Books Can Help Us Balance Politics and Relationships
The presidential campaign is already in full swing and we’re taking sides. So, how’s the mood in your house these days? Are some topics off limits? Are some friends off limits?
“I Love You, But I Hate Your Politics” is how author Jeanne Safer deals with the dilemma in her 2019 book by the same name. It’s a guide for, in her words, “How to protect your intimate relationships in a poisonous partisan world.” She would know – she’s a self-described die-hard liberal happily married to a stalwart conservative.
If you want to preserve your friendships and family ties when things get tense in your world during this political era, here are some more titles on the library shelves that could help.
- “I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): A Guide to Grace-filled Political Conversations” by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers, 2019. They hope to teach us how to speak to each other without sacrificing our humanity.
- “A Politics of Love: A Handbook for a New American Revolution” by Marianne Williamson, 2019. The author says we can heal the country and the world by reclaiming our love for democracy.
- “Love your enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from Our Culture of Contempt” by Arthur Brooks, 2019. This New York Times best-selling author and social scientist shows that abuse and outrage are not the right formula for lasting success and offers a better way to lead based on bridging divides and mending relationships.
- “Them: Why We Hate Each Other, and How to Heal” by Ben Sasse, 2018. Sasse calls for a radical effort to rebuild and remake the institutions that are foundering within communities and a nationwide discussion and understanding of just how monumental this challenge is.
- “Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together” by Van Jones, 2017. The CNN political contributor and host offers how to transform political disputes into peaceful, effective changes.
And, finally:
- “One Nation Undecided: Clear Thinking About Five Hard Issues that Divide Us” by Peter H. Schuck, 2017. How to think intelligently about the thorniest public issues confronting us today, from immigration to religious objections to gay marriage.
Vickie Hicks is community relations director for the Springfield-Greene County Library District. She can be reached at vickieh@thelibrary.org.
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