Over the summer, while sitting for an interview on a cable news network, the anchor prefaced her first question to me by saying, “I know you’ve evolved.” Her statement surprised me. Had I evolved?
My commitment to equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was unchanged. My preference for federalism, free enterprise, fiscal responsibility, prudent American leadership in the world, pluralism, the rule of law, decency in our leaders and compassionate care for vulnerable communities was also unwavering.
Her remark stuck with me, though, and I’ve since realized that I actually have changed in one important way over the past two years: More than before, I now recognize the urgent need to find common ground and seek sensible compromise between factions to counter the dangerous wave of political polarization currently washing over the nation.