Great piece, as always, but if we’re going off the age of the actresses in White Lotus, I think we are to believe the characters are Gen X! Both Bibb and Monaghan were born in the 1970s!
Braver Angels is another group that works to find common ground across political divides.
I agree we need to listen more, ask more questions, and make fewer assumptions. I also agree that shared values are important in friendships (and dating relationships), and our political labels may or may not be a shorthand for those values. After all, I don't even agree with everyone in my own political party on a number of issues.
An even bigger problem is that increasingly, there are becoming two different realities (or, perceptions of reality), and what really stymies communication is when people can't even agree on what constitutes a historical or scientific fact, let alone how to interpret it or feel about it.
I appreciate your article so much. I hope that the fire can die down someday so that we can all lean in to this idea. I think it is probably too difficult at this moment. I am a baby boomer and have this issue with my husband and, after almost 50 years of marriage, we cannot talk politics at all. I find the thought process, or lack there of, that he has adopted is due to the bombardment of Fox news and social media - absolutely. I see it, but he definitely does not. At this point, it is probably harder to get an old dog to learn any new tricks. I hope the younger generations will be able to be more flexible in the future.
Great piece, as always, but if we’re going off the age of the actresses in White Lotus, I think we are to believe the characters are Gen X! Both Bibb and Monaghan were born in the 1970s!
Braver Angels is another group that works to find common ground across political divides.
I agree we need to listen more, ask more questions, and make fewer assumptions. I also agree that shared values are important in friendships (and dating relationships), and our political labels may or may not be a shorthand for those values. After all, I don't even agree with everyone in my own political party on a number of issues.
An even bigger problem is that increasingly, there are becoming two different realities (or, perceptions of reality), and what really stymies communication is when people can't even agree on what constitutes a historical or scientific fact, let alone how to interpret it or feel about it.
I appreciate your article so much. I hope that the fire can die down someday so that we can all lean in to this idea. I think it is probably too difficult at this moment. I am a baby boomer and have this issue with my husband and, after almost 50 years of marriage, we cannot talk politics at all. I find the thought process, or lack there of, that he has adopted is due to the bombardment of Fox news and social media - absolutely. I see it, but he definitely does not. At this point, it is probably harder to get an old dog to learn any new tricks. I hope the younger generations will be able to be more flexible in the future.