Why toxic partisanship isn't just bad, it's really, really bad

It seems that to be a member of a political party these days is to be required to spend too much time on blaming the other side, and far too little time actually solving problems. The blame game also makes solving the problems much more difficult, so the whole thing spirals out of control. We're even seeing this in our own local community.

I came across this video this morning, and I think it helps illustrate the reason that toxic partisanship isn't just bad, it's really, really bad. The basic message is that good ideas happen when different people, sometimes very different people, are able to communicate. What we have now, and what the Manweller/Huber fracas is a symptom of, is something like the opposite of what we need. I think the only way out is to at least take a break from political parties, and to focus of actually solving problems. This will be easiest, and most effective, if we start locally.