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We Need to Disagree: The Importance of Honesty and Debate in an Age of Political Tribalism

Time

Monday, February 09 2026 at 6:00pm

Location

Great Hall, Memorial Union

Speaker: Mark Vance

We are living in an age of anger and political tribalism. What we need is not a loss of deeply held viewpoints and differences, but a way for those who disagree to articulate those differences and understand each other. Our greatest need as a culture is not agreement but respect; this necessitates both thoughtful convictions and viewpoint diversity in public spaces. Using the acronym of TRIBAL (Them, Religious Creed, Intolerance, Battlefield, Aggressive, Legalism), I explore the use of language to both break down and build up political tribalism.