How does a democracy fall apart? One path — the path we’re currently on — is extreme division. Many people grow to hate and fear the “other side” so much that beating them takes precedence over everything else.

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Can we avoid worst-case scenarios? To help us avoid increasing chaos, dysfunction, and democratic erosion in America, we need many more people to understand how toxic polarization works and the ways they can help solve this problem.

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What’s in the book? This book examines:

• The distorted, overly pessimistic views liberals and conservatives have of each other

• How those distorted views lead to widespread contempt and fear

• How contempt and fear create a feedback cycle of conflict — and how that helps create the very things that anger us (including undemocratic behaviors)

• Ideas for things we can do in our daily lives to help reduce toxic divides and extremism

This book will also help you have less angry, more constructive, and more persuasive conversations with people on the “other side” (which is, as this book shows, one small way we can all help overcome our toxic divides and sustain democracy).