The Reunited States

Hey, everybody, I'm Van Jones,

and we are so excited for you to watch this documentary

called "The Reunited States."

That is my prayer, that we will have the Reunited States.

This is an important documentary.

It profiles everyday people, ordinary people,

who are on this difficult journey

of trying to bridge these political divides,

these racial divides,

because we are at a crossroads in our nation's history.

Now, we can either keep going where we're headed,

keep going down this dangerous road

of division and demonization, or we can turn things around

and start trying to see each other as human beings again.

And now more than ever, we gotta summon

the power to change how we see each other,

how we relate to each other, how we listen to each other.

That power is in our hands.

So we're inviting you

not to only watch the documentary.

We want you to become a bridge builder yourself,

to be a part of this mission, this journey,

of reuniting America,

reuniting this country.

Everybody's got a role to play in that,

and you certainly do.

Please enjoy the show.

Our country is very divided right now.

We are as divided now as we were before the Civil War.

And we're not really getting at the root causes.

What we have today is a kind of party loyalty

that is starting to transcend our loyalty to our country.

You don't belong here!

You don't belong here!

What we're seeing today is a dehumanizing

of everyone who opposes us.

If you ask people why they're a Republican

or why they're a Democrat:

"It's because I hate the other party."

It sounds like they're making arrests.

-Why are they making arrests? -I don't know.

The divisions, they're happening in our neighborhoods,

they're happening in our schools,

and they're happening in our families.

It wasn't that they just had political disagreements.

Folks were physically attacking one another.

Stop!

Stop!

The root causes of division go all the way down

into our foundation as a country.

We're facing problems we've never faced before.

If we're going to live in a democracy,

all of us have to learn to be mediators

and bridge-builders.

I'm Steven Olikara.

My name is Susan Bro.

I'm Greg Orman.

I'm Mark Gerzon, I'm the author

of The Reunited States of America,

and I've been a bridge-builder

between Democrats and Republicans

in the partisan divide for the last 30 years.

What I've learned is that polarization

is not just in Washington, it's in our own hearts.

Before we can fix government, we have to fix ourselves

and the way we see our fellow citizens.

-We're Erin... -...and David Leaverton.

We decided to travel to all 50 states

to get an understanding

of what was causing these divisions.

The real key to solving the partisan divide

is within each of us.

That's part of being a citizen of America.

We are the solution.

Ordinary citizens working across the divide every day

to make this country a better place.

Whether it's a liberal agenda or a conservative agenda,

hate does not belong to either one.

We're always gonna have liberals

and conservatives in America.

We'll never make the other side go away.

It's in our own interest

to learn how to cross the divide.

We are the government.

If we want to see a different government,

the genius of America

is that it's our responsibility to fix it.

We need a narrative about the left and the right

working together.

This is something we have the power to change.

This is something we have control over.

I want to create a third force in our politics

that's able to get us beyond this partisan warfare.

This country needs bridge-builders,

people who have the courage to be pioneers,

who are willing to get out of their comfort zones

to bring both sides together.

That's the path forward.

Mary Catherine, what are you drawing?

-I'm making our bus. -Are you really?

-Yes. -Look at it.

Very beautiful.

And where is it going?

To all the states.

To all the states.

-Are you excited? -Yeah.

Cool, me too.

-Very aerodynamic. -Mm-hm.

I like it.

I always felt like when I left politics

that there were some things that were left unfinished.

I was a proud Republican, and I was working

to defeat any Democrat who was in our way

because I really felt like what their policies were doing

was destroying our country.

Did everything from opposition research

to targeted campaigns

that would turn one group of voters

against another group of voters.

I was involved in things I'm not really proud of.

People are getting inundated with this message of division

and dehumanization and demonization

of the other side, and it is tearing families apart

and it's tearing communities apart.

I've been involved in those kind of campaigns

and I know how to do that.

So, fast forward to 2016, we were watching

a story about this guy who got hit across the head

with a bag of rocks because he was wearing

a Make America Great Again hat.

I sensed a deep sort of sorrow growing in him.

And one night, I just said,

"If you didn't have a mortgage,

what would you want to wake up and do tomorrow?"

And I answered her, "To bring unity to America."

It came out before I even thought about it.

I was like, "How are you gonna bring unity

to people you've never met?"

Okay. Now where's the wrapping paper?

-You got a Sharpie? -Uh-huh.

So at 5:00 a.m., she wakes me up.

And I said, "You know, what if the first step

of learning about division

is to go out and actually ask people?"

I said, "You're crazy,

but I can't think of a better way

to learn about what's broken in our country."

Hey, guys, we've got an exciting announcement to make.

We've gone crazy.

I quit my job, we sold our house,

and we bought an RV.

We're going on a great American road trip for a year

to all 50 states with our family of five.

Our goal for this year is to reach outside our bubble,

to host dinners and to listen and learn from people

who aren't like us...

Hi, big bus.

...and hopefully discover what connects us as Americans.

Come along for the ride.

It'll be fun.

She was still alive.

She was still alive a year ago right now.

She was hot, she was tired, she was thirsty.

She was still alive.

My daughter was not a leader.

She was not a known activist.

He just drove into a crowd,

and she was the one who happened to die.

Thank you for coming to remember Heather,

but this was not all about Heather.

We have a huge problem in our city and in our country.

We have got to fix this

or we'll be right back here in no time.

The world went crazy when Heather lost her life,

and that's not fair because so many mothers lose

their children every day, and we have to fix that.

I don't want other mothers to be in my spot.

I don't want other mothers to go through this.

So, today, not only do we remember my baby girl,

I want to thank the troopers for their sacrifice

who lost their lives that day.

There's so much healing to do

and we've got to do it together.

Amen.

I struggle with my own emotional issues.

Heather died, but there were 30 people

who were injured that day