Can We Overcome Polarization that Threatens Our Country?

I wrote previously that courage to change is a fundamental aspect of growing as a person and leader. Lately, I have been thinking about social change, especially as it applies to our politics and polarization.

In 2002, I finished six terms as a NH GOP state legislator, an experience I found challenging, but also very satisfying. I made a lot of friendships on both sides of the aisle. While we had our disagreements, I found nearly every representative and senator motivated by public service and open to ideas of others.

By 1998, though, I was noticing some not-so-positive changes. In a speech on the House floor, I said, “The level of civility among members has declined in recent years. This seems to be happening at all levels of government and, indeed, throughout society. We can show people a better way."  

Now, 24 years later, the problem is much worse. Rampant polarization is driven by declines in social capital, civic education, manners/kindness, and basic conversation/interpersonal skills. Growing economic inequality is another factor.

In 2019, I joined Braver Angels (https://braverangels.org/), a national citizens movement that brings Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic. Ezra Klein writes, “We need to build a politics where one of our aims is the participation and respect we give to each other.”

I recently finished Cass Sunstein’s book “How Change Happens.” Despite what Sunstein describes as, “serious adverse effects both in daily life and in the political domain” of this problem, he offers a possible way out. “If people live in accordance with norms they abhor, the circumstances are right for sudden change. People can be unleashed.”

Are you ready to step up and contribute to finding a way past this difficult challenge? We each have an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, including our own. Don’t underestimate your impact! 

You can read more on this topic in my recent column in NH Business Review.