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Lynn Schmidt

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    Leveraging big ideas

    A ‘Spirited’ approach to healing division

    Lynn Schmidt
    December 01, 2022
    Spirited movie AppleTV+
    AppleTV+

    Schmidt is a syndicated columnist and Editorial Board member with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

    Say you want to reduce polarization in the new year? Might I suggest going to see a movie this holiday season – but not just any movie. Check out “Spirited,” the musical starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds and Octavia Spencer.

    Over Thanksgiving weekend my family went to see “Spirited” in a movie theater (it is also streaming on AppleTV+). “Spirited” is a musical version of the classic Charles Dickens story “A Christmas Carol.” I left the theater feeling energized for the good fight of repairing our democracy in 2023. And don’t worry, there will be no spoilers here.

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    polarization

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    Threats to democracy

    We need to break the cycle of lying about election results

    Lynn Schmidt
    October 20, 2022
    Kari Lake

    Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake refused to tell CNN that she would concede if she loses the election.

    Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Schmidt is a syndicated columnist and Editorial Board member with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

    When it comes to the state of our democracy, I have more questions than answers.

    I was recently having a conversation with fellow centrist and attorney William Cooper, who is also the author of “Stress Test: How Donald Trump Threatens American Democracy.” We were discussing the degree of trouble our republic is in. Cooper shared that you first must define democracy before you can diagnose it. Cooper and I agreed that at the heart of any democracy, and part of that definition, is the premise that our elections must reflect the will of the people. Therefore, democracy depends on losing candidates accepting their losses. This is essential. Without it, the foundation of our democracy will fold like a house of cards.

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    election integrity
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