My Mom was a Republican and my Dad was a Democrat and there were many political debates at the dinner table -- but never a raised voice, no bad language, no personal insults. I think we all learned to think of it as a true mental exercise -- can I be articulate and intelligent enough and thoughtful and persuasive enough to woo the others to my side? I had to become a much better debater and I often had to rethink positions and re-examine my beliefs and arguments. Some beliefs became stronger as I thought about them, some were tossed aside as I realized they were not valid. Throughout my career, I could find the occasional colleague who shared that view of discourse and had some great discussions.
Is that a thing of the past? Maybe or maybe it could return if we all just put a little more effort into truly listening to the other side, trying to see their perspective, trying to get them to see our perspective -- and frankly, very nicely, but very firmly, calling out folks -- including the very top tiers of our government -- who veer from civil discourse on legitimate topics.
