When the two arguing political factions regard each other not as fellow Americans who have different ideas about how best to achieve commonly agreed upon goals, but rather as vile and immoral enemies whose opinions are so thoroughly grounded in evil that they don't deserve consideration or any place in society, and with whom there should be no compromise or cooperation--then we risk going into a dangerous place. It seems that nowadays partisans attribute the worst possible motives to those with whom they disagree.

I have found the work of Jonathan Heidt to be very helpful. I've come to believe that a healthy functioning republic needs a good mix of liberals and conservatives and that whether we lean right or left is determined primarily by genetics, secondarily by social location and never by insulting memes on Facebook or Twitter. Studies have proven that once a person has a settled political opinion, being challenged and confronted with contrary facts or opinions tends to harden them in their original belief, not change their minds. So that arguing with someone whose politics are different not only isn't effective, it is counter-productive.

Hope you have a great time at your get together. I've done a lousy job of keeping in touch with my old friends from those days, and I regret that.