Take the High Road - a call for political civility, please

My friend, Krista Tippet, had a forum not so long ago, calling on political leaders to exercise more civility - please, thank you very much.

In the face of the extreme Conservative attacks on civility and reasonableness - which seem to work, by the way - this author is calling on the Liberals to not descend to that same place of bickering - but to rather take the high road.

http://thebreakthrough.org/journal/issue-3/the-polarization-paradox/

This is an excellent piece - but a bit long.  It calls for centrist moderation from the liberal left - not the liberal extreme reaction that many are pursuing. Some of the length comes from the exceptional research that went into this - it makes perfect sense - do read it.

OH - if you are of the conservative bent - you should read this too - it's all your fault, after all.

Here's one small quote:
  "In the aftermath of a 2012 election that is likely to be among the most brutal campaigns in history, liberals would be well served to turn more attention and resources to rebuilding our civic culture, reconstructing a vital center in American politics, rather than investing ever more heavily in the liberal message machine. Reforming our civic and political institutions in ways that create some possibility for moderation, deliberation, and crosscutting discourse should be a high priority for liberals, who must recognize that without a functioning civic culture, there can be no progressive governance."