MY TURN: 'Relationships are not built by political parties'

This country was built by immigrants. Some were forced here. Some came of their own free will. But with the exception of our Native American population, our descendants all pretty much showed up on a boat. That includes slave ships, steam ships and the Mayflower. Your ethnicity, your ancestry, the color of your skin? It’s irrelevant. You’re an immigrant.

My father's parents were Italian immigrants. They arrived in 1904. They sacrificed a son to World War II. He fought and died for his country, and let me tell you something, the country he fought and died for was not Italy. My mother's parents were descendants of Englishmen who came here to settle and build this country, sometimes with astonishing work ethic, insight and compassion, sometimes with a savagery so brutal it sickens the heart.

Our relationships are not built by political parties. They are built over the fence when a neighbor is two eggs short of a birthday cake, or a strong back short of a heavy lift. They are built over the sales counters of our stores and in the booths of our restaurants. They are built defending this country from lawlessness of all kinds; white collar, blue collar or no collar; foreign or domestic. They are built from the people who make things work by working together, not from the “my way or the highway” crowd.

If my neighbor needs a hand with something, I don’t have to ask what their party affiliation is. I come over and help because I know that one day I will need a hand with something in a pinch. We receive this generosity with a plan to reciprocate, either by returning the favor or by paying it forward. This is not political behavior. It’s personal and universal. It goes beyond the titles we give ourselves, the churches we attend, the affiliations we formalize, the wealth we do or do not have. It is the binding element in our ability to live in peace and prosperity.

Extremists define relationships based on their brand of extremism. Our actual relationships are stronger than that, more meaningful than that, more considerate than that, more thoughtful than that.

And to those who use the term “woke” as a putdown, you too are carrying a brand of “woke-ness” that is fast asleep in its certainties, and in desperate need of self-examination.

When George Washington laid down his sword at the feet of Congress, he sent a message that too many of us have missed or forgotten. Conquering generals are often installed as supreme leaders. They usually install themselves. Most of them take the job and cling to it as long as they can by whatever means necessary. But Washington understood what the Founding Fathers were trying to do, and so he laid down his power at the feet of their effort to build a better union. Congress and the emancipated voters of that time reciprocated. They made him president. But when he was asked to serve a third term, he declined.

This kind of wisdom is in short supply these days. But it is in our bones. It is in our DNA as a country. America is the greatest melting pot this world has ever seen. It’s high time we started acting like it.

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Stephen Bruno is a Dalton Gardens resident.