Ok....I've said this here for YEARS beginning in 2001...

[ForgedCrank]

86. I think

we got here mostly because of rabid and hateful politics. That is my personal opinion.
One half of America hates the other, look from either direction and it's the same picture on that point.
I believe that allowing emotions to steer us in our reactions has built this very large gap that divides us all. People (in general) seem to go straight for the personal insults rather than attacking bad policy. I was even accused of "trolling" for being honest here. These sort of things divide us, they don't connect us.
If you can stomach it, go watch Tucker Carlson for just a few minutes. The man can't make a single point without also making it personal and calling the people behind these policies really vile or demeaning things. Once a person does that, there is no more debate to follow. At that point, it's just throwing rocks at each other. It might be fun if that's something someone likes to do, but it does nothing to further the betterment of law or culture. In fact, I'll even get chastised and accused of "both-side-ism" for saying such things. The goal would be to make me shut up and sit down rather than honestly discuss something.
I don't like how things have evolved (or devolved to be more accurate) when it comes to politics. And as long as we (all of us as Americans) are willing to accept this bile as a proper method of discussing things, nothing will ever get better.
I wish I had an answer for how, but I don't. People here make the point that "we could be nice, then Republicans would still stomp on our throats". And that is unfortunately, absolutely true. I'm simply pointing out, since you asked, that I think the root of the problems is the uncivil nature of how we now "debate" politics now. If we had a magic wand that could make that go away, I honestly believe we would start seeing progress.
And thank you for the genuine question. You may not even like what I just said, but you asked and you listened. That is how this is supposed to work, and I really appreciate that a lot.