“Anyhow, as the “age of Trump” comes upon us, are there wiser ways to use FR than to chew the fat on behalf of particular parochial views? “
Probably not. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
That is certainly another point of view. Let FR be what it always was, and don’t really care what impact it has upon the country.
I would predict, however, that if FR does not move to embrace the conciliatory space... then someone else will, and FR itself will be marginalized.
FR needs to remain secular:
There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone else that his or her path is wrong.Hindu teaching