Civil Dialogue Quotes

I will avoid demonizing people who don't agree with me about this election.

You can question somebody's views and their judgment without questioning their motives or patriotism.

[Bush Hating] undermines the good faith necessary for democratic discussion. Which is a large part of what people like Al Franken are all about.

When I see this, you know, 'Crooked Hillary,' or I see the, 'Lock her up,' it's just ridiculous. It is ridiculous. But I just - you know - it is beneath the character of the kind of dialogue we should have. Because we got real serious problems to solve. And look, most of us stopped the name-calling thing about fifth grade.

One thing that has gone away from civil discussion in America is this idea that our neighbors are not out to ruin the world. We need to come at it from a civil place.

The things I believe in now are grace and the power of human connection to change hearts and minds and the importance of civil dialogue.

The best thing we can do when we want to elevate civil dialogue in our American political discourse is to do whatever we can to make sure we treat others kindly with dignity and respect, and that's what I intend to do.

G.K. Chesterton, who was part of a Catholic conservatism that was kind and loving, not reactionary or hateful, said "We're all in the same boat in a stormy sea and we owe each other a terrible loyalty." I think that's profoundly true, yet it's difficult to have civil dialogue right now with other Christians, so how can we possibly talk to "all the nations"?

The overwhelming majority of Americans want decent and civil political dialogue, and candidates for office and elected leaders must continue to call for calm and unity, even when there are intense differences of opinion.

You need to be able to agree from time to time if we're going to get anywhere. Once you have started a civil dialogue, it's a much smoother road to compromise. The key thing to remember is it's a daily practice.

I'm going to focus on people and what they need, not on name calling between politicians.

Free speech is one of our fundamental principles and it's pretty hard to speak freely when people are yelling at you when it's your turn. That would never be allowed in a classroom or in any other kind of meeting.

People are stereotypes, they are caricaturized. It comes from both sides of the political aisle, it comes from the press. It's all about conflict, it's all about personality, and there are huge stakes in the policies that are being debated, and I think there's a hunger amongst a very significant, maybe even a critical mass of Americans, clustered on the left, right, and center, to have an adult conversation about how we're going to solve these problems ... but it's not for the fainthearted.

I think that's one thing that, you know, we all need to remember is that, you know, politics, even though it's been really rough, is that we are all human beings first. And that it is more important for us to have civil dialogue. And you know what? I'm conservative, but I'm not mad about it.