Recently there has been a great deal of angst over the politicization of American life. By that I mean the injection of politics into areas of our lives that it had not been in before. Two examples come to mind are. First, politicians telling their supporters to turn Thanksgiving dinner into an opportunity to challenge family members who did not hold the “correct” views of certain cultural/political issues. Second, the introduction of cultural/political protests at professional football games.

There are many reasons to be disturbed by these events. Perhaps the greatest concern I have is that neutral ground is disappearing. I am going to define neutral ground, in this context, to be areas of our lives that allow us to spend time with people who hold views different from ours, without feeling tension or fighting.

It used to be that committed republicans and committed democrats could come together and watch a football game. Or they could come together to share a holiday meal. Their disagreements, some vehemently held, were put aside for a few minutes or hours. The great benefit of this time on neutral ground was that it allowed friendships and relationships to flourish across the political/cultural divide. The republican could see the democrat as a decent human being who he or she disagreed with on certain matters. That allowed the two sides to engage in civil disagreement.

Now the available areas of neutral ground are disappearing. Everything is being made political. The ability to see, those who disagree with us, as a person worthy of dignity and respect is slipping out our national grasp.

It is understandable that those who wish to win the cultural/political battles of today might be willing to use any means necessary. The unintended consequence of this tactic is the coarsening of public discourse. When we don’t see our rivals as worthy of dignity they easily become our enemies.

The proponents of turning holiday meals and entertainment into conflict, may win the battle only to find that they have destroyed the very civil society they sought to save.

The old saying, not to talk politics or religion at the dinner table had a certain sense to it. By creating and sustaining neutral ground bonds of affections can grow up over and above our disagreements.