A good friend of mine who grew up in rural Oklahoma gives me a pointed stare whenever I talk like the writer of this article: “You have no idea who these people are, how they think, or what they want in life,” she pointedly tells me. There is a massive load of cognitive biases at work for someone to suggest that treating red states like defeated Germany is in any way at all a good idea.

A better place to start: let’s try some genuine dialogue — really, I mean listening. With that, we can search for common values. With common values, we can perhaps find a basis for conversations about being on the same side. (For more on this, see https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Truth-Practical-Putting-Politics-ebook/dp/B0884CRFPJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2T6I3F8I9UYT2&dchild=1&keywords=pro+truth+a+practical+plan+for+putting+truth+back+into+politics&qid=1603030992&sprefix=Pro+truth%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1)