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41 " Inquisitive and productive discussions can be the building blocks for a new kind of politics. One of the reasons that we’re able to talk to each other, fully aware of our many differences in thought, is that we trust each other’s why. We trust that we are both doing our best to love our neighbors. We trust that we both love our country and want to do what is best for the country and all its citizens. We trust each other to care about “the least of these” and to think carefully about what data and research tell us about the effectiveness of different systems. That means we come to a health-care discussion or any other policy discussion trusting that we both want good outcomes for everyone. When we strip away the demonizing intentions, we can move our conversations out of the mud and into terrain that might help us start solving problems. "
― Sarah Stewart Holland , I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations
42 " In many ways, we treat politics, and specifically the government, as both the sole cause of all our problems and the sole solution. It has become the one societal institution expected to shoulder every problem facing us. There was a time when many other institutions shared the load, but those institutions have suffered under the weight of the past several decades’ tremendous societal changes, and we’ve turned our hopes and expectations toward the government instead. "
43 " When we stop trying to win, we are able to think, experiment, learn, and innovate. "
44 " We do not mean to imply that political issues are unimportant. For many of us, policy affecting health insurance or military engagement or gun control can be the difference between life and death, and we get that. But what we are saying is that as a nation we have made political issues philosophical quicksand in which all of us are drowning. We can resurface by understanding that political issues are one expression of our values, but not the only expression. "
45 " participating in the political process is a spiritual imperative, but we should participate as an expression of our faith, not as a fulfillment of our faith. "
46 " Sarah has had Facebook arguments about gun violence that inevitably prompt someone to say that any regulation of gun purchases will result in us losing our constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms. Beth has tried to explain how frustrating, costly, and sometimes damaging well-intended employment laws are for businesses, only to hear that without such regulations, we’ll usher in a second Jim Crow era. We’re all guilty of assuming that a step in a direction we don’t embrace or understand will lead to extremes. "
47 " Paradox is disorienting at times. It is also empowering. It can be empowering to say “I don’t know.” It can be empowering to trust the testimonies and experiences of others. As people of faith, we should know that and live that experience. "
48 " When we lead with the values that inform our faith - compassion, forgiveness, and love - we enter into even the most emotionally charged discussions with a new perspective. We might not change our minds about the outcomes, but we can change our conversations by listening with openness and receptivity to those who think differently than we do. "
49 " We aren't the boss of anyone else, and grace shows us that others don't have to comply with our worldview in order to be worthy of sharing our world. "
50 " We've decided to stop calling America "divided." Buying into this conflict-driven narrative is a choice, and it's a choice we're not going to make. We don't feel divided from each other or the people in our lives in any way. There are no perfect relationships, ideas, people, or organizations in our lives. They're all flawed, just as we are flawed. But we see past those flaws - because we are first looking for the good. "
51 " We can move to a more productive outlook when we realize that our personal values are not lost if we collectively make decisions that deviate from those values. We can hold on to our values without needing public validation of them. We can recognize that different considerations are at work in the public debate than our private lives. We can seek out expressions of our values beyond the public sphere. We can recognize that sometimes more good comes out of expressing our values through private action than through public debate. "