A civic pause: leaders and political thinkers on division, dialogue, and shared purpose. These sourced excerpts invite reflection; provenance varies across the source list.

"I was no party man myself, and the first wish of my heart was, if parties did exist, to reconcile them." — George Washington, writing to Thomas Jefferson in 1796[[cite:1]]
"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer." — John F. Kennedy[[cite:2]]
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." — Abraham Lincoln[[cite:3]]
"The spirit of party... is itself a spirit of faction: and that spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our public councils" — James Madison, The Federalist Papers, No. 10[[cite:4]]
"There’s greater satisfaction in respecting our differences, but not letting them prevent our agreements." — John McCain, The Restless Wave[[cite:5]]

The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations, 2018

A civic pause: leaders and political thinkers on division, dialogue, and shared

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