A very important column by my friend and former colleague, Drew Cline:

Only 9 percent of Democrats would use the word “moral” to describe Republicans, a 2016 Pew Research Center poll found. Only 3 percent of Republicans would use that word to describe Democrats.

It is hard to form friendships with people we believe to be morally corrupt. But the consequences of such a belief go far beyond that. When we view the other party as immoral, we are less prone to seek compromise. When we refuse to seek compromise, we render our system of representative government ineffective.

Our federal and state governments vest lawmaking power in popular assemblies structured to reach agreement through debate. But why?

The Framers of our Constitution (and those of our early state constitutions) considered numerous forms of government. They rejected systems in which a simple majority could easily impose its will on the minority. Our republican governments were created to diffuse hostility by bringing opposing factions together in assemblies, where we would talk to each other. …

As civil society becomes increasingly politicized, politics crowds out other priorities. If we are to reclaim a healthy civil society, we need to stop viewing each other as enemies. To stop viewing each other as enemies, we need to stop fighting over everything. To stop fighting over everything, we need to agree to disagree.

I loved Drew’s early discussion of time spent here in North Carolina with a friend on the opposite side, a fact which they knew didn’t invalidate their friendship one bit:

Sitting outdoors on a warm evening, watching power brokers and business elites come and go, we bonded as two single guys trying to figure out life.

At one of these meals, my friend introduced me to one of his liberal pals by remarking that the two of us rarely agreed on anything. I corrected him. We agreed on almost everything—except politics.

That is the way forward. Keep perspective and remember:

there are more important things to life than politics. Breaking bread with friends is one of the greatest.