Let's pick each other up, not just yell from across the room

To The Daily Sun,

Almost 45 years ago the band War released a song entitled “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” The catchy, repetitive tune caught on quickly and continues to put smiles on faces. War’s drummer, Harold Brown, said that they were “trying to bring everybody together through our music.” The band saw no reason for why people with differences couldn’t get along.

However, New Hampshire’s political climate has been straying away from any notion of bipartisanship, togetherness, and friendship. Just over the past few weeks we have seen plenty of examples: a pro-2nd Amendment protester walked into a gun-control rally with a firearm and scared everyone there, Democrats unveiled a plan to attack Governor Sununu at all his future events, the Hillsborough GOP promoted their fundraiser where people can shoot guns after two mass shootings, and Senate Democrats attack the governor on social media for holding certain parts of the budget "hostage." when they are bragging their ideas that had loads of bipartisan support. While yes, it is politics, and people are trying to win elections, it doesn’t excuse the growing mob mentalities.

We need to sit down next to each other, discuss issues civilly, and pick each other up rather than yell at each other from across a table in our attempts to stomp our opponents into the ground. Instead of plugging our ears and saying "I can’t hear you," like children, let’s look each other in the eye and respectfully listen to differing opinions so that we can begin to work together.

Colin McCabe

Meredith