In recent months the United States has witnessed a heavy dose of partisan politics driving the nation’s dialogue, creating a deeper divide on important issues. In the process we have used political figures as scapegoats for the impairment caused by this very division. If this destructive pattern does not end, we will drain our most powerful resource for healing and understanding – I call it “domestic diplomacy,” dialogue that engages people to find commonalities and join together as one. 

During times of divide, we must look to connect as human beings rather than stereotyping our neighbor and placing each other in categories -- right vs. left, urban vs. rural, educated vs. less educated, etc. Understanding each other in a human sense, and working together to resolve challenges that we face together as a nation, is the only way we will move forward.