I was thinking last night about the nature of political discourse in our country. While many talk about the widening divide in our country, I disagree partially with that statement. I agree that we are far apart rhetorically. But I don't think we are so far apart substantively.

I wonder how we have moved from disagreeing on methods to now questioning each others motives. I used to love have ongoing discussions with good friends of mine about politics even when we disagreed because at the end of the day there was any acknowledgement that we both wanted the same thing. I have an African-American friend that I used to work with in San Diego that really epitomized this approach. We were generally far apart on the issues, but I had the highest respect for him because he was always willing to listen and consider what I had to say and he always made me evaluate my own beliefs. I hope that I did the same for him.