At a recent Sutherland Institute Congressional Series event, Rep. Blake Moore told a story of how an interpersonal relationship with someone in the opposite political party led directly to a policy reform needed to help save the Great Salt Lake from the effects of the current drought. He said building that cross-partisan relationship allowed him to “get above the politics” of policymaking in order to pass an important reform.

Moore also explained how the friendship between Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, and Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat – including all the policy accomplishments it generated – inspired him in his relationship efforts.

These anecdotes highlight the power of building friendships across political differences.

As I recently wrote in the Deseret News:

As our lives, both in person and on social media, retreat into the comfort zone of like-minded associations, it becomes even more important to reach out and regularly interact with those of differing life experiences, backgrounds and perspectives on the world. As we come to know people who are different than us on a personal and human level — to the point of calling them our friends — we lose the contempt we might otherwise feel toward them based solely on political ideology or partisan affiliation. We begin to recognize the many things that we have in common: even some shared values, attitudes and personal interests.

The critical need for establishing or renewing cross-partisan friendships is highlighted by a recent Pew survey noting that 53% of Republicans and 43% of Democrats say that members of the opposite political party exhibit at least four of the five following traits in greater proportion than other Americans: closed-mindedness, dishonesty, immorality, unintelligence and laziness. For comparison, just six years ago these percentages were at 30% for Republicans and 22% for Democrats.

The congressional anecdotes of Moore and Hatch illustrate the power of friendships built across partisan differences to cut through the contempt (or “get above the politics of it,” as Moore said) to enact policy solutions even in a period defined by partisan division. Such friendships can be as powerful and impactful for voters and citizens as they are for elected officials and lawmakers.

Building such friendships has the tendency not only to build our civic character, but to heal our partisan rhetoric as well. We stop thinking and speaking of those in the opposing party as the caricatures that candidates, nonprofits and party fundraisers paint them to be. And we have the tools and motivation to counter that kind of rhetoric among our friends and family as well with our lived experience interacting with a real person from the opposing party.

This shrinking of partisan contempt will begin to spread from us to others, helping to heal the rot that results when we ground conversation in partisan, ideological or campaign talking points about people in the opposing party.

That cure for contempt is not likely to stem solely from building friendships across partisan differences. The full cure for communities, states and the nation will likely require additional actions like participating as active members in civic institutions, gaining a better factual understanding of American civics and history, and grounding our political rhetoric in the policymaking realities of our democratic republic.

But cross-partisan or cross-ideological friendships are a big first step toward achieving the cure for the contempt infecting our politics. If you lack such friendships, you cannot understand what you’re missing and how much such relationships can enrich your life.

The incomplete or half-truths told by those asking for your vote and/or your money become exposed for what they are: a partisan or ideological sales pitch made for their own benefit and enrichment. The reality that no party or ideology has a monopoly on the love of country, compassion for the vulnerable or oppressed, or passion for equality and freedom becomes clear, which in turn illuminates the smallness and self-serving nature of the arguments we often hear from partisan advocates and ideological warriors on all sides.

So make a friend from a political party other than your own. If you don’t identify with a political party, make friends with people from both major parties. In the bigger picture, the risks from doing so are small and the rewards – personal and social – are large. You may find that those friendships lead you to places where you can make a significant difference not only for yourself, but for the communities you love and cherish as well.