Ken Trainor and Tom Holmes have an unusually enlightened perspective [Opposing, but with an open mind, and Empathy for white nationalists? Viewpoints, Sept. 4]. We are not, as a species, hard-wired to be empathic toward our opponents. In this sense, it is much more natural to vilify one’s foe.
But being kind and seeking to understand “the other” is not the same as being weak. Nor does it suggest a lack of resolve.
The call to take necessary action to soundly defeat the political opposition “with malice toward none, with charity for all” and to resist self-righteousness and arrogance strikes me as exactly what is needed in this culturally polarized time. A tall order, but nothing worthwhile is easy.
Kevin O’Keefe
Colorado (formerly of Oak Park)
