{"id":27630,"date":"2020-11-17T10:39:21","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T15:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencescosmaincms.cm.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=27630"},"modified":"2023-06-06T11:48:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T15:48:33","slug":"political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Political Opposites Unite to Teach Students Value of Common Vision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today\u2019s students are engaging in a world of politics that\u2019s less meaningful conversation and more \u201cangry team sports,\u201d observes longtime Central Florida pundit Tico Perez &#8217;83.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_27631\" style=\"width: 215px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27631\" class=\"wp-image-27631 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/Tico-Perez-e1605627172408-205x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"205\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/Tico-Perez-e1605627172408-205x300.png 205w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/Tico-Perez-e1605627172408.png 289w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-27631\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tico Perez<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Perez, an attorney and staunch Republican, recently did his part to reverse that trend by joining up with former Florida Representative and Democratic champion Dick Batchelor \u201871 to talk politics with students in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs.<\/p>\n<p>In separate post-event interviews, both Batchelor and Perez said they were impressed and encouraged by the students\u2019 insightful questions and energy. It\u2019s vital that students become engaged and active in politics today because \u201cthe mantle is headed to them,\u201d Batchelor said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s up to them what the country looks like,\u201d Batchelor said. \u201cYou can pick up the baton and create successes worthy of applause, or you can wait until there\u2019s nothing left to applaud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Politics and the democratic process are personal for Perez, whose family fled both the Spanish civil war and Cuban communism. His credentials include a post on the Florida Board of Governors, a run for Congress in 2000, political talk shows and an eight-year term as national commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking for the left, Batchelor\u2019s resume includes service in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps; eight years in the Florida House (he was elected at age 26); international appointments by President Bill Clinton; and a grassroots campaign for a referendum that raised $2 billion for Orange County Public Schools.<\/p>\n<p>Both have a long view of how politics has morphed over the years from differences of opinion to the more personal and bitter politics students see today. Batchelor points to the intensely partisan disagreements between President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O\u2019 Neill. Both had strong opinions on how to run the country, but at the end of the day they found common ground.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_27632\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27632\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-27632 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/dick-batchelor-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/dick-batchelor-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/dick-batchelor-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/dick-batchelor-299x299.jpg 299w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/dick-batchelor-144x144.jpg 144w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/dick-batchelor.jpg 400w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/300;\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-27632\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dick Batchelor<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Perez contrasts that to the modern day \u201cbattle zone\u201d of politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt staggers me how quickly anyone can be called a racist or a crazy socialist liberal,\u201d he said. \u201cThose are horrible terms that should be reserved for horrible people. But those labels are just thrown out all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both Perez and Batchelor point to rampant misinformation for the confusion and hate. Perez also includes the 24-hour news cycle. Editorial news shows filled with people yelling at each other gives the impression that is the appropriate way to talk, but it\u2019s more akin to professional wrestling, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s entertainment. It\u2019s not the news,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Social media is also responsible for increased partisanship, but Batchelor prefers to focus on the positives of instant information and digital platforms. Organizing a movement around a cause is exponentially easier than the old days of phone calls and handbills; it\u2019s also casting more light on issues that need addressing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now it\u2019s easier to be influential than at any other point in history,\u201d Batchelor said.<\/p>\n<p>Perez told students the common ground that will tame bitterness is already there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we all love this country and we want things to be better. We\u2019re just going to get there differently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today\u2019s students are engaging in a world of politics that\u2019s less meaningful conversation and more \u201cangry team sports,\u201d observes longtime Central Florida pundit Tico Perez &#8217;83. Perez, an attorney and staunch Republican, recently did his part to reverse that trend by joining up with former Florida Representative and Democratic champion Dick Batchelor \u201871 to talk [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":27634,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[38,13,5967,16,28,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-news","category-notables","category-political-science-departments","category-top-news","category-ucf-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Political Opposites Unite to Teach Students Value of Common Vision - College of Sciences News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Political Opposites Unite to Teach Students Value of Common Vision - College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today\u2019s students are engaging in a world of politics that\u2019s less meaningful conversation and more \u201cangry team sports,\u201d observes longtime Central Florida pundit Tico Perez &#8217;83. Perez, an attorney and staunch Republican, recently did his part to reverse that trend by joining up with former Florida Representative and Democratic champion Dick Batchelor \u201871 to talk [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-17T15:39:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-06T15:48:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2020\/11\/american-flag-796736_1920-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kyle Martin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kyle Martin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kyle Martin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6e7fb06e1762315ca4a62c08e625d0f4\"},\"headline\":\"Political Opposites Unite to Teach Students Value of Common Vision\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-17T15:39:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-06T15:48:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":556,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/american-flag-796736_1920-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"COS News\",\"News\",\"Notables\",\"School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs\",\"Top News\",\"UCF News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/political-opposites-unite-to-teach-students-value-of-common-vision\\\/\",\"name\":\"Political Opposites Unite to Teach Students Value of Common Vision - 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