Oct 15, 2022 3 min read

UPPER ST. CLAIR – When considering the United States’ disunited polity, CNN anchor John King turned to the words of an enduring hit song from 1977:

”There ain’t no good guys, there ain’t no bad guys. It’s only you and me, and we just disagree.”

King quoted from the lyrics of Dave Mason’s “We Just Disagree” in a discussion on bringing Americans together and how elusive that unity can be in the season-opening talk of the Town Hall South Speaker Series Tuesday morning at Upper St. Clair High School.

“These are very wise words, and we need to get back to that place,” King said.

King, who is 59 and is CNN’s chief national correspondent and host of its roundtable program, “Inside Politics,” declared that he is an optimist, though any tangible sense of unity in America will likely not be achieved anytime in the near future. The midterm elections that will be decided in less than a month will reinforce the country’s divide, King believes. He also explained that he has seen fewer signs supporting candidates in people’s yards than he did a decade or two ago, and King thinks that is because people are afraid of the arguments those signs could spark.

“We have to get back to a place where we can disagree,” King said. “We can be proud of who we support.”

King suggested the United States’ divisions could be bridged by a unifying event along the lines of 9/11; one of the two major parties winning an election so decisively that it resets the losing party’s approach and priorities; or a compelling “pied piper” figure emerges who can bring diverse constituencies together.

He also said it would take “a whole lot of listening.”

A native of Boston and one of seven children, King recalled when his family would receive all four of the city’s major newspapers, only two of which are now still in business. He pointed out that Americans “stay in their silos,” where they only interact with like-minded people and take in news that promotes one viewpoint.

“I don’t view that as healthy,” he said. “I don’t want you to watch only (CNN).”

Former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather was originally set to appear Tuesday, but the 90-year-old’s talk was called off late last month and King was named as a substitute. Upcoming Town Hall South speakers are Silicon Valley entrepreneur Kevin Surace on Tuesday, Nov. 15; Leon Logothetis, the host of the Netflix series, “The Kindness Diaries,” on Tuesday, Dec. 6; Former Time magazine editor and diplomat Richard Stengel on Tuesday, Feb. 7; and author, professor and autism expert Dr. Temple Grandin on Tuesday, March 21.

A nonprofit organization, Town Hall South was launched in 1969 and over the last half-century has brought such luminaries as chef Anthony Bourdain, historian Jon Meacham and poet Maya Angelou to Upper St. Clair. For additional information on the series, go online to www.townhallsouth.org or call 412-835-2040, ext. 227.