Love Your Enemies

Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks (2019) 242 pages 

Arthur Brooks is a musician who played French horn professionally for 12 years, including some years in Barcelona. He later became an economist, was president of the American Enterprise Institute, and is now on the faculty at Harvard Business School. He's also an opinion writer for The Washington Post. I find his career trajectory fascinating, especially because he has written such a compelling book.

Like most of us, Brooks is concerned about the divisiveness in our society which splits us along political lines. He is upfront about his more conservative leanings, making the case that it is okay to have differences in opinions, but that we need to be respectful and to drop the contempt that is all too often shown (and in fact, monetized by some) in our society. One can use his book as a how-to guide to make our interactions with others more civil. By listening and being respectful, we increase the chance that we will be listened to, opening the possibilities of real human exchange.