Respect can be a difficult word, often used as a tool to protect inequity or injustice. Before the Civil War, pro-slavery politicians denounced the abolitionist movement, charging it with breaching stabilizing norms of civility and respect. Yet in its deepest meanings, respect is seen as an essential ingredient in the American experiment. Amid the nation’s political polarization and widening cultural divides are millions of Americans who have lost sight of each other, caught in reflexive rituals and simplistic clichés that dismiss, demonize, or otherwise delegitimize perceived enemies. Why We Wrote This Respect is a core civic value to American democracy, but it can also be used as a tool of repression. As a fractured nation seeks to knit itself together, the ability to disagree yet not hate is seen as essential. This is part of the Monitor’s Respect Project.