Solving the Problems of a deeply Polarized American Society

Steve Spanier is retired from a career in high technology.  During his career, he held various positions in the Silicon Valley including Director of Knowledge Products at networking giant Cisco Systems, where he was responsible for over 200 employees and a $25 million budget. Since he retired, Steve has become interested in the root causes of and potential solutions to some of the big problems in our society. His research has led to various initiatives designed to educate the public about contentious issues such as money in politics, corporate power and responsibility, media consolidation and, more recently, societal polarization. His initiatives have included speaking to Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (at the University of California at Irvine and Cal State Fullerton), a radio show and the founding of the Orange County chapter of the organizationReclaimDemocracy.org. His latest interest is to create a grassroots movement dedicated to bridging ideological divides through a dialogue process designed to create empathetic understanding and connection between individuals on different sides of the divides.