Most people nowadays agree that we’re a divided country. But those on both sides of the divide tend to disagree about who’s “at fault.” In my humble opinion, there’s plenty of blame to go around. More to the point, our political climate isn’t going to improve until we all stop engaging in the blame game and get down to the serious work of exploring our differences and knitting the country back together again. And make no mistake, those are profoundly important tasks. A divided country isn’t just a less-friendly country; it’s a weaker country and a country in which the weak suffer the most.
So we all win when we open up to those on “the other side”. Not only that, but it’s worth remembering that the old adage “No one’s perfect” applies to us as citizens just as much as it does to us in our roles as employees, friends, or family and community members. One of the most robust bodies of research in the social sciences has shown over and over that we’re capable of improving our skills as citizens– in democratic discussion in particular. In politics, practice really does make perfect, or at least “a more perfect” union.
