I was talking to an old not-quite-dead white guy friend of mine this week. Somehow or another the topic turned to violence and parenting, and he made a fascinating comment...paraphrased:

Conservatives [e.g. Christians] are often deeply concerned about physical violence in movies, video games, and the like. But rarely are they concerned about the verbal violence that envelopes their lives, their homes, or their dinner tables.

It is a challenging question: How do I verbally treat those I disagree with? Those who talk badly about me at work? Those who make foolish decisions?

Do I believe that people are more than the sum of their decisions? Or do I award respect based entirely on what people do?