Hartstein: What makes a high society?

Throughout this story, I’m going to shout out to several of the businesses and institutions that make Aspen better by contributing to our community. This story begins this past Wednesday afternoon.

After getting an email from the Aspen Chamber of Commerce about a free lecture on advancing America’s prosperity at the Paepcke Auditorium, I decided to interrupt my workday to attend. Shout out to the Aspen Chamber of Commerce — all its events this year have been fun and worth attending. I’m glad to be a member.

The lecture was scheduled from 1:30-2:30 p.m., so around 1 p.m., I jumped on a WE-cycle e-bike and rode down to the Aspen Institute. Shout out to WE-cycle — what a massive upgrade to the town this free e-bike system has been. This year in particular, the addition of more pedal-assisted bikes and more docks extending all the way down to the AABC. Even the employees who tend to the bikes and make sure the docks have both bikes and spaces to put them in are doing such an excellent job; it’s rare that I can’t just grab a free e-bike immediately. Too cool.

I rode down to the Aspen Institute and docked my e-bike at a very convenient location right next to the Paepcke Auditorium. I grabbed my ticket and headed in to find a seat. My eyebrows shot up — I had not expected such a crowd. I was happy to see so many other people taking advantage of this free community conversation. Hosted by the Aspen Institute, these community talks are just a tiny showing of the depth of culture here in Aspen, and apparently, a lot of people were interested in what was going to be said. Shout out to the Aspen Institute for putting on this free summer conversation series and for having free community programs as part of your ethos.

The discussion was moderated by Melissa S. Kearney, director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. It featured Jason Furman, a Harvard professor of economic policy, for the Democratic side, and Paul Ryan, the 54th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, for the Republican side — both heavy hitters and respective experts in the field of economics. The stage was set for a high-noon style showdown: Republican economics versus Democratic economics.

Yet again, to my surprise, the two sides were found to agree more often than they disagreed. So much so that, at one point, Furman cracked a joke, saying, “This is a pretty boring panel” — openly admitting he thought they would disagree more. Defying what we are told is the norm by the far-right and far-left dogma we see in mainstream media, here were two experts on opposite sides of the spectrum actually agreeing with what one another had to say.

Be it the call for evidence-based economic policy, having a secure border, avoiding a debt crisis, raising the standard of living for average Americans and avoiding depressing wages, all the way down to deregulation and tax cuts, while the two differed occasionally, it was somewhat refreshing to see how often they agreed about what must be done to advance the prosperity of America. It just goes to show that we aren’t as polarized as we are led to believe, and more to what I witnessed, Ds and Rs can have intelligent discourse without resorting to name-calling, and it turns out, often actually agree with each other.

But what I observed more than the two experts agreeing was a room of Aspenites who were genuinely curious. It’s always impressive to me to see a real Republican voice represented in the ocean of blue populating Aspen. Not only was the Republican position not met with boos and hisses, as I’d expect, it was welcomed. People leaned in, sitting forward to listen more intently. They didn’t shout Ryan down; they actually weighed his perspective and mused on what he was saying as he was making what I considered to be well-argued points.

That was my big takeaway. Aspen, despite leaning overwhelmingly left and having an outward and loud distaste for President Donald Trump and all Republicans, really listened with an open mind and ears to a position largely opposite their own. It was genuine curiosity in that lecture hall — the perfect conditions for such a discussion. I was surprised. Between the moans and groans all the way to the laughter at jokes, the people in attendance listened actively, and while they may not have agreed with everything that was said, they were respectful. It was uplifting and made me happy to live in a community where people who have already made up their minds can put their own position aside to listen to someone they disagree with.

You don’t see that too often. Yet here it was, being fostered in my backyard: intelligent discourse and respectful confrontation. When’s the last time you saw two people disagree and do so with decency? Even though I would have liked it if they disagreed a little more, it was nice to witness the exchange of ideas. I learned a lot.

As I cruised back home on the e-bike, I couldn’t help but feel grateful I live in a part of the world that’s not only stimulating naturally but culturally, as well. We are so blessed to live in a town that actively promotes learning, thinking for yourself, and being tolerant of those who think nothing like you. That’s what I call a “high society.” A real community.

If you’re looking to attend one of these thought-provoking conversations before the summer is over, you’re in luck: There are a few weeks left. You do have to register, but I’ll make that easy for you by providing the link here: aspeninstitute.org/programs/aspen-community-programs/events.

Go get yourself a taste of community combined with a dash of intelligence and a skosh of education — not bad for a Wednesday afternoon.

Thanks for reading my stories and paying with your attention. I hope they make you smile and think.

Landon Hartstein is the founder of AspenDroneCompany.com, a media production company solving problems for realtors, contractors, architects, and events and helping businesses elevate themselves here in the valley. For video services, contact him at Landon@AspenDroneCompany.com. To suggest story ideas or just to say hi, contact him at LandonLikeAPlaneWrites@Gmail.com.