How to have tough conversations

If you were left wondering "how can people really feel this way" or feeling despair over others' reactions — in real life or online — to the assassination of Charlie Kirk a few weeks ago, you certainly weren't and aren't alone. The flame wars, meme battles, and internet vitriol have died down now that his memorial is over, but the underlying sources of tension remain: ideological divides over social and political positions, policy disputes and differences in ideal forms of governance, disparate norms for engaging in conflict and conversation, and interpersonal differences each play a role. But the reaction shows how necessary it is for us to have tough conversations, and how woefully unprepared we are to do it well.