Seriously — why can’t we all get along?

An interesting and thought-provoking opinion was offered recently by Dave Weiner regarding democracy, compromise, and resolution. I found his conclusion (“…we have problems and incivility is tempting, but without respect, civility and effort to understand those with whom we differ our democracy will decay as surely as reality denial rots the mind”) paradoxical. For when David Brooks writes a column titled “The Rotting of The Republican Mind” — and Weiner uses that as a springboard to advance his thesis, sincerity and authenticity is clouded, questionable, and corrupted.

I know the columnist David Brooks as a man of letters, having followed him from time to time over the last few decades. For Weiner to describe Brooks as a conservative is inaccurate. Brooks is a chameleon of sorts; and perhaps a schizophrenic one at that. For instance, in one opinion piece he stated that he would have voted for Sanders or Warren over Trump. In another piece, he verbally assaults Sanders unmercifully. Brooks has toiled at publications both left and right.

If Weiner believes that “Republicans” are incapable of acknowledging “reality”, that’s (euphemistically) “hogwash.” “Reality” differences are shaped by more than political affiliations.

To suggest that one has lesser eyesight than another (or “rotten”) counters Weiner’s call for “…respect, civility and effort to understand those with whom we differ…” Ironically, it was a guy named Rodney King who nailed it with a simple question: “Can’t we all just get along?”

— Tom Neill, Chico