By Michael Pearson

In June 2021, California added Florida to its list of states for which the use of state travel funds is prohibited. These travel bans were enacted on the basis of a 2016 California law declaring that "California must take action to avoid supporting or financing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people." As of this writing, 23 states are included on California’s list. In at least one of these states, Oklahoma, there are now reciprocal bans against using state funds to travel to California (Executive Order 2020-2).

My initial reaction to the still-growing collection of actions taken by Florida governor DeSantis, and Republicans in the state legislature, was that MAA should seek an alternate venue for MAA MathFest 2023. The arguments around holding meetings in states where discriminatory laws are enacted certainly make sense.

Over time, I have come to hold a different view, driven by my realization that the entire population of our country, or the population of any one state, holds a complex set of individuals with diverse perspectives, and is certainly not defined by whoever holds political and economic power. Further, I am inspired by those who are able to work within existing systems to accomplish change. I don’t believe we can be better allies by segregating ourselves based on the basis of our beliefs.

Here are some data that I find useful in thinking through these issues.

In the 2020 presidential election, the Republican party carried Florida with 51% of the vote (5.7M votes), against the Democrat’s 48% (5.3M votes). In Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, the Democrats earned 53% of the vote against the Republican’s 46%.

In California, the Democrats carried the state with 63.5% of the vote (11.1M votes), a decisive victory. Nevertheless, the Republicans earned 6M votes – more votes than in Florida, even though the Trump campaign made little or no effort to win votes in California.

As far as demographics, Tampa has a nationally significant LGBT population, listed in the top 25 metro areas with the largest gay populations (cited by the NY Times here). The current Mayor of Tampa, Jane Castor, is the first openly gay person to serve in that elected office.

This points to a complicated, non-homogeneous demographic and ideological landscape that does not, to me, argue for a geographic sorting. In fact, even lawmakers in California are now reconsidering their approach, which I hope will lead to a reversal of the current travel ban.

In quoting election numbers above, I may have given the impression that the progression of laws in Florida and other “red” states suggest that one political party is “good” and the other “bad,” or that elections that carry the “right” outcome will eliminate the ideological divides that we face. In fact, I am broadly dissatisfied with the discourse of both the Democratic and Republican parties, and the human condition will always be one where competition for resources and power will result in powerful disagreement. Human political arrangements have a spotty record of solving disagreements through dialogue rather than the exercise of raw power. The few bright spots in that history arise when folks with differing perspectives agree to acknowledge each others’ humanity  and engage in sustained dialogue in spite of their differences.

I don’t have simple solutions to offer for what are deep and contentious areas of disagreement that divide us as a people, but I do believe that we can’t simply write off broad swaths of the country simply because we don’t agree with them. As noted in this recent piece on a controversy at the Stanford law school, the “certainty trap” leads individuals to resort to “condemning an opposing position [because it] came from a value, principle or belief they held as inviolable.”

It’s easy to shut down when confronted with perspectives that we find offensive – especially when those opinions are expressed in an abrasive way. As a community with an academic bent, I would hope that we can exemplify the ability to engage with complex and contentious issues in ways that cultivate understanding between us as human beings. At the very least, I hope we can start by engaging in conversations that simply help us recognize our shared humanity, even if we hold divergent perspectives on issues that we consider fundamental.

A recent essay in the New Yorker, What Conversation Can Do For Us, takes this view and expands on it. One book discussed in the essay, Paula Cohen’s “Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation,” “makes the case that talking to others—sharing our stories—is how we learn things and sharpen our belief systems, how we piece together what it means to be funny or empathetic.” The essayist goes on to note that “It’s telling that social-media platforms, like Twitter, characterize themselves as serving a public conversation, and yet the presence of an audience turns online conversations into performances.” The essay’s author reflects on necessary aspects of productive conversations—those from which learning can occur, essentially, that those engaged are listening to learn and not just listening to rebut or score rhetorical points.

Community and communication are core values of the MAA. We have a number of plans in motion to engage with local entities that are working to improve the legal landscape in Florida that we look forward to sharing with you as MAA MathFest 2023 gets closer. Our goal is to have our voices contribute to productive conversation and action. I hope we can use our presence in Tampa, and wherever else we may find ourselves, to demonstrate our commitment to these values.

Michael Pearson serves as MAA Executive Director.