An interesting thing happened on my flight up to Cleveland this morning. The plane was full of Republicans heading to the RNC and dozens of men and women on their way to Cincinnati for the NAACP convention. You talk about an eclectic dynamic on board!
While I sat in my seat listening to some Big Daddy Weave and getting my game face on for take off (because flying has never been my thing), I couldn’t help but hear the discussion taking place behind me between two strangers – one headed to Cleveland and the other headed to Cincinnati. Before take-off they had debated the economy and by the time we got to 10,000 feet, the conversation had moved to Benghazi and the Clinton Foundation’s ties to terror.

You would think that these two strangers with little in common would be in a raging fist fight by the time we reached cruising altitude, but instead they were laughing about their politics and seemed to enjoy chatting about their backgrounds and various political opinions.

Just goes to show you that if civil political discourse is possible on a Southwest airplane, then it can happen anywhere. I just wish more people were like my fellow passengers and instead of pitting one side against the other in violent protest, made a conscious effort to talk peacefully about our differences? Who knows, but if what I witnessed this morning is any example, a healthy dialogue about same could lead to common ground. At the very least, it will bring forth a better understanding and respect for one another which would be such a beautiful thing. Especially today.