Americans have been divided along political lines for so long that they have nearly forgotten how to talk to one another, much less how to listen. This is not likely to improve as long as differences between them continue to be cast in overly simplistic terms, such as -ignorance- vs. -enlightened awareness- or -morality- vs. -reprobate immorality.- Such dichotomies ignore the fact that many citizens who disagree politically nonetheless share a desire to work for the larger good of society.

Phil Neisser, a self-described -left-wing atheist, - first met Jacob Hess, a social...