Everyday challenges
Ending division
Regarding “Protests against worst of U.S. must be heard” (Page C1, Friday), kudos to the 10th degree to Jerome Solomon for his commentary. There is one sentence that struck a particularly strong chord with me: “Divisiveness is less of a challenge to the intellect than togetherness.” Why?
In this land of the free and home of the brave with universal education, a ubiquitous religious community and omnipresent non-sectarian service organizations, why are we, 240 years since our founding, so divisive? More important, what are we doing about it?
By focusing attention on the disparities in the United States, perhaps Colin Kaepernick is, in Solomon’s words, forcing us “to listen.”
I am a patriotic American who frequently has the opportunity to urge others to recite the Preamble to the Constitution. In it a key phrase is, “... promote the general Welfare ...” When we actually do that, perhaps much of the divisiveness will dissipate. One can only hope. Ted Weisgal, Houston
Our biases
Regarding “Perhaps what nation needs is a little tolerance for the intolerant” (Page A3, Sunday) Lisa Falkenberg’s Sunday column hits the nail on the head with regard to our having ways to compensate for biases but no way to rid ourselves of them.
We receive education at an early age to assign negativity to the color black and the opposite to the color white. We use the terms: black Friday, black cat, black magic, the dark side, white lie, white magic, white Christmas, pure as the driven snow.
Definitions from www. MerriamWebster.com for black include, “… characterized by the absence of light; dirty, soiled; sinister or evil; sad, gloomy, or calamitous; marked by the occurrence of disaster; grim, distorted satire; relating to covert intelligence operations;” and, “of or relating to a people who have dark skin and come from Africa.”
For white, Webster definitions include, “… free from color; free from spot or blemish; free from moral impurity; not intended to cause harm; marked by upright fairness” and “being a member of a group or race characterized by light pigmentation of the skin.” Given these definitions, who wouldn’t favor white?
I took several implicit association tests, and I encourage others to do the same. Only when we identify our biases can we begin to respond to others unlike ourselves with empathy, less bias and a recognition for the value of diversity. E. F. McClain, La Porte