Recent events – led by the mailed pipe bombs and Pittsburgh synagogue shooting – have triggered a national debate over political division in our society.

Democrats and the media have pointed fingers at President Trump, Republicans, and the conservative media for the current environment. President Trump and his supporters have pointed right back at the media and Democrats for sowing political division.

The recent debate followed weeks in which Republicans were portraying liberals as an “angry mob” for protests that included banging on the doors of the Supreme Court and harassing Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, while he was eating dinner with his wife. That followed the bitter Supreme Court battle to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, with each side portraying the other as especially vicious in pursuing their own agenda.

If we break this debate into component parts, we can see that there’s really a two-tiered debate going on. The first is the debate over issues of significant importance on which both sides have deep and passionate disagreements. The second is the debate over which side is being nastier, or using more harmful tactics, to advance their positions.