Increased polarization and political volatility are creating lasting effects on America’s standards of political discourse. Addressing this shifting norm, former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley set our nation’s behavior in perspective:

“In our toxic political environment, I’ve heard people in both parties describe their opponents as ‘enemies’ or ‘evil.’ In America, our political opponents are not evil. In South Sudan, where rape is used as a weapon of war – that is evil. In Syria, where the dictator uses chemical weapons to murder innocent children – that is evil. In North Korea, where American student Otto Warmbier was tortured to death – that was evil. In the last two years, I have seen true evil. We have some serious political differences here at home, but our opponents are not evil. They are just our opponents. We are blessed with a political system that allows us to resolve our differences peacefully. In the end, we must recognize that we are all Americans, and we are stronger and healthier when we are united.”

View the clip of Ambassador Haley’s recent speech here.

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Topics: Parties, Campaigns, & Elections

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