ELECTION: The path forward

As I read the letters of frustration and accusation from well-meaning people, I can’t help but feel that we have in many ways lost our way and voices of reason have no purchase in the conversations.

Let us recognize that our stories are important and meaningful, and our conclusions have a basis in reason even if they are not always factually accurate. If you think the election was stolen, then for you it was. If you believe it was fair and accurate, then for you it was. Neither person is fully right or fully wrong.

It is hard to imagine that the election was entirely free of wrongdoing by anyone anywhere. The question that needs asking is, “Was it a game changer?” Although it doesn’t seem likely, it is a reasonable question to consider.

I believe we should support each other in our perspectives, and should each examine our own views on the basis of not only how we feel, but how others feel.

This is the reality of a win/lose situation such as an election. We do our best, celebrate humbly, lick our wounds carefully, and prepare for the next election. I can say to those who were not successful, “I can feel your pain.” I have been there many times in my life. Compassion for ourselves and others goes a long way in the right direction.

STEPHEN TOWLES

Coeur d’Alene