Contrary to what McKnight and perhaps Dark seem to think, the polarization we’re experiencing in this country might not be from a failure to listen to and understand one another. More likely, it comes from understanding one another very clearly as we take irreconcilable stands on issues.

Obama thinks legal abortion is a good. I think it’s an evil. No amount of listening or “dialog” will repair what is a fundamental, unbridgeable difference between us. When societies become so diverse there can be no agreement on fundamental issues (including, btw, whether the issue of whether democratic government is legitimate) then democratic government cannot long function.