I am absolutely for civility, and I agree that we can discuss divergent points of view politely.

And if a Republican offers reasons for his or her political preference and shows a willingness to listen to my reasons for mine, I will listen, even though it seems unlikely that either's attitude will change.

But "both-sides" arguments don't ring true, because at this point in American history, one side has abandoned all pretense of governing (McConnell on the eve of Obama's inauguration) and now is undermining democracy with voter rights restrictions in an effort to regain their congressional majority. On one side we have kids in cages and collusion with the Russians; on the other side we have Hillary's unsecured email server. These things are not equivalent.

The deeper problem is that we inhabit different realities. Respectable research has demonstrated that people who get their news from Fox are less knowledgeable regarding current events than those who don't pay attention to any new source. The Right is trafficking in conspiracy theories, which among other things is having the effect of prolonging a pandemic that already caused 400K more deaths in the US than if it had been properly managed from the start. Fake news kills, and right-wing propaganda is obstructing efforts to address the climate crisis.

So yes, please, let's have more civility. But we must also deal in facts. All opinions are not created equal.