Letter: Choose commonality, not division

To the Editor:

In these days of highly partisan politics, both candidates and voters have an important responsibility to maintain high ethical standards. Statements made in the workplace by a teacher or school official, whether in support or opposition to a person running for office as in the recent case of Sen. John Howe, have greater influence on listeners than ordinary conversation, and have rightly been condemned by the school superintendent. Howe’s opponent, Mike Schmit, has disavowed any connection with these remarks.

If we are to teach our children the essentials of good citizenship, as with the mission statement of the Red Wing Public Schools, we must all act respectfully, especially toward those with whom we disagree.

How can we get the ugliness out of politics? The poet W.B. Yeats once wrote, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

Can we become as passionate about the common good as we are about the conflicts that divide us? This might be a good time to advocate for “rank-choice voting," where voters tend to select the candidate who appeals to commonalities rather than the one who is divisive.

David Harris

Red Wing

Tags: opinion, letters