Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton Alone In A Room With a Bottle of Scotch: Finding Common Ground on Coffee

Part 1 in a recurring series on finding common ground between liberals and conservatives.

Photo by Gear5.8 by Roberto R. on Unsplash

There are so few things liberals and conservatives can agree on these days. I am a pretty far left liberal, living downtown in a large city. But I come from a loving, conservative family, most of whom still live in the small town I was born in. One thing we do well — we all love each other and we know how to have civil conversations on the many, many things we disagree on.

This post will be the first in a series I write about trying to find common ground on the long list of things we — as Americans— seem so deeply divided on. Despite the angry rhetoric and polarity that seems to dominate the news these days, I am optimistic. There are so many basic values we share, I find it hard to accept that we are actually as angry with one another as we seem to think we are. We just need to have the patience to really listen to one another — in other words, we need to put Reagan and Clinton in a room with a bottle of scotch and it can all be worked out.

I’m going to start with coffee. This should be an easy one.

When I was back home, years ago, my cousin asked me if I wanted to go out and get a cup of coffee. I asked…