Alexander Greene
Seven Ground Rules for Political Discussion.
Here are the terms of engagement:
You and your partner (or opponent, if you prefer) agree not to use the words Republican, Democrat, conservative or liberal, or to mention the name of any living politician. This prevents the conversation from devolving into a rant against a particular party or candidate.
The two of you agree to use a level voice and normal tone, the kind you'd use to talk about last week's weather.
You agree that your mutual goal is to hear and understand your partner's point of view, not to change it. (A tough condition for proselytizers.)
To begin, your partner takes approximately five minutes to say why he favors a particular policy and why. (It could be raising taxes, privatizing social security, withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan or whatever.) Sticking to a single topic keeps the discussion from becoming unfocused.
When your partner's five minutes are up, you make no statement that confirms or contradicts his point of view. Instead, you take a few minutes to ask nonjudgmental questions that allow him to clarify his position and his reasoning.
Your partner then repeats steps 4 and 5 so you can voice your point of view on the same subject.
Afterwards, you take a few minutes to summarize what you do and don't agree on and why. Assuming a first-aid kit wasn't necessary, you can then move on to another policy position.
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