Lyrics to a Simon & Garfunkel song "still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest" seem to sum up today's political mood. Our reaction to identical behaviors fluctuate depending on if the person committing the acts is of our political persuasion or not.

How fickle and opinionated we are.

I'm deeply troubled by the "us against them" tone our politics have taken. We are all in this together. We are the UNITED States of America. Part of the problem as I see it is the way our information is presented to us. The news has somehow shifted to entertainment, and worse yet this entertainment has taken on a nasty and confrontational aspect. That I believe is intended to work us into a frenzy thus increasing their ratings and profits.

But at what cost to us as a society? A house divided against itself will not stand. Social media that feeds you only the point of view "they" know you agree with is very much a part of the problem.

What has happened to the truth behind the old cliche "it takes all kinds to make the world go round"? It seems we don't have the patience or tolerance to even listen to an opposing point of view. How can we work towards a compromise if we're unable or unwilling to even consider that there is an alternative way of looking at things. We have more in common than those issues we are divided on.

In our humanness we are all likely to experience a broken heart, loss of a loved one to death or possibly divorce, brokenness caused by an addiction, a dream not realized, rejection, cancer, Alzheimer's, or FEAR of ---- you fill in the blank.

In times of crisis our petty differences take their proper place as we come together as a community to support and encourage one another through the difficult time. The best advice my mom and dad instilled in me growing up would, if followed, go a long way in healing our divisiveness. They told me to always try and put myself into the other persons place and see the situation from that perspective. Then reflect again on my actions and see if I would like to be treated like I was treating others.

Yes, the "Golden Rule." Let's give it a try, it can't hurt and might just help.

Jim Sheehan, Butte

Link:

Let's give the 'Golden Rule' a try; it can't hurt - Montana Standard