Former Secretary of State George C. Shultz spoke of “tending the diplomatic garden,” an apt metaphor for the ceaseless effort to cultivate the relationships abroad necessary to advance American interests. Diplomacy, like many professions, relies on the trust established by getting to know people, with their culture and all their ambitions. In order to succeed now, at home and abroad, we need to tend our domestic garden. The same best practices we have used abroad for decades can help us get down to the business of national reconciliation.
