Well said, mayor - and chief

In his State of the City speech Tuesday, Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer mentioned the names of family members, City Council members, fellow regional mayors of Post Falls, Rathdrum, Hayden and Fernan Lake Village, and the director of the Downtown Association.

But Widmyer also dropped another name that was unfamiliar to many: Steve Anderson, chief of police in Knoxville, Tenn. Anderson has been a member of the Nashville PD a whopping 40 years, including the last four-plus years as chief. He earned a law degree along the way, and has gained no small share of fame for his civil approach to dealing with peaceful protesters. Chief Anderson asks his officers to greet protesters and shake their hands.

Perhaps that's why Chief Anderson resonates with Mayor Widmyer. After just one year on the job, Widmyer is establishing himself as a no-nonsense leader but a man who eagerly reaches across barriers to those whose background and viewpoints might differ from his own. Maybe that's why Anderson's quote worked so well with Widmyer's message.

In that high-level spirit, we thought we'd share with you a little more of the Chief Anderson quote, which Widmyer suggested are words that should guide Coeur d'Alene city officials in their decision making. We take it a step further. These words from Chief Anderson comprise an approach we all should live by:

"As imperfect humans, we have a tendency to limit our association with other persons to those persons who are most like us. Unfortunately, there is even more of a human tendency to stay within our comfort zone by further narrowing those associations to those persons who share our thoughts and opinions. By doing this we can avoid giving consideration to thoughts and ideas different than our own. This would make us uncomfortable. By considering only the thoughts and ideas we are in agreement with, we stay in our comfort zone. Our own biases get reinforced and reflected back at us leaving no room for any opinion but our own. By doing this, we often convince ourselves that the majority of the world shares opinion and that anyone with another opinion is, obviously, wrong.

"It is only when we go outside that comfort zone, and subject ourselves to the discomfort of considering thoughts we don't agree with, that we can make an informed judgment on any matter. We can still disagree and maintain our opinions, but we can now do so knowing that the issue has been given consideration from all four sides. Or, if we truly give fair consideration to all points of view, we may need to swallow our pride and amend our original thoughts.

"And, it is only by giving consideration to the thoughts of all persons, even those that disagree with us, that we can have an understanding as to what constitutes a majority."