07/13/2026
I sat on my deck last night and wrote down the thoughts below that have weighed heavily on my mind recently.
I apologize for it being long, but I hope you will take a few minutes to read it.
We The People
We are living through one of the most politically polarized periods in modern American history. There are many reasons for this growing divide, but whatever the causes, the consequences have become painfully evident. Political disagreements no longer remain confined to election cycles or television debates. They have found their way into our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our churches, our friendships, and, perhaps most tragically, our families.
I understand the desire to stand for what you believe is right. I understand the frustration that comes from witnessing injustice, laws that appear to be ignored, human rights being debated, the increasing disregard for the value of human life, and the disappointment many feel toward our nation’s leaders.
These concerns are real, and they deserve thoughtful consideration.
But somewhere along the way, many of us have begun measuring the character of another person almost exclusively by the way they vote.
We question the integrity of family members, friends, and neighbors simply because they support a different candidate or identify with a different political party. We convince ourselves that if we truly care about our country, we must push back harder, draw sharper lines, and, in some cases, remove those people from our lives altogether.
“How could anyone vote for that person?” we ask.
"How can I remain friends with someone who believes that?”
Those questions have become increasingly common. The problem is that they rarely lead to understanding. More often, they lead to separation.
I’m reminded of the story of an eagle that swoops down and captures a snake. As the eagle climbs higher into the sky, the snake fiercely fights for its life. The battle is violent and exhausting. Eventually the eagle overcomes the snake and returns triumphantly to its nest, only to discover that while it was consumed by the fight, another predator had stolen its eggs.
The eagle won the battle. But was the victory worth what it lost?
That story reminds me of our current political climate. Many of us have become so consumed with winning arguments that we fail to recognize what the conflict is costing us. We hold our opinions so tightly that they become part of our identity. Every day, algorithms reinforce those opinions by feeding us more of what we already believe.
Social media platforms and news outlets have become experts at giving us information that confirms our existing worldview while shielding us from viewpoints that challenge it.
We tell ourselves we are well informed and objective. Yet after watching a series of thirty-second video clips, reading headlines, or following only the sources we already trust, we begin to believe we’ve become experts on immigration, constitutional law, economics, foreign policy, public health, or any number of complex issues. We arm ourselves with selective information, convinced that we possess the complete picture.
But none of us do.
And while we are busy fighting, something far more valuable is slipping away.
Relationships.
Neighbors become strangers. Coworkers become adversaries. Family gatherings become tense or nonexistent. What was once meaningful friendships quietly fade because someone checked a different box on Election Day.
Many of those people are intelligent, compassionate, thoughtful individuals. We know that because we’ve known them for years. Yet somehow, once politics enters the conversation, we suddenly assume they must be ignorant, dishonest, or morally deficient simply because they reached different conclusions than we did.
Eventually we stop trying to understand them altogether. We place them into neatly labeled boxes, seal those boxes shut, and move on.
The battle continues.
Soon our entire view of America becomes filtered through politics. We begin seeing people not as fellow citizens, but as Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals, allies or enemies. And in doing so, we lose sight of the bigger picture.
We forget that our nation has endured division before. We have had other flawed leaders in the highest offices. We forget that America has repeatedly confronted enormous failures, wrestled with profound injustice, and struggled through periods of deep uncertainty
Yet generation after generation has worked to repair what was broken, often by finding common ground rather than demanding complete agreement.
Our country is imperfect. It always has been.
But despite its imperfections, it remains a nation of extraordinary opportunity, remarkable freedom, and resilient people.
When politics becomes our primary lens, however, we lose the ability to recognize any of that.
We become so consumed by what is wrong that we become blind to what is still good.
The constant stream of outrage conditions us to believe everything is collapsing and everyone who disagrees with us is part of the problem.
Perhaps you eventually win the argument.
Perhaps someone even admits you made a good point.
But if, in the process, you’ve damaged a friendship beyond repair or created distance within your own family, was the victory really worth it?
A changed opinion is a poor substitute for a broken relationship.
The truth is that none of us possesses complete knowledge. None of us fully understands every issue. None of us has lived another person’s experiences or seen the world through their eyes.
The information we consume is shaped by where we receive it, how it is presented, and what is intentionally emphasized, or omitted.
That reality applies to everyone.
Including me.
Including you.
Having access to information does not make us experts. Reading articles about brain surgery would not qualify someone to perform brain surgery. Watching videos on foreign policy does not make someone a diplomat.
Complex issues deserve humility, not certainty.
This doesn’t mean we should abandon our convictions. Quite the opposite.
We should have convictions. We should study issues carefully. We should vote. We should peacefully protest when conscience demands it. We should engage in respectful civic dialogue and work toward positive change.
But we should never allow political convictions to become more important than the people standing in front of us.
Character should matter more than party.
Relationships should matter more than being right.
Unity should matter more than uniformity.
I remain convinced that the overwhelming majority of Americans have far more in common than what divides them.
Most people want safe communities, opportunity for their children, honest leadership, freedom, justice, and the ability to live meaningful lives.
We may disagree about how to achieve those goals, but the goals themselves are remarkably similar.
Unfortunately, much of what surrounds us profits from convincing us otherwise. Political campaigns, media outlets, social media algorithms, and endless online commentary often amplify our differences because conflict captures attention and attention generates influence.
The louder the division becomes, the harder it is to hear one another.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of our generation is not deciding who wins the next election, but determining whether we will allow politics to permanently fracture the relationships that hold our communities and our nation together.
The United States Constitution begins with three simple yet profound words:
“We the People.”
Not “We the Republicans.”
Not “We the Democrats.”
Not “We who agree.”
But, "We the people."
Those words remind us that before we belong to a political party, we belong to one nation.
Before we debate policies, we share communities.
Before we argue over differences, we share a common humanity.
We can stand firmly for what we believe while still treating those who disagree with us with dignity and respect.
We can defend our convictions without sacrificing our compassion.
We can engage in passionate debate without resorting to contempt.
A nation divided against itself cannot remain strong indefinitely. If we truly desire a stronger, better America, then perhaps the battle worth fighting is not against one another, but for one another.
Let us fight for understanding.
Fight for respectful dialogue.
Fight for humility.
Fight for compromise where compromise is possible.
Fight for truth without losing kindness.
Fight to preserve relationships that politics was never meant to destroy.
I suggest before we devote all our energy to defending the rest of the Constitution, perhaps we should pause and remember its opening words.
"WE THE PEOPLE."
