Wells developed a expertise acquisition and studying platform for disabled professionals. Cat-Wells grew to become disabled at age 17, and thru her new platform, she has already supported greater than 3,000 disabled individuals and linked employers with a extremely certified and often-overlooked expertise pool.
President Johnson as soon as mentioned, “There are not any issues we can’t resolve collectively, and only a few that we will resolve by ourselves.” At a time of nice division, the Presidential Management Students program provides us hope and inspiration that our frequent humanity can prevail, and the following technology can come collectively to unravel issues in methods that can carry us collectively, not tear us aside.
David J. Kramer is government director of the George W. Bush Institute and Stephanie S. Streett is government director of the Clinton Basis.