Before I begin, I want to say that the FBI agents conducting office searches have a point about thoroughness. Documentation matters. That said, I have spent the last four days sitting with the profound discomfort of watching federal investigators examine the inner workings of our democratic map-making process, and what I've discovered will challenge those who prefer the comfort of certainty.

The real issue here isn't whether lines on maps should favor one party or another—it's what I'm calling "cartographic absolutism," the dangerous belief that boundaries can be drawn without acknowledging the emotional labor involved in boundary-setting. I learned this during my third divorce, when my ex-husband and I spent six hours negotiating who got which kitchen cabinets. The process taught me that every line we draw is both a separation and a connection. And yet. The people calling for immediate resignations seem to forget that geography itself is a form of compromise.

According to a 2018 study by the Institute for Spatial Justice (which I attended briefly during a sabbatical), 73% of Americans cannot accurately draw the borders of their own congressional districts, yet 94% have strong opinions about whether those borders are fair. This is what I call the "empathy gap"—we demand precision from our representatives while remaining deliberately vague about our own civic responsibilities. I have made the personal sacrifice of actually looking at redistricting maps for several hours, and I can tell you that both parties are equally guilty of cartographic absolutism. And yet. The real victims here are the voters who deserve better from all of us.

The FBI search reveals something deeper about our collective failure to engage with the messiness of democratic governance. Yes, the lawmaker in question may have crossed ethical lines—but haven't we all drawn boundaries that serve our own interests? I'm thinking of the invisible line I created in my living room to keep my deceased succulent collection separate from my surviving plants. Both sides of that divide told a story about care and neglect. The investigators who raided that office and the legislators who cry persecution are both missing the fundamental point: redistricting is really about redistricting our relationship with power itself.

The real question is whether we still know how to talk to each other.