The Highest of All Arts and the Path Away from Trump
The highest of all arts, indeed.
Compromise is about building something rather than destroying something. It is about looking past the obvious differences and finding the more substantial similarities. It is humanist rather than racist or sexist. It is a stretch of the perspective to encompass all of us rather than some of us. Compromise and the commitment to do so is a rebuke to othering, aversion, and moralizing.
Anxiety is the thing that’s ripped our country apart. It has divided us, caused us to fear and hate those who think and live differently than us, and even caused us to hate those who only slightly disagree with us. It has led to panic and overreaction. And I worry that American Anxiety is only going to exacerbate the social and political divide in this country to the point that there is no coming back.