It was fortunate more people weren’t killed

I grew up in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Whenever I return and see the beautiful skyline, including the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol, I choke up.

Last Wednesday, I was horrified to see an angry right-wing mob overrun outnumbered police officers to break into the U.S. Capitol Building, the seat of the legislative branch of our federal government. I saw Confederate flags. Nazi T-shirts. Profanity. Violence. Even death.

It was heartbreaking.

As someone long involved in politics and policy, I know that there is a better way. It starts with something my beloved Dad always taught me: Walk a mile in another’s shoes.

In the year we just came through — with an inadequate response to COVID-19, a damaged economy, a polarizing presidential campaign and post-election period, and, as the new year dawned, an assault on the U.S. Capitol — we really must learn to walk a mile in another’s shoes.

Science, the economy and shedding polarizing politics all have key roles.

First, science. Scientists are some of the most honest people I know. They tell you what they know, what they don’t know, and, if something changes, how new information changes their beliefs. (If only politicians would do the same!) Science is peer-reviewed. Approvals for pharmaceuticals and therapeutics are rigorous, often too slow. But with sufficient funding and focus, scientists were able to build on years of work — in this case the mRNA platform — and develop multiple vaccines to beat a novel virus.

Second, the economy. I’ve spent years representing business and helping California and San Diego be competitive for job-creating investment. It has been painful to watch the economic devastation wreaked by COVID-19, seeing people losing jobs, small-business owners lose their dreams, company executives laying off dedicated employees. Even the beleaguered health care sector has been impacted because it had to idle parts of its business just to be