James Walker: Hate? Maybe all we need is a loaf of bread

Sometimes, it takes a simple act of kindness and willingness to share to remind us who and what we are as Americans.

I think it is fair to say we are living in an ugly time. There is so much hate that people need shields to protect them from the onslaught of hateful speeches and violent engagements when gathering in support of what they believe.

Everything is changing and the tides of resistance from both sides are dividing America with a bridge leading to nowhere but a sad conclusion for a country whose founding principles are a hope and a beacon for people worldwide.

The level of hate that has clouded America has thrown off our moral compass and the goodwill signage that used to point us in a direction where we learned to embrace our differences, is lost or floundering.

Like most Americans, I, too, am troubled by the hate-filled rhetoric that swirls around me and I am very concerned that Americans will push too hard and cross a line from which there is no return.

Because there is a point of no return — and if that happens, it would take a generation for lifeguards to rescue and resuscitate the American spirit that right now is huffing and puffing and threatening to blow the house down.

We all grew up with the lesson that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” We now know that is not true.

Words hurt and cut deep.

It took a young man about 20 years my junior at a bus stop in Bridgeport to remind me that all is not lost and kindness still prevails among us.

Since much of the division in America appears to be centered once again on race, I think it is critical to point out he is white.

We live in the same neighborhood but we are only nodding acquaintances. Until a recent morning, we had never had a conversation. But that morning, he came charging out a nearby store, sat down, opened his breakfast sandwich and then extended it toward me without taking a bite.

“Would you like half?” he asked. I was a little taken aback because it is not an offer usually extended in such situations. I declined and he said “OK, I am hungry” and began to eat as we began to talk.

And I wondered as we sat there symbolically breaking bread if that is all it really takes to bring good will back among people.

Maybe we look too hard for answers, think too long about solutions and delve too far into the whys of our differences.

Maybe we’re too focused on being a blue stripe or a red stripe and forget that maybe the white stripe is for common ground.

I don’t want to be a bull’s-eye for conservatives or liberals. I don’t want to be classified as a Democrat or a “Republican in denial” as my coworker calls me.

I just want be an American — and not be defined by my race and my politics, which are a result of my life experiences.

When I was an angry teenager still fuming about the domestic violence that had already made me hate everything about life, my mother would sit me down and try to steer me in another direction.

“James,” she told me. “Hate will make you ugly.”

Her advice is even more relevant today because it is ugly outside.

Maybe we’re all just hungry for a bit of kindness instead of the need to dress in armor.

Maybe it is time we break bread again.

Who knows? Maybe that was what my neighbor was trying to unconsciously tell me when he offered me half his sandwich.

Hate? Maybe all we need is a loaf of bread James Walker is the Register’s senior editor. He can be reached at 203-680-9389 or james.walker@hearstmediact.com. Follow him on Twitter @thelieonroars