Dahlia Lithwick Quotes

I think America is going to have to think through whether it wants to uplift the political dialogue or advance an approach that divides and, frankly, can lead to violence.

Our civilization is becoming less civil. You don’t have the right to demonize somebody just because they disagree with you.

Even if America is unlikely to descend into another civil war, our present trajectory carries huge risks. Millennials may take charge of the country without much memory of a functional Congress, tolerant public discourse, or social circles that transcend our atomized subcultures. Today’s college students can scarcely recall a life free of internet trolls!

We have seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty. At times, it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity. Disagreement escalates into dehumanization. Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions.

The goal of any worthwhile and effective journal of opinion analysis in navigating what is an increasingly tribal and divisive period in American history should be to promote real debate. That does not mean retreating to our corners and pretending that, if we ignore the perspectives we don't like, they will magically go away.

I don't think it is just in the world of politics. The lack of civility in society as a whole, some of it, I believe, is very much fueled by social media and frankly, it's fueled by the fact that journalism is not journalism any more.

It's not beneficial when you have a presidential candidate like Donald Trump, telling his supporters "punch that guy in the face." I think everyone candidate ought to aspire toward civility, towards decency, towards bringing us together. I don't think we should be using angry and hateful rhetoric.

Reason leavened with a little wit (if possible) is the real alternative to hate speech, meaning that there's no better time for it.

But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized - at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do - it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

I think the political process has degenerated into name-calling and extremism, and I think that that's unfortunate.

You don't hear me lambasting, engaging in personal attacks, getting nasty. I don't think that belongs in politics.

America is an incredibly polarized country politically. I think ANY Republican would start out with 42 percent of the vote.

The atheist proposition is the following - most of the time - it may not be said that there is no god; it may be said that there is no reason to think that there is one.

All nations have present, or past, or future reasons for thinking themselves incomparable.

The problem with worry is that we attract the very thing we are trying to avoid. We live a self-fulfilling prophecy. Life keeps its agreement with us through our beliefs, because whatever we think about, we bring about. Life is like a mirror. It reflects back whatever image we present to it.

Most people assume the fights are going to be the left versus the right, but it always is the reasonable versus the jerks.

I think the way that I delivered my request for acting was undeniable, and I think that I was blessed enough to have parents who saw it as something that there was no argument about. For that, I will always be grateful.

I'm grateful for the exposure that being on a show like The Flash gives me, particularly in this generation of social media and how accessible you can be to fans. And I think it's important to use that platform to send a positive message.

I think people hold back all kinds of things. And in a way, they just want to be nice. They want to be civil.

I think that there is generally less of a community and that the fragmentation of the left is a symptom. I think that it is less and less possible to take for granted certain cultural references.

I think people know very little, really, about the court, how it works and its history. And both of those things are important in our country, but they're not things that most citizens know much about.

I think it's perfectly lovely the way you talk about girls.

I don't think anyone sees truth for a simple reason: we aren't static.

Diversity has got to be a part of modern feminism, and I think that my feminism is stronger because its an inclusive thing. I won't be backed into a corner that polarizes me against other women. And I wished they wouldn't be either.

I think with romantic comedies it's a lot about tone, because different romantic comedies have different tones.