The only way to reverse the sinking tide of American civility destroying political discourse in a country that desperately needs it is to engage in hard conversations around the dinner table, which used to be the norm in American society. If we can’t even discuss the critical issues affecting our everyday lives with the very people we love and cherish the most, then who can we talk to? How can we ever expect to revive the spirit of civility in our increasingly toxic political culture?
The nation also needs something more than the simple return to civility. One can be civil and tolerant of one’s next-door neighbor without ever speaking to him.
The country, as self-help author Marianne Williamson and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker have exclaimed again and again on the presidential campaign trail, needs love, where citizens freely engage in the marketplace of ideas and practice empathy to push society forward. What better time with what better people to practice such warm-heartedness with than the holiday season?
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