From another point of view

To the editor:

A friend of mine recently had a shift in some of his most deeply held beliefs. While discussing what led to this shift, he made a comment about what he now considered 'his side” versus 'my side.” I paused for a moment, then quizzically asked him, 'how many sides are there?” For while it was true that my friend and I now differed on a few very central beliefs, I still felt I had more in common with him than not.

This got me thinking that perhaps there is a better way to draw up 'sides” than by narrowly defined belief systems. Maybe it has more to do with our approach to humanity in general.

I have talked to all sorts of people and can confirm that all in all, people are decent. And they are also self-serving. As the author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once said, 'Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart.” If we are honest with ourselves, we know this is true.

Right now humanity is having to trust individuals, people, all of whom have the capacity for both good and evil. But I have concluded that suspicion is the enemy of progress. What if instead of asking 'What do you believe?”, we ask, 'What does your perspective offer that mine may have missed?” Then we may discover solutions sooner rather than later.

- Julie Fiske, Growing Hope Foundation, Fairfield