As I said in my last post, the solution to political polarization is well known: civil discussion. But isn’t polarization already too far advanced? Haven’t too many people already given up? What does one say to a neighbor or friend or relative who is cynical about the prospect of anything—even a proven antidote—healing the body politic?
Photo by TheoJunior 
My answer to this question is threefold.
First, most people respond better if you first hear them out and then respond directly to their concerns and hesitations.
Which leads me to my second point: because everyone is different, no one response will work with everyone. Some people are simply unaware of the widespread successes of civil discussion. Others might soften their cynicism if reminded of John Lennon’s song “Imagine” or Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Stories and proverbs can help (“Even the longest journey begins with a single step” comes to mind, as does Alice Walker’s observation that “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”).
Third, what you say to a cynic is likely to be less effective than giving him or her an opportunity to see for themselves. Ask a cynic to withhold judgment long enough to join in a civil conversation. Experience is the best teacher, they say, and one of its lessons in this case is likely to be a clearer vision of what civil discussion can accomplish if multiplied many times over.
