Stephen Dinan encourages each of us to become a transpartisan and go beyond some of our biases, assumptions, and prejudices to find common ground in our political discourse. He suggests we find a stance of respect and honor towards those who have a different political position from us. He gives the example of Van Jones, a progressive political activist, working with conservative former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich, joining together with a common goal of criminal justice reform. His experience tells him that, “the things that tend to endure and work tend to integrate both a more progressive and a conservative set of disciplines.” He encourages us to ground ourselves in the deeper values that unite us such as liberty, equality, and justice for all – which are bedrock principles of the United States. He says we must take on the spirit of nonviolent evolutionaries as we hold a vision of possibility rather than one of opposition. “A vision of possibility draws us forward. America can become the world’s greatest peace builder.” As an example of how small actions have a ripple effect, he applauds the work of Kiva, a nonprofit organization that assists families out of poverty, and he encourages us to participate in their microloans programs.
