Denise McGough and Michael Lombardi

Participants speak about their motivations for coming to the interview. DM speaks about the values that she and ML share.

ML speaks about his frustration with anti-American sentiment.

DM speaks about her background and how it informs her worldview. She has close connections with military members and finds much common ground with ML about his views on the United States. She also speaks about some of the issues that are being experienced here in the United States. She reminisces on a past time when politicians were friends with people who had different political identities.

ML shares that he feels similarly about the tensions between political identity and that he doesn't believe any political leaders are equipped to handle current issues.

DM shares that she is a nurse and that has shaped her perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic. She cites the importance of masking to protect other members of the community.

DM shares that immigration is something that has been a problem for a long time. She connects with ML about the value of immigration and shares a similar dislike of extreme opinions like having open borders.

ML shares that he thinks Oklahoma City is a shining of example of what is possible in the U.S.

DM speaks about vulgar behavior by politicians negatively impacting American culture and making our society a less kind place. She is worried about leaving behind a better world for her children.

ML shares DM sentiment that we can start somewhere together. He speaks about his voting history and his reflections on those decisions.

ML shares his perspective on victimhood and how it manifests division and social problems rather than cultivating social justice.

DM speaks about her perspective on race relations. She shares that she felt that many of these issues were already resolved until recent events such as the murder of George Floyd. She speaks on the role of intergenerational wealth in her life and contrasts that experience with Black intergenerational wealth and how it's been shaped by events such as the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

ML shares that he feels uncomfortable with the concept of white privilege, and shares that he doesn't believe that he is privileged as a white man.

ML shares about his experience consuming different forms of media across the political spectrum. He also reflects on the similarities in his and DM's perspectives.

DM shares that she has hope for the young people who can hopefully make more change than current politicians.

ML shares how his grandchild recently came out as transgender and how that's been challenging for him. He connects it back to his ideas of victimhood creating obstacles in people's lives.

DM speaks about how societal perceptions of gay people have changed throughout her life and reflects on why that might've happened.

ML speaks about a media piece he listened to recently about an intersex person and how it challenged some of his perspectives and ideas.

ML speaks about seeking perspectives outside his own as a means of learning.

Participants speak about their earliest memories of politics. ML speaks about how living overseas and experiencing 9/11 made him feel more patriotic. DM recalls remembering when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, but didn't think more about the role of government until she became a nurse.

ML shares about how his experience living abroad in Canada and Holland has shaped his perspectives on American healthcare.

Participants share closing thoughts with one another.