Look for the good

Last week I wrote about our nation having hope and needing healing. Based on comments I received on social media and email, I can see we have a long way to go — a very long way.

The rift in our country is vast and it seems there are too many who don’t want to find a way to bridge that divide.

Social discourse and intelligent conversation has devolved into schoolyard bullying and name calling.

One person who disagreed with my opinion even went so far as to call me fat. One’s opinion shouldn’t be judged on their weight or their eye color, hair color, or skin color for that matter.

You can certainly disagree with my opinion and I invite you to do so, but calling me or others names because you don’t like what we have to say is wrong. And that is exactly the point I was trying to make.

We all need to try a little harder to be nicer to each other. Without human kindness and empathy we are doomed.

So, where do we go from here? I don’t know.

I do know that one person is not — and cannot be — a panacea to our nation’s woes.

Though the end of President Donald Trump’s term was marred by the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and his claims of a fraudulent election, there were many good things achieved while he was in office.

His influence on the economy brought continued growth in the gross domestic product and considerable increases in the stock market. The nation’s unemployment rate fell to some of the lowest on record, as did the rate of poverty.

He helped forge peace in the Middle East and was a staunch supporter of recognizing Israel’s capital moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In the end of December 2019, he signed a $738 billion defense bill that officially established the nation’s first new branch of the military since the Air Force was created in 1947. The Space Force is designed to protect the nation’s assets in space, such as satellites.

And, of course, he helped push the effort to get a vaccine for COVID-19 developed and into the arms of Americans in less than a year, a process that often takes five times longer.

The same can be true for our local leaders.

In the first half of his tenure as mayor, Kiernan McManus has been accused of religious discrimination, harassment, bullying and creating a hostile work environment.

But he has also dealt with a global pandemic while keeping focused on the principles that got him elected to office: preserving the past while keeping the city’s growth ordinance in place. He also has been instrumental in getting more community residents involved in decision making by the creation of several ad hoc committees.

We all have the capacity to do good and see good if we look.

As we move further into this new year and new administration — while gearing up for our own municipal election that could bring changes to the city’s leadership — let’s strive to heal the divisions in our nation and community, and find that hope for a better tomorrow.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.