When it comes to how to shape society, the golden rule seems to be a good way to go. If we treat everyone the way in which we would like to be treated, we should all be living in a fairly ideal society. Unfortunately, our government and society do not operate with this in mind. We get polarized and divide by political identity, religion, culture, sub-culture, and whatever else we find intolerable in others. It is easy to fall into a “Us vs. Them” mentality and lose sight of our common ground where we could be successfully in enacting change.  What is more, we can lose sight of our common humanity, making enemies of one another.

This is not to say that I think we should all just agree and get along. People clearly have different perspectives and disagree on things ranging from moral standards to the value of various economic systems. It is important for personal and societal growth that people be exposed to differing perspectives and challenged to consider things in a different way.