“Can you imagine a — I don’t know — bipartisan ex-prisoner reentry program under Trump for the next three years?” Josh Good asked earlier this month, in conversation with his friend of 20 years, Fred Davie, speaking to how deep-rooted polarization has shifted the political landscape over the span of their friendship. “It’s going to take people of goodwill, who are, at core, believing people of faith, stepping forward out of their convictions . . . to solve the problems we have.”
Davie and Good first met in the early 2000s, when Davie was Vice President of a Philadelphia social change research firm, Public/Private Ventures. Right out of graduate school, Good reported to Davie as one of several program officers working on research initiatives that implemented and tracked programming to reduce recidivism among ex-prisoners in more than a dozen cities across the US.
“Fred was very kind to take a risk on a white, conservative, evangelical kid,” said Good, reflecting on the mentorship role that Davie, a Democrat who has worked with presidential administrations on both side of the political aisle since the early nineties, has played in his career.
The two, whose relationship transcends ideological differences, spoke about how they’ve intentionally kept in touch over the years, what wisdom from their shared tradition points to the value of human connection in isolating times, and how young folks can seek out friendship across lines of difference.
“This was a group of very smart people, exemplified by Josh,” said Davie, as he recalled Good’s contributions to the ex-prisoner reentry project, and the ultimate success of the initiative, which was supported by the Bush administration and met with bipartisan support. “They were really not doing this because it was a job but were doing it because of a commitment to creating opportunities for people to grow and flourish.”
In the years since the project, the former colleagues have kept in close touch.
“It’s great to work for people who are inspiring and who are effective and who are visionary and who are, you know, truthful,” said Good, “but there are some people who are just sort of deep and there’s trust, and you can speak up with real concerns and real needs.”
There is a rapport between Davie and Good, palpable even over Zoom and evidenced by genuine care for one another, the kind of quips that transcend mere acquaintance, and their recollection of several instances of intentional connection since their time at Public/Private Ventures — whether in Washington, where Good’s work as Director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program is based, or in New York, where Fred serves Union Theological Seminary as Senior Executive Vice President for Public Theology and Civic Engagement.
This commitment to one another stems from the same shared ethos Davie described as the motivating spirit behind the ex-prisoner reentry project’s success. The challenge of leaning into shared purpose that defies party lines has perhaps grown even more pertinent since November 5.
As Americans prepare to usher in a new presidential administration, the lead-up has included polarizing cabinet picks, an open question about how to best move forward, and a sense, which Good credits to conservative political analyst Yuval Levin, that “with another 79-year-old going back to the White House again” it’s “definitely not the beginning of something. It’s the end of something.”
Both Davie and Good posited that dedication to democracy will be an enduring countermeasure to the “factionalism” and “strong man hegemonic national populist type leaders” of this political moment.
Both also voiced the wisdom that guides their own convictions, quoting scripture as central to their understanding of relationships that bridge division as sacred.
Both also voiced the wisdom that guides their own convictions, quoting scripture as central to their understanding of relationships that bridge division as sacred. “There exists in me and everyone else a divine spark,” Davie shared, referencing Psalm 139. “I and others are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, end of story.”
Good, in turn, spoke to the value Hebrews 10 places on gathering regularly with one’s community: “there’s just a lot of richness and power in regular, ongoing fellowship.”
A fundamental commitment to faith and a rootedness in democratic principles not only underscore the depth and ease of Davie and Good’s relationship but also inform the advice they offer the next generation in stewarding friendship across deep divides.
Among the “people of goodwill” who will see us through the uncertainty ahead, the two referenced leaders of institutions in pursuit of pluralism and students — like those that Davie serves in the Morningside Heights community who work to create community in the face of polarization.
As for the digital natives — who are growing up in an America where traditional notions of religion are increasingly regarded as “less important” — Good acknowledged hope in the curiosity at play in this younger demographic’s tendency to identify as spiritual. Davie reinforced the notion that in his advice to this generation to “stay true to some fundamentals, some kind of faith or spiritual commitment that’s defined, and wrestle with its approaches and principles and exhortations.”
“Take the long view. Go slow. Learn from your mentors. Learn from your bosses,” added Good, reflecting on the 20-year relationship between him and Davie. “Learn to care about people with different views than you, including different religious views than you, in friendship and trust that that can provide a base of support from which you can take daring exploits.”
