The 2020 presidential election is more than a contest of ideas. Each candidate carries with him not only a punch list of policy initiatives but also a personal character that will shape and influence our cultural conscience.

In these times, that character is more important than ever. We are a nation viciously divided and many Americans believe their fellow citizens do not even have the right to be heard.

What was once rather benign but annoying “political correctness” has morphed into “cancel culture” in which we shout each other down and shut each other down as a matter of course.

Almost every candidate in the Democratic field has in one way or another contributed to this societal condition, either as a matter of principle or in an effort to pander to the most radical elements of the party.

There is an exception and his name is Andrew Yang.

Yang does not speak negatively about Americans, regardless of their beliefs and politics.

He believes that Trump supporters are people worth listening to, people with real concerns who have been ignored and derided by the political establishment, and he is proposing new and innovative policy solutions to their problems. And he wants to win them over.

He talks to everybody.

Yang has had long-form conversations with conservatives like Ben Shapiro, classical liberals like Dave Rubin and even gun-toting, weed-smoking liberals like Joe Rogan. In 2019 he sat in with folks from the Boston Herald and earlier this month joined editors from the Lowell Sun and Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise.

“To me it’s obvious that you’re going to have a hard time persuading anyone to your point of view if you’re not willing to talk to them and that it’s going to be very hard to bring our country together to solve problems that affect us all if you decide that 40% of Americans are somehow not worth talking to or not worth your time,” he told the Sun.

“You go to people where they are. You talk to them like Americans and human beings,” he remarked.

We do not share an abundance of policy positions with Andrew Yang. We are not convinced that Universal Basic Income is practical in its current design, but it is not a lazy idea and it is bold of Yang to champion it.

He is committed to the idea that politics should work in the service of people, or “Humanity First” as his campaign slogan puts it. He believes that the government needs to address the hollowing out of industrial jobs for the working and middle classes that has been accelerating in recent years and has hit some communities especially hard.

More importantly, at least in 2020, Yang brings a youthful energy and fresh approach to the race. He represents the best in America: thoughtfulness and optimism.

His campaign has refused to embrace the ugly, nasty tone the Democratic front-runners have set. Even while the Democratic political establishment locks him out of the debates to protect their favorite candidates, he stays positive.

Yang made his way in the private sector using hard work and innovation. He was a man with a vision then as he is now.

The biggest problem in our political culture is the politicians, and Yang is not a politician. In 2016, the American people showed that they were so thoroughly disgusted by the Washington establishment that they were willing to elevate Donald Trump to the presidency in spite of his rather obvious negatives.

Yang, like Trump, disrupts the political status quo, but his form of disruption is that of a nimble tech startup and not a wrecking ball.

Even his nomination would change our politics for the better and shatter the template of a presidential candidate that has yielded toxicity and division.

He is unique in the field.

Pete Buttigieg showed promise early on but was too willing to bow to radical elements in the party. Amy Klobuchar — while being more reasonable than most — is simply uninspiring.

The Lowell Sun and Sentinel & Enterprise endorse Andrew Yang for Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

Yang is uniquely positioned to be a uniting force in our culture. The man of conversations has shown a respect for all Americans and has earned the privilege of conducting a conversation on a bigger stage.