As I was driving my daughters to school a few days before the elections, the seven-year-old said, "We watched a video about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton yesterday." This innocent statement was met with a disproportionate, "Really?! What did you hear?!"
As we find ourselves on the other side of the election season, many continue to recover from election anxiety. This anxiety revealed not only the deep emotional toll of this election season, but the larger issue that we are often disconnected from those with opposing viewpoints.
How might we go about bridging this divide to avoid reducing people to simplistic ideas or a political party? In other words, how can we continue to move forward by viewing those we disagree with as people and fellow citizens?
One possibility is to expand where our information comes from. This may mean adding the National Review or The Nation to your magazine subscriptions. It may mean daring to approach the conversational third rail of politics at a carefully chosen family gathering.
It certainly requires engagement. Information's purpose is to inform, and often our sources are biased -- or at least not fully forthcoming -- when it comes to the opposition. Research shows that Americans are more likely to marry outside their race or religion than their political party.
We desire our children to be well-rounded individuals with a diverse array of experiences. Maybe we should further graft those desires into our political outlook as well.
I’m Andy Newgren, and that’s my perspective.