A nation divided against itself cannot stand,” said Abraham Lincoln. Sadly, I think that’s precisely the point.

I recently flew with my friend Bill Maher to DC, where he was to have dinner with the Bad Orange Man. I was not attending the dinner, I was just along for the ride…but I was wholeheartedly in support of my friend exhibiting the courage to set an example and communicate to his audience (consisting of tens of millions) a desire to dampen the vitriol and rhetoric, and to telegraph that it accomplishes nothing to reside in our bubbles and hurl insults at each other from 3,000 miles away.

Instead, he felt strongly that the way to heal the divide in this country was to talk, and listen, to each other…even if we disagree to the point that it makes our blood boil. Starting with himself. That didn’t mean Bill’s senses left him and he suddenly agreed with Donald Trump about every issue or even most issues. But it also didn’t mean that he was dug in on some unhinged ideology or was unwilling to table the vitriol in pursuit of moving forward and having a conversation with someone with whom he mostly disagreed.

The plane ride from LA to DC was tinged with anticipation but also uncertainty. How would it go? Bill had been largely misrepresented as distinctly not supportive of anything Trump does or says which is false; he has agreed with him about the border, and the lost-the-plot-woke crap, as well as other issues. …

A famous politician once said: “If you agree with 5 out of the 10 things I stand for you should vote for me. And if you agree with 10 out of the 10 things I stand for, you should seek professional help because that is just not reasonable.” RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Rogan, Jimmy Dore, and now Bill Maher are refusing to wear the full uniform of crazy and are exhibiting a desire to be reasonable and rational. Democrats are running out of their best minds who no longer wish to perform Madam Butterfly in a vacuum. And to that they say good riddance. It’s Rachel Zegler in an entire political party.

If we continue to look at the framing as “Ourselves” as the centre of the universe and the evil “Other” “over there”…if we continue to dig in on our perceived superiority, supremacy, authority, or even just importance…if we allow the powers that be to make enemies out of each other…we’ve lost. We will splinter off into smaller and smaller factions, become weaker and more diluted, confirm and engrain our tribalism deeper and deeper, and make it further untangle-able in the future.

It makes narcissists of us all. It gives permission to intentionally wish harm, rationalizes naked lack of integrity, and excuses and institutionalizes unethical behavior. We all become witting Machiavellis and Svengalis. It appeals to and sanctions the very worst of our natures: to separate instead of unify; to make it all about us instead of making all of us one.

We need to stop seeking to be right and vilifying anyone who disagrees, and instead seek to be in the light of oneness. We have far more in common than that which divides us. If Donald Trump and Bill Maher can do it, surely there is hope for us all yet.