In our first week, we published three additional essays with views on several ways to address the toxic political culture of our era, in addition to Randy Kennedy’s essay excerpted earlier here entitled: NOT By Any Means Necessary.

From John Sexton, on the role of universities:

“In a time when in some quarters ignorance actually is celebrated and expertise is mocked, those of us privileged to live in universities must beware ourselves of oversimplification and binary, ideological thinking; as we opine on issues facing our communities, we must model the appreciation of complexity (and its concomitant, dialogue) that characterizes our disciplinary work at its best. As we do so, we must bring along the humility, the openness to different thoughts, and the assumption of good faith that we exercise with respected colleagues in our fields.”

From Jake Sullivan, on a vision for national service:

“Establishing a universal expectation and opportunity for service offers something rare in today’s political climate: a solution that works, that young people want, and that has a clear implementation path.”

From former D.C. Circuit judge Tom Griffith, on the Framers as a model for handling political conflict:

“The Framers became friends who were willing to engage in good faith negotiations and seek mutual accommodations for the sake of unity. They did so because their backs were against the wall. Failure to reach compromise would have posed an existential threat to the new nation. Are we in a similar moment? I fear we are. But the Constitution shows us a path forward. If we’re willing to learn from the Framers — not just what they wrote, but how they wrote it — we can begin to heal. It won’t be easy. It demands humility and generosity. But it also gives us something we’re starving for: hope.”