When Sheriff Kim Cole spoke last month during a rally to gather signatures for a ballot initiative, he didnt speak in favor or support of the initiative.

Rather, he took the opportunity to talk about where he felt the community was, and how theyre interacting with each other. He started it off with a story of his latest anniversary and ordering a drink to go with his order.

I said, No. Id like a glass of water. My wife smiled because she knew, he said during his 20-plus minute remarks at Ludingtons Waterfront Park. Even though its my anniversary and Im with my wife, if I were to have an alcoholic drink in a restaurant, someone would snap a photo and Id be labeled the county drunk because people dont like people for some unfortunate reason.

A lot of space in this column has been spent on trying to understand and encourage the understanding of the views of others even when some of us 100 percent disagree, including this writer. A lot of space in this column has been spent on how we treat each other trying to remember the Golden Rule of doing unto others as others would do unto us.

And yet, Cole saw a lot of the opposite once he issued a statement in mid-April on the deputies of the Mason County Sheriffs Office talking with subjects over alleged violations of executive orders ran than throwing the book at someone.

I had people wanting me dead. I had people telling me I hope you die before the election and if you do, know I wont be voting for you. I saw an ugly side of our community that Ive been here my whole life, Cole said that day. I was probably more sad than anything else at what I saw what our community was able to do and depths they were able to go to.

Sad is one way of putting it. Theres a whole lot of other ways of putting it. Cole related a story where his office received several calls during the shutdown, including one where his office was asked to do a temperature check on folks who were from the Detroit area who were using their property here in a fifth wheel.

We were asked to take the temperatures of the people to make sure they were healthy enough to live amongst us. That was embarrassing to me. Ive lived here my whole life, and were a better community than that. People who visit here deserve better, Cole said.

It appears many people want to create a confrontation between themselves and another person. Or, theyll create a confrontation between an entity such as law enforcement and another person because of some perceived slight or violation.

Its not just confrontational, either. Its the way people are not only dismissive of others without considering their thoughts or beliefs, but the awful comments that go along with them that are hurtful and belittling of those thoughts and beliefs. We see it from every political persuasion.

If anything, it appears that anyone who carries caring or compassion is thought of or even labeled as weak. Theyre being dismissed right away.

Because of those attitudes were seeing, its having a negative impact on our community. It weighed heavily enough on Cole where he admitted that he contemplated retiring as the sheriff, he said. But, he filed again with some resolve to do his part for a better community.

We need to, as a community, need to get our act together and turn it around. We need to stand together. Theres so much divisiveness in our community and our country. Its, quite frankly, pathetic, Cole said in June. (Someone) was telling me about an email she got from a gentleman whos name I wont say, but he knows better. Hes an educated man, and hes acting like a fool over this thing. He should be ashamed of himself.

Later, he said, I said we need to start acting like grown-ups, in a sense. I said we need to start working with our neighbor.

Clearly, Cole subscribes to the notion of having some caring and compassion for others. His brand of law enforcement is one where he wants to help those in trouble so perhaps they dont wind up in the situation again. And its not just his brand of law enforcement. Its a way of life.

So we can love our neighbors like we love ourselves. Weve lost that, he said in June.

We certainly have. It will take each and every one of us, though, to try to bring that level of caring and compassion to everyone we encounter friends, relatives, neighbors and the folks among us who come to enjoy our area with us. We can cordially disagree with one another, and debate and discuss issues affecting us all. We can be kind and polite and have a bit of Mason County Nice.

Thats how were supposed to interact with each other, isnt it?

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BOSSICK: Divisive community is here, but it doesn't have to be - shorelinemedia.net