We are now living in a fractured world, a divided world, where hatred, dissension, and strife seem to be the rule. People are separated into factions: Republican or Democrat; conservative or liberal; educated or ignorant; black or white; good or evil; with us or against us. We seem to have lost the ability to grasp complexity and appreciate difference. Compassion for the other side, for those who are different, seems to be in short supply.