Thank you for this beautiful thought out and well written piece. You articulate what I’ve been feeling for so long and have not found as clear and peaceful a way to say it as you do. We will never bring someone over to our side by insulting or attacking them. All we’ll achieve is standoff and blocked communications. We need to make more friends who don’t look like us. we need to listen, not fix or explain or preach.

I would be more optimistic about change if there were less hate in the air. Hate is not the answer. Hating haters doesn’t fix them, it brings us down to their level. We need to build compassion, empathy, and we need to practice tolerance of those whose views don’t align with ours.