Across America, Thanksgiving dinners have turned into sparring matches, and petty conflict often overshadows substantive policy discussion. Political polarization costs all of us: it poisons social relations, increases legislative gridlock, and drives elected officials to prioritize winning over representing their constituents’ interests.
Ten years ago, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, declaring that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marry in all 50 states. For many Americans, it felt like the close of a bitter chapter—the end of a long legal and cultural war. And for Jim Obergefell, the man whose name now sits atop one of the most significant civil rights rulings in United States history, it felt like the first step toward healing.
