The next few months are going to be uncomfortable for a lot of us, John. And a lot of that discomfort will stem from disagreement. 

I’m used to disagreeing with my family and friends. We disagree over where we want to go to dinner, what we should watch on TV, and what the best breed of dog is (great dane, of course). But those disagreements will not lead to long-term fallout. 

Political conversations, on the other hand, seem to have become especially challenging in recent years. Stories of tense Thanksgiving dinners and unfriended Facebook friends have become commonplace.

If we want to make real change in this country, we have to start asking ourselves: what do we do with people with whom we disagree? As voting in our presidential election begins, I’m proposing that we get uncomfortable.

When human freedom is on the line, we need to find common ground among the most unlikely of people. It will be hard, it will probably hurt at times, but it’s necessary.

I’m calling on you to join me in the radical act of choosing common ground to create real solutions for our country.

We can move a little bit closer to our founding dreams of liberty and justice for all, and a little bit further from our founding reality of slavery and sexism if we will all embrace a bit of discomfort.

Check out my latest op-ed and let’s get ready to get uncomfortable.

Nisha