EDITORIAL: Too occupied with divisions

Dec. 2—In his first inaugural address, President Abraham Lincoln made an appeal for unity on the eve of the Civil War.

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

The American people are becoming ever more divided by national politics and cultural disputes. Recent polls conducted by the Pew Research Center show the partisan differences.

The politics of the past 20 years have become increasingly divisive, intolerant and personal. Even on the local level, disagreements about coronavirus safety protocols have sparked angry voices at some school board meetings — perhaps most notably in Raymond and Knappa, but also cropping up elsewhere.

Where did it all begin? Was it the election in 2020 of President Joe Biden and the specious allegations of fraud, or was it the 2016 election of President Donald Trump and allegations of Russian collusion? Does it go back to Bush v. Gore, circa 2000?

Over the last 18 months we've seen a host of incidents that have fueled the divide — a summer of riots in major cities accentuated by vandalism, looting and attempts to burn public buildings and immolate police officers; a divisive electoral campaign; and an angry mob of our fellow citizens busting into the U.S. Capitol.

And, of course, there's the turmoil of the pandemic and the response to it by state and federal officials. What many regard as common-sense precautions, others view as unacceptable government overreach into private lives — especially when it comes to mandated masking and vaccinations for schoolchildren.

There is no shortage of provocateurs, left and right, using these incidents to whip us into a frenzy. But the real fault lies with us. Some have allowed understandable frustrations to bubble over into unacceptable attacks on election and school officials who are merely following state laws and mandates. In the case of local schools, it would be financially ruinous to put state funding at risk in the cause of empty protests that will achieve nothing.

We have become all too occupied with the divisions, arranging ourselves neatly in one camp or another. We too often listen only to those things that bolster our world view. We allowed agitators and activists to use our fear and anger as a means to their own ends.

We stopped talking with and listening to each other. We have slapped vile labels on our neighbors and turned them into irredeemable enemies. And, when times are desperate, instinct dictates we deal harshly with an enemy.

We can disagree, but we must respect each other's point of view. We should live our lives, not our politics. Rather than our differences, we must focus on our common values and ideals. Relying on one another here on the North Coast, we must not allow political and policy disagreements get in the way of neighborly cooperation.

Our friendships are strained, but we must not be enemies.