It was a relief and a privilege to let go of the harsh judgments that instinctively ran through my mind about nearly every person I saw.

...

I can't help but see in our public discourse so many of the same destructive impulses that ruled my former church... the path [our society] has chosen looks so much like the one I walked away from four years ago. We've broken the world into us and them only emerging from our bunkers long enough to lob rhetorical grenades at the other camp.

...

At Westboro, I learned not to care how my manner of speaking affected others. I thought my rightness justified my rudeness --harsh tones, raised voices, insults, interruptions -- but that strategy is ultimately counterproductive.