Republican midterm Senate gains now augur the confirmation of more conservative federal judges, including the possibility of an additional Supreme Court justice. Critics contend an increasingly conservative Court will accelerate the divisivenessplaguing today's politics. In fact, the opposite may be true. If the conservative justices adhere to three core principles and avoid the temptation to engage in conservative activism, then the Court could help forge democratic citizens better able to cooperate and compromise.
News flash: Our public discourse is toxic right now. Too many of us neither understand, nor especially like, people with different views. Problems harden almost immediately into tribal disputes. Disagreements seem to automatically escalate to outrages. We have lost our ability to productively navigate our political differences. Which is to say: to govern ourselves well.
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