Nice post and great selfie!

I think we often do have more in common than we have differences. We're just tribal animals who need things to define our group from the other group. But even though we have tribal tendencies, we can still have civil discussions with others and possibly modify our opinions or agree to disagree.

Best line in here, for me, is "we got in the small groups and started talking..." I think that is important in college and university, to be exposed to a universe of ideas which can be discussed in depth to discover the nuances. I think we need more talk, more exposure to ideas that we may not agree with, if they are presented in a thoughtful manner, rather than less talk.