On occasion, I wonder if the goal of this site is too optimistic to be credible. Encouraging both parties to see the best in the other side is certainly a heavy lift. Is it heavy, though, because it isn’t reflective of reality? Or is the doomsday commentary that overwhelms the news cycle the skewed perspective?

A recent study provided an answer to these questions. I linked to analysis of it last year. Today’s columnist addresses the matter further and to great effect. The piece is behind a paywall, but the site offers a free trial, which I’d encourage you to sign up for just to read it. It’s also available to Apple News subscribers. I wouldn’t typically make you go to all this trouble to read a column, but I promise this one is worth it.