To Solve America’s Problems, We’ve Got to Talk

In a letter to the editor in today’s Herald, the writer stated that she is fed up with a friend and would no longer socialize with him because of the friend’s continued support for President Trump. The very idea of continued backing was totally repulsive, and so the friendship must be dissolved.
The fact is, I don’t think there is anyone who is blind to Trump’s failings, but, in light of the alternatives, they voted for him and in some measure support him because he is the president, and the country cannot go without one.
The writer’s abhorrence for Trump obviously blinded the letter writer to the fact that many people cannot abide Hillary Clinton. Given that most voters were going to vote for one of the two main-party candidates, if they could not vote for Hillary Clinton, that only left Donald Trump.
The issue is, we all have our way of looking at things, but we must accept that others have a right to their thinking; we must be respectful of them, and sincerely try to understand their viewpoint. In doing so, we will hopefully draw closer together. To believe that one’s way of thinking is the only logical, moral way leaves no room for the dialog on which a democratic nation is founded.
We face a number of issues, which one way or another, we must work through. Let’s take the battle against drug abuse as a case in point. Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor blasted the freeholders recently for their unwillingness to fund six more officers to go after the drug dealers. Were the freeholders being uncaring toward the families of the 24 people who died of drug overdose, or were they viewing his request similarly to Herald Editor Al Campbell, who said in his column, more money for greater law enforcement is not the solution.
Many see the drug problem as being the product of unfulfilled lives, causing people to seek an artificial high or a numbing of the pain of disappointment. To these people, the answer is to work to foster a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives. Others put their emphasis on laws and enforcement.
Another highly divisive issue is that of abortion. Some believe that what a woman does with her own body is her very own business, and if she becomes pregnant, she has every right to abort. On the other extreme, some see abortion as nothing short of murdering another human being.
One more is the issue of public education. Many believe wholeheartedly that government should retain close control, as the proper and best way to educate our nation’s children. On the opposite side of this issue are those who hold that governmental solutions downplay religion, are unduly expensive to the taxpayers, not as effective as other methods, and are used as a means of indoctrinating youth at ever-earlier stages of life. 
These are very extensive divisions, and some argue that our nation has not been so widely divided in many years. How can we possibly breach these gulfs without engaging in civil, respectful dialog? We see in our own history that wide chasms can lead to civil war. We must not accept this disunion, and work to counter it at every turn. We will never all think alike, nor should we, but we must respect one another’s opinion and craft compromises — compromise must not be a dirty word. 
Let me now return to the letter to the editor. In dispute resolution, we are taught to find common items on which the disputing parties agree, and build from there. Can we all agree that the president’s behavior is brutish? Probably 90-plus percent of Americans agree on that. On the other hand, Hillary supports taking infants’ lives, right up to the point of delivery; thus, both sides have strong reasons for revulsion.  
We are all fellow citizens of our nation, and therefore we must find a way to work out our differences. For our part, in letters to the editor and Spout Offs, we are doing what we know to do to foster meaningful communication, believing that it presents the only way forward in this time of great division.
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From the Bible: Do not let unwholesome words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. Ephesians 4:29