The country had been having such a stressful time since the election season started, and even more so after the elections and Inauguration of President Donald Trump. His controversial first movements as the Commander In Chief on his first week alone has caused serious concern and outcry among some Americans across the country. As the tension builds further, not just in Washington but across the country, it seems as though it will be a long time before Democrats and Republicans will find common ground. Or will it? The Tonight Show begs to disagree.
On the Jan. 27 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, producers of the show sent one of their writers to the streets of New York for a very special mission: to find real, everyday Americans from the opposing parties and compel them to find common ground even in the simplest, most mundane ways such as their favourite day of the week or their favourite animals.
Awkward Beginning
Though the premise of the segment is simple, and so is the task of answering a few basic questions, it's easy to see that the participants were uncomfortable with their other party counterparts at first. In some pairs, it even took a couple of questions before finding any common ground. However, once a single common answer is found, their demeanour easily changed from awkward and aloof to interested and even excited.
Common Ground Found
The moment that the pairs found common ground in their favourite shows, choice of hotdog topping or favourite holiday, the pairs gained an instant rapport that was previously absent. They gave each other high-fives, looked at each other directly instead of at the writer and even sang a Christmas song together.
Even then, the show wasn't satisfied with the more positive rapport that they built because they then asked the pairs to look at each other and say something nice about the other, and by then they were quick to oblige. Though the compliments were simple, they were graciously given.
A comically dramatic montage of the pairs dancing together, doing elaborate high-fives, taking selfies together and even hugging is shown by the end of the segment. Simple and amusing as it was, the segment showed just how uncomplicated it is to build better relationships between individuals of opposing parties when the focus is on their common ground instead of their differences.
Now, if only they could do this in the Congress and Senate, too...
