How do author David Baldacci and his wife counter toxic political rhetoric?

William Brangham:

David Baldacci has written more than 50 legal and suspense novels, including bestsellers such as Absolute Power and Good Luck. His latest work is “Nash Falls”. It is a story about a successful businessman who is recruited by the FBI to uncover a global criminal network.

But Baldacci and his wife are now dealing with a bigger real-world problem: how to combat toxic political rhetoric. Jeff Bennett sat down with them recently.

Jeff Bennett:

David and Michelle Baldacci, welcome to News Hour.

David Baldacci, Initiative for Civil Discourse and Collaboration: Thank you very much.

Michele Baldacci, Initiative for Civil Discourse and Collaboration: Thank you.

Jeff Bennett:

When you started thinking seriously about how you wanted to be helpful in this moment, what attracted you to this idea, this civil discourse initiative?

David Baldacci:

Well, I think we’ve looked around at the world and decided that this path of polarization is not sustainable.

Many people now communicate and discuss via social media, where there is very little accountability. We thought, if we could bring people together face to face, you know who they are, and get rid of the anonymity, and people would sit down and actually have discussions and conversations, maybe it would work, and people could figure out what–sitting across the table from you, I think I agree with you on more things than I thought I would.

And I can see who you are. You are another human being. You’re not – you could be a chatbot from Russia, for all you know if you’re online. We thought we wanted to keep it simple, but have these places and platforms and opportunities for people to come together.

Jeff Bennett:

How do you do it? How do you get people to interact face to face?

Michele Baldacci:

Well, this will be an ongoing project. We will have to figure this out and prepare the platforms and venues and make them suitable for as many people as possible.

Jeff Bennett:

He is at Virginia Commonwealth University. She’s in Virginia, a lifelong Virginia resident.

David Baldacci:

Yes.

Jeff Bennett:

Did you get your degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University?

David Baldacci:

Yes.

We thought we needed resources. We needed manpower. We needed experience. So VCU has a statewide footprint, as does the Library of Virginia. You know, the Library of Virginia kind of has papers and materials and resources and history and facts and knowledge.

And to take that and spread it across the commonwealth, it’s kind of — I tell people to exercise to stay healthy. Well, as a democratic citizen, you have to exercise your citizenship muscles or they will atrophie and disappear. And you can’t wait every four years the day before to find out who you’re going to vote for.

You must be involved throughout the entire process. I know people are busy, but this is really important. These things are really important. So we were thinking about — and we’ll give you an example — a town hall with no politicians, just people coming to the area. We want to go where they are. We don’t want people to come to Richmond to have everything.

We want people to go where they are in these communities, in a lot of different places, and have opportunities where they can be supervised. We can bring in speakers for discussions, conversations and dialogues afterwards. So it can take 100 different kinds of aspects and elements of what this could be, but it’s about bringing people together to talk peacefully, rationally, and respectfully with others.

It’s not about going out there and spewing vitriol. We’ve had enough of that. It is about confronting problems, compromising, reaching an agreement and then moving forward as a country.

Jeff Bennett:

How do you plan to measure the success of an initiative like this?

Michele Baldacci:

Oh, that’s a really good question.

The goal is to make this fun and educational as well. So, hopefully we can connect. It will depend on how many people attend, how many people show interest, and how many people we can reach in the venues and platforms.

Jeff Bennett:

It’s interesting to hear you say that the goal is to make it fun, because my view of things is that just because something is fun doesn’t make the job any easier. It’s really just amplified.

David Baldacci:

Yes.

Michele Baldacci:

Good…

Jeff Bennett:

Do you see it this way?

Michele Baldacci:

… “Hamilton” and “Schoolhouse Rock!” These are fun examples.

(He laughed)

Jeff Bennett:

As someone with a lifelong vision for literacy efforts, what surprising lessons have you learned about how people engage with reading and dialogue today?

David Baldacci:

Well, I think very few people read books consistently, unfortunately, and that number continues to decline. I mean, social media and everything else, it’s–and being in the book world, I get all the stats and facts, social media actually reduces people’s ability to read the long form of a novel.

Now, instead of teaching novels at university, they teach excerpts from novels, because children’s attention spans have atrophied so much.

Jeff Bennett:

truly?

David Baldacci:

Not only children, but adults too. If you spend eight or nine hours on your phone every day, trust me, you will have a very difficult time reading an entire book, because your brain, your brain, and your synapses are rewriting themselves.

Suddenly, I can’t concentrate for more than seven minutes because that’s what my brain has now adapted to. So I hope this will get people more engaged. I want people to read a lot, because part of being a citizen is that you have to read. You have to understand the facts.

I always point out that there is a 47-page book written in this country hundreds of years ago by a former Englishman named Thomas Paine called “Common Sense.” At that time, half the people in this country couldn’t read. I would guarantee you that every American knows every word in this book. Why? Because he mattered to them. This is because they were seeking independence.

I believe we cannot take democracy for granted. I think every day we need to think, if we don’t work to preserve our democracy one day, it may disappear.

Jeff Bennett:

Say more about that, the idea that literacy is not just a matter of education. It’s a small Democratic issue.

Michele Baldacci:

right.

It’s hard to get people involved in things they don’t think about every day. Because we’re from Virginia outside of DC, we’re exposed to it all the time, while the rest of the country isn’t. So they don’t feel like it’s something they have to deal with every day, maybe every two years, maybe every four years, when there’s an election.

They also do not understand the importance of local politics and how it affects them. And I think the other problem with people who don’t read books is that because of the tweets and everything being abbreviated, you have to give it in small doses.

Jeff Bennett:

And obviously, you’re writing these exciting fantasy worlds full of conflict. How has the practice of crafting narratives shaped your thinking about how to approach conflicts and solutions in the real world?

David Baldacci:

I have found that anything is possible. My books are bound by plausibility. I can write about anything. Anything is possible these days.

So, until Gutenberg invented his little printing press, we lived in the Dark Ages. Books brought us to the Age of Enlightenment. If we stop reading books, there is only one place to go, and that is there. Books are really the essence of what makes us human. We are the only species that can actually read.

This is how you build intelligence. All these data centers are going up around the world. So all the technology brothers decided, do you know how to make super intelligence? We will feed every book written in it. This should tell us all how important books are in building superintelligence, because we are in fact the ones with superintelligence.

So, if you think your tech bros are geniuses, you should read a book every day of your life.

Jeff Bennett:

Well, your latest book has been sitting here on the desk throughout our entire conversation, because I’ve been meaning to ask you a question about it. She’s not just here as a set piece.

(He laughed)

Jeff Bennett:

But most of your longtime readers know you for your fast-paced, plot-driven thrillers.

This book, “Nash Falls,” feels particularly introspective. Is this a shift for you? Was it intentional?

David Baldacci:

As you get older…

(He laughed)

David Baldacci:

…the more you reflect on the past.

And I think so. What I do with Nash Falls, Walter Nash is – he did everything he was supposed to do. He got a good education. He’s worked hard for decades, and he’s achieved the American dream. Suddenly, he couldn’t control anything anymore, and someone came and took it from him.

And I — on the book tour, I told people, I feel like it’s so objective these days, you did everything you’re supposed to do, you tell everyone you’re supposed to do, you achieve your goals, and then it’s all gone. Then you have to get back up and move on. How do you do it?

So, I, as an observer of the world, took this story because it would make Walter Nash feel like an ordinary American. This is what happened, and where do you go from there? Because I think a lot of people are asking themselves, where do I go from here?

Jeff Bennett:

David and Michele Baldacci, it’s a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you for being here.

David Baldacci:

Thank you.

Michele Baldacci:

Thank you.