This week I was introduced to an article from the New York Times entitled “Our Culture of Contempt“, written by Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank based in Washington DC. While I am not a fan of the institute, this article is particularly relevant to what is happening in the U.S. right now.

Brooks argues that the problem is much deeper than the surface issues of incivility and intolerance. In today’s political climate people on all sides speak with contempt for those who disagree. I know I have been guilty without even realizing it. It’s just too easy to see those who disagree with us about crucial political and social issues as having evil motives, when in reality they see us the same way.

Brooks commits to fighting this tendency, and I must say I am with him in this.