For the past few weeks, I've watched the news and surfed social media with a growing sense of anxiety.

Whether you're on the right or the left, conservative or progressive, our daily feeds stoke our sense that we're not going in the right direction, that "the other guys" are winning, or that there's no way to do what needs to be done to meet our challenges.

The news itself isn't why I've been feeling that anxiety, though. It's our reaction to the news that has me worried. For example, how we are reacting to the culture war surrounding same-sex marriage. Or the gun issue. Or recent presidential scandals. Or a whole host of other issues.

My Facebook feed is less populated by baby pictures and shots of other people's food (yay!) and more a place to argue over the issues (sigh).

I'm guilty of posting the occasional breathless "Oh no! Look what they are doing now!" piece. But if we buy into the prevailing political script underlying that behavior—that there are cultural winners and losers, and ...