We’re at an unprecedented moment in our unwillingness to listen to each other or to recognize our shared humanity. Cocktail party chatter is kept consciously anodyne. Where is the bottom of this spiral of coarsening culture?

New York Gov. Cuomo pardoned 18 people at the end of the year in an effort to push back against the increasingly harsh immigration policies coming from the White House. The 18 committed low-level offenses and have built solid lives in the years, and sometimes decades, since their convictions. They could be our neighbors.

There seems to be a connection between the frat house culture and the lopsided lack of representation of women in American political life. We need more women in politics, not fewer.

When a friend or an employee speaks about this, don't ignore it. And maybe, offer to put her up, or at least back her up, until she regains her pride and sense of safety.

A: These were all intelligent, accomplished, articulate women. It seemed off to me that they would play this subservient role to rescue their husbands’ careers.