How to understand a divided America

Re: “Can we still find our truth in books?”, Aug. 7

I agree with David L. Ulin that our nation appears to be divided into warring ideological camps with seemingly irreconcilable differences. However, these deep divisions did not all occur by accident. They serve a purpose for those who see human life as a quest to accumulate as much wealth and power as possible in a single lifetime. To accomplish this, they have to divide the rest of us into warring ideological camps so we never look at those who benefit by creating these deep divisions that put an increasing number of Americans in homeless encampments.

Human greed, ensconced in political power to benefit the few rather than the many, is the single greatest reason for the decline and collapse of all nations throughout history. It is happening here, just as it happened in so many other civilizations now buried beneath the sands of time. Dennis Clausen Escondido

Ulin is upset about the demise of public narrative, which helps society to identify extremist ideologies and to move forward with future goals. It is not news that our country’s commons has thinned throughout the ages, especially the social mores. Gone are the years when God, traditional values and national holidays were observed in high regard. The average citizen probably associates the U.S. with just military power, free market, land of opportunity and resourcefulness of individuals.

Yet the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a fifth element: love of neighbor. This summer’s blockbuster film “Top Gun: Maverick” illustrated some of those traits and brought me hope for a united country. I pray that as a nation, we nurture the few commonalities we still share and bring back those we have lost. Raul Ramirez

Azusa