"Nation" category intro.
We will never agree on everything. Ever. So let's stop acting surprised and angry when people disagree with us. Freedom, liberty, and all that other jazz are fundamentally about celebrating diversity of thought. And there is nothing more American than co-existing with people who have a completely different idea of happiness than you. We can either try to find smaller and smaller groups of like-minded individuals where we scream about the "other side," or we can start having some intelligent conversations, engage in civil arguments, and eventually compromise. Discourse baby. Try it. It’s almost as fun as intercourse. This is the only way we are actually going to solve big problems that impact all of us.
And here's the thing... Despite what the news may be telling you, we actually do agree on lots of stuff. Important stuff. No one champions cowardice. Statements like "lying is bad" strike everyone as a giant "duh." All around the world people have venerated values like honor, courage, and humility for eons. At a minimum we should be able to use our shared espousal of these concepts as a starting point.
Discourse isn’t defeat. Compromise isn’t surrender. And losing from time to time doesn't make you a loser (how you act does). Let’s stop treading on each other and seek some radical common ground instead. Let’s feel and react a little less, and think and discuss a little more. Let’s use some rare sense and figure out how to be united, even when we disagree.