I am blessed to have in my family, professional life and friend group people who identify as the “other” side from me. These folks, to a person, embody all of the good things that their identity should speak to, and they enrich my life for their wisdom and example. We can and do eat together, discuss together, and disagree together because they are always open to opinions and experiences of other people. Which is not to say that they change their minds – mostly they don’t and I don’t, but when you can listen respectfully and speak with care of your listeners’ feelings, then people can coexist peacefully, rather than shooting up sports teams on the “other” side and taking collateral damage that might be on your own