Commentary by Jeff Worrell
Lately, I’ve been seeing and hearing about the rising tide of hyper-partisanship, both nationally and in everyday conversations. Hyper-partisanship is about extreme loyalty or adherence to a specific group, ideology or viewpoint at the expense of open-mindedness and collaboration. It’s this troubling trend that compels me to write about its impact on civility and our community.
Civility is the glue that holds our society together. It allows us to disagree without dehumanizing, to debate without destroying. Yet, hyper-partisanship often pushes us to see the “other side” as an enemy rather than a neighbor. This mindset erodes the very foundation of our community…