Americans need to work together

To the editor:

Perhaps I spent the first part of my life naive to the gross politicization of our country, but I don’t think so.

I think our divide and our intolerance of opposing opinions has grown substantially in the last few years. 

The issue with children at the border highlights my point, precisely.

We have the left demonizing President Donald Trump and giving him sole blame.

“He’s a monster!” 

“He has no compassion!” 

We have the right blaming prior administrations.

“Clinton started it!”

“Nobody cared when Obama did it!”

In the meantime, who’s solving the problem?

The right has ideas. The left has ideas. But nobody works together.

It’s a “my way or the highway” mentality. 

Congress has been this way forever. There is no surprise here.

The surprise comes from everyday, hard-working American citizens.

Perhaps the divide has always been this strong, and social media just brings it to center stage, but it needs to change.

Can’t we find some middle ground where we can agree on human decency, without politicizing it?

My feelings?

Crossing the border illegally is illegal. It is a crime.

If I rob a bank to make a better life for my family, I will go to jail. I will be separated from them.

But, my children will not be ripped away from their family and put into camps. Their disposition will be handled much more humanely than what we are currently seeing. 

So, what’s the solution?

I don’t know.

I can understand wanting a better life for my family. I can’t understand breaking the law to get it. Criminals must be punished. But children must be treated as, well, children.

We have to find a better deterrent for illegal crossing. We have to find a better path to freedom and citizenship for those who long for it, and we have to find a better way to handle children separated at the border.

But, we need to work together on this. We need to be Americans.

God bless. 

Mike Cooke

Portland